ROBINSON, Ill. – 177,726 square feet. A two-story addition. Multi-phased design-build.

Those are a few easy ways to sum up The Korte Company’s recent work for The Hershey Company.

Cutting-edge construction software made this not-so-straightforward job possible. It’s the first of its kind in Korte history.

Hershey first built its original, Robinson, Ill.-based Hershey Gateway packaging and processing facility in the 1950s. It was ideal in its day, but as demand for Mounds and Almond Joy boomed, production outgrew its wall. In 1991, Korte completed a 250,000-square-foot addition.

In 2023, Korte completed a 177,726-square-foot expansion aimed to accommodate increased truck loading and liquid processing while improving workplace conditions without disrupting ongoing business operations.

To manage the project’s complexity, Korte relied on a phased work schedule over a two-year period. Phase two involved a two-story processing and packaging addition with many layers. A special combination of software and talent enabled Korte to design and install multiple layers of suspended, mixed flexible piping. It was essential to understand where all these systems were going to go so they didn’t run into each other.

Designers using Revit and Navisworks visualized wall thickness, layout, facility equipment and details like piping and ductwork. Consultant TWM and Hershey’s in-house BIM team surveyed existing structure and then shared 3D point clouds with the project team. This was far more accurate than referencing the facility’s original, hand-drawn blueprints as a point of reference.

Thanks to the technological accuracy and granularity of this data, design and construction planning could commence even as plans changed while the project evolved.