Modern Process Equipment introduced Westrock Coffee to Keen as a mechanical installer for all dry processing equipment in their facility in Conway, Arkansas.   This included setting and installing of all process equipment, structural steel, and process interconnections. The scope consisted of three main areas within the dry processing system. The first is referred to as the green coffee area. The green coffee area receives raw, green coffee beans, cleans and then stores them. Beans come in two types of bulk containers: 2,000 lb super sacks and 130 lb burlap sacks. Both are automatically unloaded in separate unloading lines, cleaned, and then transferred to 1 of 24 bulk storage bins. From there, the beans are transferred to the roasters as needed. After the roasters there is a smaller 12 silo storage structure, bulk bag loader, and bulk bag unloaders. From there, coffee that isn’t bagged off, is sent to the cold brew area where it is ground up to either be bagged off as ground coffee or sent to the wet area to be brewed in cold brew Lauterton tanks. Our scope picked back up again with the removal of the spent grounds from each of the Lauterton tanks. The grounds are then taken to a dewatering press and then conveyed to one of two dumpsters outside to be removed from the facility.

The owner supplied all equipment and most materials needed for installation. Dealing with delivery delays and coordinating what equipment we needed was a challenge. Additionally, there was continuous design occurring as the installation was progressing; being flexible and adapting to the changes proved to be a testament to our team’s adaptability.

This was the first coffee-related project for Keen. Our expertise in dry flowables proved to be a great fit for this project and highlighted how well our team can adapt to new industries. The team learned quickly and became proficient with the new equipment and processes.