Lime Technology’s innovative pre-fabricated wall panel system, Hemclad®, has helped Kanes Foods deliver the highest standards of sustainability at its new 10,000m2 factory in Middle Littleton. To date, it is the largest factory anywhere in the UK to be built using this revolutionary, new cassette walling system.

Demonstrating the company’s commitment to sustainable practices, Kanes Foods began an investment programme that included the creation of a new, cutting edge facility that would incorporate the latest ‘green’ technologies. For the building’s facade, Lime Technology’s Hemclad® proved ideal offering high thermal inertia, low U-values and negative embodied carbon.

As well as offering exceptional environmental performance, the off-site manufactured product Hemclad® can be erected quickly and simply on site.

The 3,500m2 application onto the building’s steel frame took approximately half the time expected – only 15 to 20 minutes for each individual Hemclad® panel – helping the project to be delivered within a short timeframe to exceed the client’s expectations.

Developed by Lime Technology, the Hemclad® system features bespoke timber cassettes which are manufactured in a controlled factory environment. They are filled with Tradical® Hemcrete® (a bio-composite insulating material made from a lime based binder and hemp shiv) and Breathe®, a hemp and flax fibre insulation to create a panel with low U-value. The panels are then delivered to site and lifted into place.

Kanes Foods’ new facility features an extensive range of sustainable initiatives that demonstrate the company’s commitment to improving its environmental performance. The building incorporates solar panels, a geothermal heat pump system to assist temperature continuity, rainwater harvesting for use in amenity areas and a bio-diverse green roof that includes a range of indigenous wild flowers.

The new Kanes Foods salad factory perfectly demonstrates the Hemclad® system’s ability to deliver exceptional environmental performance to large commercial buildings. Using this cutting edge new cladding system, Kanes Foods has succeeded in creating a facility that sets the new industry standard for salad production.