Engineering Scope

Sugar Process Engineering

Process design for cleaning, extraction, clarification, purification, concentration, crystallization, centrifugation, drying, and refining. Deliverables can include balances, PFDs, P&IDs, equipment sizing, layouts, operating narratives, and utility-load definition.

Liquid Sweetener Systems

Engineering for liquid sugar, glucose, corn syrup, invert syrup, caramel, maple, and specialty sweetener systems, including receiving, storage, filtration, ion exchange, blending, cooking, distribution, filling, and CIP.

Evaporation & Crystallization

Multiple-effect evaporation, vapor recompression interfaces, crystallizers, vacuum systems, heat recovery, condensate recovery, and steam distribution evaluated through mass and energy balances and coordinated with operating constraints.

Dry Sugar Handling & Packaging

Bulk sugar storage, silos, conveying, screening, drying, cooling, dust collection, weighing, bagging, bulk loadout, and palletizing systems. Designs account for product flow, housekeeping, maintenance, and combustible-dust requirements.

Water & Effluent Systems

Raw and process water treatment, condensate reuse, filtration, cooling water, effluent segregation, pretreatment, and anaerobic digestion interfaces coordinated with production mass balance and permit criteria established by the owner.

Plant Utilities & Energy Integration

Steam, power, compressed air, cooling water, HVAC, plumbing, and biomass or energy-recovery interfaces for energy-intensive processing. LAPORTE evaluates utility loads, distribution, equipment tie-ins, and brownfield capacity constraints.

Electrical & Automation Engineering

Electrical distribution, MCCs, drives, instrumentation, PLC, HMI, SCADA, sequencing, historian, and network architecture across process, utility, storage, and packaging systems, with FAT/SAT, commissioning, and startup support. Refining and material-handling projects can add Purdue-model OT segmentation, network rack configuration, UL 508A panel build and installation, under fixed-fee or managed T&M terms.

Combustible Dust Coordination

Dust capture, collection, ventilation, and electrical area coordination based on the process and project-specific combustible-dust hazard analysis. Designs address applicable NEC and NFPA requirements without separating safety systems from process operation.

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Plant and Facility Work near West Chester, PA

Cane Sugar Refining Beet Sugar Processing Liquid Sugar & Syrups Caramel & Specialty Syrups Specialty Sweeteners & Additives Dry Sugar Storage & Packaging

Local and Project Context near West Chester, PA

Six US Offices
Project teams work from six US offices: West Chester PA (headquarters), Columbus OH, Chicago IL, Rochester NY, Durham NC, and Denver CO. That footprint supports site visits, construction support, and commissioning across the country.
PE-Licensed in 21 States
LAPORTE Professional Engineers are licensed in 21 US states. Deliverables are stamped and sealed for permitting, insurance, and regulatory review wherever the facility is located.
Sector-Specific Engineering
LAPORTE engineers sugar refining and liquid-sweetener plants across process, MEP, electrical, and automation disciplines. Extraction, evaporation, crystallization, and drying are engineered with energy integration, water and effluent systems, dust control per NEC and NFPA, and automation across process, utility, and packaging systems.
Regulated-Industry Documentation
Work is built around the codes and documentation these facilities run under, from NEC and NFPA to FDA, USDA, and cGMP requirements, so deliverables hold up to permitting and audit review.

Engineering Leadership

Photo of Nate Kocher, P.E.
Nate Kocher, P.E.
Partner, Director of Electrical and Automation Engineering
LAPORTE • West Chester, PA

Engineering and management consultant with 15+ years of work in control systems, power distribution and systems integration for food, beverage and pharmaceutical manufacturers.

  • P.E. Licensed in 21 States
  • Penn State, B.S. Electrical Engineering
  • West Chester University, MBA
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Photo of Keith Morgart, P.E.
Keith Morgart, P.E.
Electrical and Automation Engineer
LAPORTE • Greater Pittsburgh, PA

Electrical power and controls engineer whose work includes power distribution, motor controls and code compliance for industrial and commercial facilities.

  • P.E. Licensed Professional Engineer
  • University of Pittsburgh at Johnstown, B.S. Electrical Engineering
  • NEC, NFPA and IEEE standards
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Representative Project Work

pet food • multidiscipline
Project need: A pet food manufacturer required engineering design for a new 370,000 sq ft greenfield production facility ($315M total constructed cost).
LAPORTE scope: LAPORTE provided preliminary and detailed engineering for MEP, automation, instrumentation, and process. Scope included 45 HVAC units, ammonia refrigeration with micro-charging, air compressors, boilers, 40 MBTU cooling tower, chiller skids (2,300 TR), and wastewater treatment. Services included procurement, construction administration, startup, and commissioning with a team of 35.
Outcome: The greenfield facility was designed and constructed as a fully integrated production plant.
food & beverage • automation
Project need: A nutrition company required engineering for a greenfield whey protein plant ($800M total constructed cost) including receiving, heat treatment, filtration, and drying systems.
LAPORTE scope: LAPORTE provided project management, preliminary and detailed engineering design for process and automation, design of automation architecture (50+ control panels, networks, operator stations, control room), procurement support, and commissioning (IQ/OQ/PQ). Scope included HTST heat treatment, disc stack centrifuges, membrane filtration (UF/NF/RO), crystallization, evaporation, spray drying, and CIP.
Outcome: The greenfield whey protein plant was designed and commissioned.
pharmaceutical • multidiscipline
Project need: A national research organization required a new Biologics Manufacturing Centre with biological containment level CL2 for vaccine candidate production (5,000 m², $126M total constructed cost).
LAPORTE scope: LAPORTE provided engineering and construction supervision for the new facility including two cell culture suites (500L and 2,000L), purification by chromatography, vial filling, secondary packaging, warehouse, offices, mechanical/electrical rooms, and QC laboratory. The facility was designed in accordance with GMP requirements.
Outcome: The Biologics Manufacturing Centre was completed and designed for vaccine production.

Project Questions

What sugar and sweetener processes does LAPORTE support?
LAPORTE supports receiving, extraction, purification, filtration, evaporation, crystallization, centrifugation, drying, storage, liquid distribution, packaging, water treatment, utilities, electrical systems, and automation for sugar and sweetener facilities.
Can LAPORTE engineer evaporation and crystallization systems?
Yes. LAPORTE can develop mass and energy balances, equipment and heat-transfer criteria, P&IDs, utility requirements, control narratives, and layouts for evaporation, crystallization, vacuum, condensate-recovery, and related steam systems.
Does LAPORTE design liquid sugar handling systems?
Yes. LAPORTE engineers receiving, filtration, ion exchange, storage, blending, heating, distribution, loading, filling, and CIP systems for liquid sugar and syrups, with coordinated utilities, instrumentation, power, and controls.
How does LAPORTE address combustible sugar dust?
LAPORTE designs dust capture, collection, ventilation, material transfer, and related electrical systems using process data, a project-specific combustible-dust hazard analysis, and applicable NEC and NFPA requirements. The scope can also address housekeeping and equipment access.
Can LAPORTE support brownfield sugar plant modernization?
Yes. LAPORTE can evaluate process and utility bottlenecks, field conditions, control-system obsolescence, electrical capacity, water and effluent loads, and construction phasing, then develop upgrades for implementation in an operating facility.

Engineering support in nearby areas

Engineering support for West Chester, PA

LAPORTE Consultants
Suite 200, 158 West Gay Street
West Chester, PA 19382
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