Henderson Engineers Grocery Practice Director/Vice President Tony Welter shared his expertise on the grocery and refrigeration sector in an ACHR News article on grocers adding refrigeration loads in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. Welter predicts that the grocery industry will see smaller distribution centers to address the last-mile to a customer’s home, but there will be a variety of cold storage needs coming with mid-size and large distribution centers.

“Henderson has seen an uptick in grocery cold storage projects in the last year,” Welter noted. “Larger cold storage projects can utilize packaged equipment as used in most stores, or they can opt to have a refrigerated plant design. Each client has their own needs when it comes to design, and it is important to present the options and costs in a way an educated decision can be made.”

Welter was also featured in another ACHR News article on how the pandemic may shift grocery design last month.

Welter and his fellow Henderson experts have developed grocery design guidelines for infection control which include touchless doors and plumbing fixtures, converting self-service areas like bulk, food bars, and prepared foods to packaged or full service and implementing UVc light sanitation of surface areas.

He also encourages leveraging technology to reduce touchpoints in purchases, airport-style entry intro restrooms, adding thermal cameras at entry points, HEPA filtration of HVAC for strategic areas, UV lights in HVAC equipment, and increased ventilation throughout grocery stores.

As most retail shoppers have noticed, one-way aisles and dedicated entry and exit doors have become the norm and expanding curbside pick-up and drive-through options have benefits to limit the potential for virus transmission. Setting occupancy limits in stores and queueing the amount of people in the store at one time.

Henderson is the nation’s leading firm for grocery store MEP design. We’ve worked with retailers of all sizes throughout the country. Whether it’s new construction, remodel, or expansion of your grocery facility, we’ll help you incorporate the latest technology and efficient design into your store for a better experience. Our capabilities don’t stop at MEP; our services can be fully integrated to include fire & life safety, architectural lighting, and more.

With four decades of experience in grocery and retail design, Henderson has developed and integrated reliable and efficient refrigeration designs into all manner of facility types and sizes. Our in-house team of engineers combine refrigeration engineering expertise with in-store operations knowledge. We customize each design to create cost-effective, environmentally friendly systems.

Our experience goes beyond developing contract documents. With the ability to implement commissioning and functional performance testing, we can ensure reliable and efficient operation. We streamline the design and construction process and give you a system that meets your specific needs.