Wenger Manufacturing Inc. has begun work on a $13 million renovation project to expand and modernize the Wenger Technical Center in Sabetha, Kan.

The Wenger Technical Center is a facility dedicated to innovation and continuous improvement of extrusion process systems for food, feed and industrial applications, the company said. The Wenger Technical Center houses full-scale extruders, dryers and ancillary components to provide a real-world development environment for extrusion-based products and processes. A proving ground for innovation and training, the center is used by clients, academia and other industry partners for accelerating product development and operational training, Wenger said.

“This renovation is a strategic reinvestment into a facility that has long served our industries as the critical hub for innovation and continuous improvement,” said Lafe Bailey, Wenger co-chief executive officer and president of sales and corporate development. “The technical center has held global importance to the extrusion industry since 1954, and we are committed to both renewing and expanding the roles and responsibilities that the Wenger Technical Center holds in the industries we serve.”

The new construction will increase the existing 22,000 sq. ft. center’s capacity by 40%, making the facility more scalable and extending its life span long into the future. The modernization will include enhancing preventative measures for food safety, and the added square footage will make the center more versatile, the company announced. It will expand the scope of market-facing services while also further enhancing existing innovation projects already active in the Wenger pipeline.

“As our industries face increased scrutiny over food safety, the new Wenger Technical Center will provide a low-risk environment to evaluate prototypes and make sure new products and processes adhere to safety and quality standards,” said Brend King, vice president and technical center director. “We’re very excited for this expansion as it will allow us to continue helping clients — and Wenger — move ideas from concept to market more quickly.”

By operating commercial-scale equipment, Wenger has the ability to scale up production runs to achieve real-life capacities, which is usually not possible in a research and development environment, the company said.

“By staging a full-scale production setup, clients can truly see what these machines can do, and they don’t have to settle for a projection of performance based on calculations,” Bailey said. “No other innovation center of its kind has this breadth of capabilities.”

The approach to this renovation is unique in that the new building will be constructed over top of the existing facility while operations continue inside.

The first phase is construction of a modern, tension fabric structure that will completely enclose the original building. The second phase entails taking down the original steel structure underneath to create a new space with greater height and depth as well as a greatly improved process flow. The larger capacity will fit full-scale, commercial versions of nearly every piece of equipment Wenger manufactures, whereas today it houses six extruders and two dryers.

“This innovative approach originated from our need to build a world-class innovation and development facility, all while maintaining continuity of current customer and Wenger projects,” King said. “That continuity is important because the market relies on this facility to meet their goals, and we are committed to keeping it open throughout this process.”

King added that the company believes this is a responsible approach that aligns with the Wenger culture of integrity, ingenuity and initiative. “Instead of tearing down valuable infrastructure and starting over at another site, we’re repurposing a well-functioning and widely utilized facility that’s already positioned right where we want it,” he said.

The Technical Center is in very close proximity to Wenger’s primary manufacturing facility in Sabetha, which provides the industry with convenient access to other key aspects of Wenger capabilities as well as other important industry partners located in the region, the company said.

The improved and modernized Technical Center operational design was led by Wenger’s Corporate Project Services division and incorporates current and trending industry best practice and usability features in regard to layout and design, processing and facilities management, the announcement said.

“We have a visionary partner in Legacy Building Solutions, who helped us design the new facility and bring this concept to reality. We believe the Wenger and Legacy approach can also be useful for many of the existing and older operations of our clients,” King said.

Wenger hired PMI Nebraska LLC as general contractor and will be working with other contractors and suppliers on various aspects of the project, including Pinnacle Electric, PCI Mechanical, Schenck Process, Scott Equipment and IPS.

The project plan was approved and construction began in November. Normal Wenger Technical Center operations will run in parallel with construction until project completion during the fourth quarter of 2020.

Wenger is a leading supplier of extrusion cooking systems for food processing with an 85-year history. Wenger systems are most commonly used in food, pet food and treats, aquaculture feed and engineered-ingredient processing. With nearly 500 employees worldwide, Wenger operates multiple plants, an innovation and development center and sales and service offices around the globe. Privately held and headquartered in rural Sabetha, Wenger also has operations in Galena, Kan., Belgium, Denmark, Taiwan, Brazil and China.