Mother Parkers manufactures coffee and tea in four North American plants. For over 100 years they have been a leading purveyor, blender and packager of high-quality teas and herbals for hot or iced beverages. Their Ajax, Ontario facility produces many varieties of tea, so it is imperative that the company be able to quickly change from one variety to the next. They source teas and herbals from around the world and use liquid flavorings to develop unique flavor combinations. These concentrated flavorings make the teas delicious, but because they are flammable, they require special storage considerations to meet applicable fire codes and ensure worker safety. Mother Parkers needed help finding a safe and complaint way to store these flammables. DENIOS US delivered a fire-rated, non-occupancy storage building that suits them to a “tea.”
As the Environmental, Health, Safety and Security (EHSS) Director for Mother Parkers, Adrian Kahn was tasked with finding a solution to safely store the 5-gallon pails. “In the event of a fire, we want to ensure that there is nothing to fuel the fire,” said Kahn. “We want to eliminate the possibility of harm to our people or damage to the facility.”
DENIOS
An internet search led him to DENIOS US, and their Canadian facility located in nearby Newmarket, Ontario. Armed with pertinent information such as typical volume of pails on site, inventory turns, shelf-life, and more, a 12-foot by 12-foot fires-rated building was suggested. This structure has multiple racks, and the capacity to store 160 pails of tea flavoring, with the flexibility to change the racking system to accommodate drums or IBCs if desired. More importantly it is bi-directionally fire rated for 2-hours at 2192°F or 1000°C, so in the event of a fire either inside or outside the structure, the pails will be isolated, allowing safe, compliant storage.
The FM-approved structure includes fully galvannealed panelized construction, and is insulated with fireproof, 150 mm mineral wool panels (A class material, non-combustible). High-quality Durathane 2-part RAL 9002 (Grey-White) paint ensures long-lasting corrosion protection inside and out. With no thermal gaps, heating and air conditioning can be employed if so desired. DENIOS FM-approved storage buildings are built in accordance with FM Approval 6049, NFPA, OSHA, EPA-CFR 40, NBCC, NFCC and ETA/21/0642.
Though Mother Parkers typically uses an entire pail once rather than dispensing from the RFP building, it includes a one-piece hot dipped galvanized sump which meets FM guidelines of “25% capacity rule.” The building is equipped with 3-hour fire-rated roll-up doors which are FM approved and UL-listed.
In addition to working with DENIOS on the design, Kahn also communicated frequently with their insurance carrier’s engineer. “We brought them in right at the beginning to make sure that we were meeting all of the requirements,” recalls Kahn. “It was important that we were all on the same page from day 1.”
Customized to Site-Specific Parameters
Kahn appreciated the teamwork with DENIOS US team on his project, allowing him to customize the Mother Parkers RFP to best suit their needs. “Applying their experience and expertise to our circumstances allowed us to get the solution that best addresses our needs,” commented Kahn.
DENIOS engineers assisted in selecting HVAC technology to regulate the climate inside the RFP so that stored materials are protected from harmful temperature fluctuations for increased shelf life. Technical ventilation ensures six air changes per hour. HMI monitoring controls provide visual and audio annunciation in the case of a deviation in measured data, clearly presented on the easy-to-use touch panels which are suitable for indoor or outdoor (NEMA 3R) operation. Multi-sensor fire detectors quickly and reliably detect smoke and fire for the fastest response. Additionally, an internal sprinkler system was installed inside the building and within the larger facility where the building is located, ensuring that a fire either within or outside the facility can be addressed quickly.
DENIOS
Installation
The RFP building was shipped to the Ajax facility in January of 2022. Prior to installation, part of an exterior wall was removed so that a crane could be employed to lift the building and position it within the factory. Even though all parties had been involved from the start, receiving the structure and getting it into the building was an eye-opening experience.
“When you are bringing in a 12-by-12 room, that is the footprint you have to deal with,” said Kahn. “It is hard to appreciate the size until you see it. Make sure everyone understands the size and get all of the information up front like sprinkler connections and drain connections. That really helped during the installation phase.”
Protecting employees by safely storing flammable tea flavoring in a fire rated building was accomplished with an FM-approved non-occupancy storage building. The fire-rated building allows easy access for production personnel yet isolates the pails in the event of an emergency. With thousands of installations worldwide, and state-of-the-art manufacturing in a spacious Louisville factory, this project for Mother Fletchers was all in a day’s work for DENIOS US.
