Customer: California Polytechnic University
Location: San Luis Obispo, CA
Product: Stainless Steel Slot Drain with Flush-Flo and CIP
Construction projects take a lot of careful planning. Every detail requires consideration and quality products. California Polytechnic State University’s (Cal Poly) new project is no different. Their plans for the College of Agriculture, Food, and Environmental Sciences (CAFES) are big: a new building that will be home to their wine and viticulture program.
The JUSTIN and J. LOHR Center for Wine and Viticulture is the newest undertaking of Cal Poly’s CAFES. The Center, which is a $20 million 100% donor-funded project, will be a state-of-the-art building that will serve as a learning hub for the college. This new learning hub will be the home of the College’s Wine and Viticulture Program.
Part of the facility will include the 12,000 sq. ft. Grange Hall, which will focus on the learning aspects of the facility. It will consist of viticulture and enology labs, lecture and reception areas, shared offices for both students and faculty, and an events hall.
Aside from Grange Hall, the Center will also feature a 15,600 sq. ft. winery, which will include the usual parts of a working winery, including a fermentation area, bottling and barrel rooms, and research labs. The winery will be for both for student and commercial wines.
Just like any food and beverage production facility, the proper drainage system is critical to creating a properly functioning winery. Having a drainage system in place helps to ensure the winery will remain sanitary and contamination-free.
Wineries deal with large amounts of water every day during the wine-making process. When that water has nowhere to go, it is left sitting on the ground where it creates not only slipping hazards but the perfect breeding ground for bacteria and other pathogens to grow and spread.
The easy solution to this is to have floor drainage in place to manage wastewater, which will help to ensure that floors stay clean and dry, and the winery and products do not face potentially hazardous contamination.
While the JUSTIN and J. LOHR Center for Wine and Viticulture is still in the beginning stages of construction, much of the groundwork is already in place, including the installation of Slot Drains as the chosen floor drain system.
Slot Drain’s food-grade stainless steel floor drains are an ideal option for wineries, as they are made from non-porous, bacteria-resistant stainless steel. They’re also heat- and corrosion-resistant, so they will not erode with exposure to acidic or caustic substances.
Beyond that, the Slot Drain comes pre-assembled and pre-sloped, which helps to create an easy, stress-free installation process. Since the system is ADA-compliant, it is a great choice, as it will ensure the facility is easily accessible to all types of students, faculty members, and guests.
Slot Drains are also easy to maintain. With options like self-cleaning and flushing systems, cleaning the channel is a quick task that can be done by a couple of people in a short amount of time. Again, its ability to handle the caustic cleaning solutions wineries use to sanitize their facilities also means that the chemicals will not harm the system in any way.
Winery drainage is important for many reasons, and Slot Drain is an excellent option to fit those needs. The JUSTIN and J. LOHR Center for Wine and Viticulture at Cal Poly is an excellent example of what a slot drain can do for a winery. This system is incredibly reliable, offers a durable design, and is incredibly easy to maintain. With a Slot Drain in place, this new facility will remain a sanitary, uncontaminated place of creation and learning.
