A packing shed in the Mesilla Valley has about a week to turn a field crop into a pallet, and the building has to keep up. Around Hatch, which is known worldwide for raising chiles, and along NM 28, where the corridor passes farmland, dairy farms, vineyards and pecan orchards, the harvest arrives in a short season and leaves by truck. We build the plants that clean, sort, process, pack and chill that product: packing sheds, roasting and processing rooms, bottling and dairy lines, and the dry and cold storage that supports them.
Food plants are built around sanitation and flow. Raw product enters at one end, passes through wet and dry zones, and leaves finished at the other, and the building layout has to prevent cross-contamination. That means smooth, washable floors with slope to drains, sealed wall surfaces, hygienic ceilings, controlled doors and air pressure that moves from clean rooms toward dirty ones. We build with those principles from the first drawing.
The other constraint is water. Farm irrigation around Hatch uses wells and surface water diverted from the Rio Grande, Caballo Lake and Elephant Butte Reservoir, so processors share a basin with the farms that supply them. A plant that washes product uses a lot of water and creates wastewater, and both need to be planned and permitted with care.
The Mesilla Valley's agriculture supplies the processing market, and the Santa Teresa crossing supplies the volume. The cattle crossing there is described as the largest on the U.S.-Mexico border, with 534,245 head crossing per year, or 62 percent of animals crossed on the border. Livestock is not a processed food, but the number says how much agricultural traffic uses the port, and it supports the trucking, cold storage and handling businesses that processors rely on.
New Mexico State University adds a research side, with about $150 million per year in externally funded research programs, and many food and agricultural firms look to the campus for technical support. For processors, the sites that work best are close to the grower, close to the interstate and large enough for expansion, which is why many plants sit along the NM 28 corridor or beside I-25 and I-10.
Washdown rooms need floors with slope to drains, trench drains with removable grates, coved bases and walls that tolerate pressure washing and sanitizer. The floor is the most important surface in the plant, and we place it with the right topping, the right slope and joints that do not trap water. We use sealed concrete or epoxy and urethane toppings, depending on the temperatures and chemicals involved.
Wastewater comes next. Process water carries solids, fats or sugars, and it often requires pretreatment before it can enter the sanitary sewer, or a separate treatment system if no sewer is available. We coordinate with the civil engineer and the utility on the design, and our site utilities scope includes the pipes, tanks and pump stations that make it work.
The plant is built to the 2021 New Mexico Commercial Building Code, with electrical work under the 2020 New Mexico Electrical Code and, for refrigerated areas, the 2021 Commercial Energy Conservation Code. Plumbing and mechanical work is moving to the 2024 editions, which are listed as effective August 1, 2026, with permits issued under either the 2021 or 2024 edition until January 1, 2027.
Beyond building permits, food plants are reviewed by food safety regulators for sanitation design, and those reviews can affect finish selections, equipment layout and the placement of hand washing and changing areas. We build the review into the preconstruction schedule and share drawings with the regulator early to avoid rework.
We place the concrete floors and slopes through trade partners, because floor quality decides whether a food plant passes inspection and stays clean. Our trade partners also build the equipment pads, trench drains, sumps and housekeeping curbs that process lines require. For a plant that needs a cooler, we build it alongside as cold storage, with the panel system and refrigeration planned together.
The metal building or tilt-up shell is straightforward. The details around it, such as sealed penetrations, hygienic wall panels, vestibules and smooth ceilings, are where the work becomes specialized. We include those details in the trade scopes and inspection plan so their completion is coordinated with a tight harvest schedule.
Our food and beverage customers include packers, processors, dairies, wine and beverage producers, and ingredient handlers. Owners in the food and beverage sector range from small family operations adding a new line to larger firms building a regional plant. We scale our approach to fit each, from a single-room addition to a full ground-up facility.
For smaller operations, a pre-engineered metal building with insulated panels is often the right shell. For larger operations, a tilt-up shell may be better. We compare the two for each project with the process requirements in view.
Send the product, the daily volume and the layout you have in mind, and we will return a building concept and a schedule that fits your season. Call or use the form.
Plan on starting design at least a year ahead for a new plant, and several months ahead for an addition. Permits, equipment lead times and the construction season all take time, and a missed harvest means waiting another year. We work backward from your first-run date.
The right finish depends on temperature, chemicals and traffic. Epoxy and urethane toppings are common, and some plants use sealed concrete with a hardener. We recommend the system after reviewing your washdown routine and any cold or hot process areas.
It depends on the product and the process, and the plant's engineer should estimate it early. In an arid region, water supply and wastewater discharge are often the deciding factors in site selection. We coordinate with the utility and the civil engineer before the site is chosen.
Yes. We schedule the work to finish before harvest, and we can phase construction so that the receiving and packing areas are ready first. If a delay occurs, we propose temporary arrangements so the first loads can be handled.
They need washdown-rated equipment, sealed conduit and lighting, and air handling that maintains pressure from clean areas to dirty ones. Cold rooms add refrigeration loads and defrost cycles. We coordinate the design with the process equipment and the energy code.