The East Coast manufacturing facility of Imperial Brown® recently built a large freezer/cooler combo unit for Whataburger restaurant in Concord, NC, using its new hybrid construction method.
To construct the 47’ long combo unit, the designers combined 5½” wood frame construction ceiling panels in the 47’ long combo unit, along with low-density construction in some wall panels, for a cost-effective solution for the customer. Hardnose panels can span up to 25’ without roof support, contributing to less factory time and more real estate inside the unit. Low-density panels only span up to 15’.
The hybrid method reduced the number of ceiling panels needed in the project, according to Robert Wolfe, Designer for Imperial Brown. Four-inch high-density construction was also used in wall panels that required customization. “This method was the most cost-effective,” Wolfe said. “The Production Department would have had to build additional panels to get the customization with the low-density method.”
Imperial Brown is the only manufacturing facility in the country with the ability to produce hard-nose/soft-nose combination units, a distinct price and technical the advantage to customers. Hybrid construction gives the factory complete flexibility to build coolers of any shape or size, resulting in a stronger, consistent product with more efficient production time, a lower materials cost and a higher overall R-rating. Advantages include:
• Exact dimensions to maximize space
• Notches and angles around wall and ceiling columns
• Greater height and spanning, unsupported
• Door placement at the corner (soft-nose requires 11”-12”)
• Uses lower-cost soft-nose construction where customization is not required
• Uses hard-nose panels only where required
• Hard-nosed floors provide the greatest structural support for performance and integrity over the life of the walk-in unit
Whataburger’s 47 ft long freezer/freezer unit is 20’2” deep. One of the freezers is 23’8” long and the other is 23’4”. It is 8’ 9½” tall. The factory also built a smaller cooler unit for the customer that is standard 11’7” by 7’9” and 8’ 7¼” tall. It was constructed of low-density panels. Yarbrough Refrigeration of Concord, NC was the customer for this project.
