Puratos factory at Tunari — an extension of a food-ingredients production unit, developed for the Romanian subsidiary of the Belgian group Puratos, present in over 70 countries and specialized in solutions for bakery, patisserie and chocolate. With a built area of approximately 5,100 sqm, the new hall brings together production, raw-material and finished-product storage, alongside staff amenities, in a building connected to the existing factory across an irrigation canal. The project was developed in accordance with three international standards applied simultaneously: EHEDG Doc 44, FM Global and LEED.

Challenges

The project involved three types of complexity at once. Functional — integrating into a single building five different temperature regimes, dictated by technology that was partly new and partly relocated from the existing factory. Site-related — connecting to the adjacent factory, separated by an irrigation canal, and creating an acceleration/deceleration lane on the Bucharest ring road for safe access. Regulatory — designing in accordance with three international standards: EHEDG Doc 44 for food hygiene (a uniform requirement of the Puratos group), FM Global for fire safety and property protection, and LEED for sustainability, targeting Silver-level certification.

Solutions

• Five thermal regimes integrated into a single hall. Raw-material receiving and storage (22-25 °C), the production zone (22-25 °C, with each room of the flow separated by walls and high-speed doors), finished-product delivery and storage (18-20 °C), the refrigerated warehouse (5-10 °C) and the freezer warehouse (-18 °C). The thermal envelope, systems and flows were sized to support transitions between regimes without loss of efficiency.
• Simultaneous compliance with three international standards. The geometry of spaces, finish materials, drainage and flow separation were calibrated for EHEDG Doc 44 (food hygiene). The sprinkler system, compartmentation, structure and envelope were sized for FM Global (fire safety and property protection). Material selection, energy efficiency, indoor air quality and stormwater management were calibrated for LEED Silver. PPAE applied the requirements of the three standards in the architectural solutions; formal certification is coordinated separately by the beneficiary together with a specialist consultant.
• Connection to the existing factory across an irrigation canal. A 60.5 m link tunnel houses a pedestrian zone for staff and a two-way zone for forklift circulation between the existing factory and the new production body. A metal footbridge above the delivery area provides access to the staff amenities without disrupting the logistics flow.
• Road access infrastructure. The acceleration and deceleration lane built on the Bucharest ring road allows safe entry and exit of the transport fleet, integrated into the investment.

Result

For Puratos, a factory ready to support the expansion of the group's Romanian operations, compliant with the international standards applied uniformly across all its factories. For PPAE, a project that required simultaneous skills in industrial design, technological integration, road infrastructure and compliance with three demanding international standards — a rare competence in the Romanian design market.

Do you have an investment in a food factory, an extension of a production unit, or a project with international requirements (EHEDG, FM Global, LEED, BREEAM)? The PPAE team can support your project from concept to completion. Contact us