Knauf Insulation

Plant 1 Expansion

The Applied team (consisting of Applied Engineering, Fink Roberts & Petrie, and Browning Day Mullins Dierdorf Architects) was selected by Knauf Insulation GmbH to perform the design work for a $240 million expansion of their manufacturing operations in Shelbyville, Indiana. The new plant produces commercial and industrial insulations for the U.S. market.

The project included a new 374,000-square-foot warehouse, new production facilities, and the associated utility and raw material support systems/structures. The project required a high-voltage electrical substation; a chemical compounding plant; a utility building; a batch house for glass-making raw materials; and new production lines with associated support processes.

Applied’s work included all of the architectural, civil, foundation, and the majority of the mechanical and electrical design. Selection and design of the batch house, wet electrostatic precipitator, regenerative thermal oxidizers, the production equipment, and packaging equipment was performed by Knauf with several OEMs that specialize in fiberglass manufacturing equipment. The Applied team was responsible for many of the support structures and the utility hookups for this OEM equipment. Applied was also responsible for overall site planning and development, including access roads, parking lots, utility relocation/improvements, fire protection, and landscaping.

The design work began in August 2004. Construction began in February of 2005. The project was designed and built in seven phases, with final construction completed in 2008.

This project received the Grand Prize Award from ACEC Indiana in its 2008 Engineering Excellence Awards competition.