You may also be interested in
Tri Tech Automation, a platinum member of the Rockwell Automation PartnerNetwork™ Program, is a nationwide turnkey system integrator focusing on front-end engineering and design all the way through to commissioning. Their specialized project teams bring extensive domain expertise across various services, including design engineering, controls engineering, digital transformation, computing and networking, as well as commissioning and startup.
- Tight project schedule
- Lack of resource bandwidth
- Supply chain issues
- Expanded project scope as critical gaps were uncovered
- Incomplete and complex upfront documentation slowed progress
- MCCs, variable frequency drives (VFDs), I/O and process gateways are all on the same physical network
- Integrated architecture provides operators with real-time, data-driven insights
- Modern instrumentation and automated control systems improve sustainability, minimizing water and energy use
- Instrumentation is consolidated and streamlined to improve supportability
- Robust OT network design from core switches on down to the plant floor for reliability and security
Challenge
Startup on time and under budget
Greenfield projects present unique opportunities for innovation and exploration of new possibilities but often come with significant challenges that require knowledge and expertise in diverse areas.
A large bulk cheese manufacturer and global supplier of whey ingredients relied on multiple vendors to manage critical aspects of their large-scale greenfield project, including construction, project management, front-end engineering, automation and controls, and instrumentation. The company’s goal was to have a world-class manufacturing facility with modern technology and standards. They also wanted to start up on time and under budget.
Given that milk is an essential ingredient in cheese production, the cheese manufacturer coordinated with local dairy farmers to make sure that milk deliveries to the greenfield facility occurred on a predetermined date. Once fully operational, the plant requires approximately 8 million pounds of milk daily. To avoid any production delays, all contracted vendors were required to meet strict deadlines ahead of the scheduled milk delivery.
Despite supply chain issues, late changes to project scope, and complex documentation, the company met its scheduled startup date.
Solution
The cheese manufacturer turned to Tri Tech Automation, a platinum system integrator member of the Rockwell Automation PartnerNetwork™ Program, for their expertise in modern technology solutions and industry standards. Tri Tech Automation oversaw the automation and controls budgeting, implementation, and standards and methodologies aspect of the greenfield project.
During the project scope, Tri Tech Automation identified critical engineering gaps that needed to be addressed to achieve true innovation within the plant. A significant opportunity presented itself to implement an integrated architecture with unified process and power control capabilities, including CENTERLINE 2100 motor control centers (MCCs), PowerFlex variable frequency drives (VFDs) and ControlLogix controllers. This integrated architecture solution avoids having islands of automation and unifies process control systems and devices, safety, energy management, electrical and other systems.
Faced with budget constraints, tight construction deadlines, and supply chain challenges, Tri Tech Automation decided to order the equipment before the engineering phase was fully complete. To maintain the standard delivery schedule, they purchased 45 configured-to-order (CTO) low voltage MCCs equipped with 1200 and 800A bus systems. These MCCs supported 643 connected loads, including variable frequency drives (VFDs), starters, feeder breakers and other components, totaling 19,500 connected HP (27,500 Amps).
The customization of the CTO MCCs took place at Tri Tech Automation’s St. Louis facility, where they built out their network and integrated with their MCC. The process involved networking and modifying individual MCC units as needed, powering them on and setting device parameters, and creating custom tags for each device to include both manufacturer-specific and network information. The final step was conducting a comprehensive factory acceptance test (FAT) to achieve optimal performance and compliance. Ryan Williams, Managing Director – Sales and Marketing, said, “We felt very comfortable ordering [configured-to-order] solutions from Rockwell and getting those on order early with a percentage of spares across the board and then rolling with changes after the fact.”
Tri Tech Automation’s expertise covers many other areas. They used the Rockwell Automation ControlLogix control system for the programmable logic controllers (PLCs) and worked with Rockwell Automation Technology Partner Endress+Hauser to consolidate and streamline instrumentation to improve supportability.
Tri Tech Automation also identified gaps in the manufacturer’s operational technology (OT) network design, which serves as the backbone of the facility. They implemented a comprehensive OT network design, spanning from core switches to the plant floor. According to Williams, they set up and configured every switch, backed them up on SD cards, created backup files for them, and wrote manuals on how to replace them.
Result
All MCCs, VFDs, I/O and process gateways were on the same physical network and segmented out through virtual local area networks (VLANs) and IP schemes. The customer’s operators and maintenance personnel benefited from this integrated architecture that combines unified process and power, providing real-time, data-driven insights to enhance performance and achieve optimized production processes across the plant. Additionally, the modern instrumentation and automated control systems improved sustainability by minimizing water and energy consumption.
The original design had a lot of instrumentation (for example, flowmeters and Coriolis meters) that the company was familiar with and had used at other plants. Consolidating and streamlining much of this instrumentation helped improve supportability, including optimized management of spares, stock and customer support.
The greenfield plant is fully operational, producing cheese, while Tri Tech Automation is offering remote support to enhance processes, optimize the facility, and address various tasks, including establishing new setpoints and implementing additional interlocks.
Published August 26, 2025