Silver Hill Foods : Environmental Project

This section of our website describes the progress of the Silver Hill Foods Environmental Project and is updated at regular intervals.

This section refers mainly to construction work - for related project activities and events including details of our Project Awards please visit our Latest News section.

To see the most recent photographs of site progress please scroll to the bottom of this page.

PROGRESS - GENERAL

Between November 2003, the official start date of the project in terms of the LIFE Programme, and May 2004 we successfully obtained planning permission, fully designed the process, fully specified the scope of supply for the different aspects of the process, initiated the procurement process for machinery, initiated the final design phase for the construction of the buildings and initiated the tendering process for these buildings.

Fulfilling the LIFE requirement of dissemination of project information during this time involved making presentations to Company employees and to various visitors including financial institutions, auditors, veterinary inspectors, customers etc.

In December 2003, the Environment Bulletin, a publication of the Department of the Environment, Heritage and Local Government, featured an article on the Silver Hill Foods Project. In the article, Mr. Martin Cullen, T.D., Minister for the Environment, Heritage and Local Government welcomed the success of our Project in securing co-funding from the European Commission under the environmental sector of the LIFE financial instrument. (Ref. Environment Bulletin Issue 57 – December 2003)

In April 2004, Silver Hill Foods presented the details of the project to a seminar hosted by DEFRA (London) in the Discovery Centre at Lough Neagh in County Armagh, Northern Ireland. This seminar aimed to provide information and help for parties interested in availing of the LIFE Programme and as current LIFE Programme participants, Silver Hill Foods Environmental Project Management Team was pleased to be invited to share its experiences of the LIFE Programme to date with other potential participants.

On May 19th 2004, the bulldozer arrived to begin site clearance and we had a visit from a local photographer and journalist to witness the “Turning of the Sod” on the site of the new Environmental Project. The photograph and a comprehensive description of the Project and its background featured in local press, The Northern Standard, the following week. (Ref. The Northern Standard - May 27th 2004)

Left to Right: Andrea Corrigan-Environmental Officer; Marion Donnelly-Financial Director; Raphael McEvoy-Environmental Manager; Stuart Steele-Managing Director.

On May 20th 2004 trial holes were dug marking the beginning of the construction phase of the Project. Over the ensuing 10 days the green field site was dug out, levelled and surfaced with stone. Simultaneously, a new roadway was constructed from the project site to the lower end of the existing Waste Water Treatment Plant.

The scene was now set for building to begin!

Throughout the month of May excavation work continued and by 3rd June we were pleased to be levelling the site with stone. Meanwhile, designs and drawings were progressing and by 9th July we were preparing foundations for the tanks, the digestor bunding and the main building.

One month later the tanks were beginning to emerge above ground and by the end of August installation of the tanks had been completed. Also by the end of August the steel frame of the main building had been erected. During the following two weeks, building of the office/laboratory block at the front of the main building began and the side and back walls of the main building were closed in. At this stage the front and roof of the building were left open to allow installation of equipment at a later date - due its scale the drying press would have to be lowered by crane through the roof.

During September the drying press frame was erected inside the main building and on 8th October we were pleased to see the safe arrival of the plates on site which would be stored until the arival of the remaining components of the drying system. Meanwhile numerous pre-cast pump sumps arrived on site the 5 digestors were nearing completion in a workshop off-site.

On 19th October the 5 digestors were delivered to the site and installation work commenced. On 20th October the remaining components of the drying press were lowered in and the roof was then finally closed over. This facilitated the installation of the drying press plates and by 3rd November all of the plates had been installed.

During the remainder of November and December 2004 work was mainly centred around pumping and pipework systems and this continues throughout January 2005. Also at this time a lot of work was carried out on the digestor feed system as can be seen in the photos below.

During February 2005 the main focus was on electrical requirements around the site and by the middle of March we were in a position to test pump stations. Once this had been successfully completed the commissioning of the remainder of the plant commenced.

Throughout April and May commissioning continued to test pipe work, storage tanks, aerators, the dissolved air flotation unit and digestors. As expected, commissioning identified some issues which required further fine-tuning.

Throughout June and July progress continued with IT equipment in the new plant laboratory and by the end of the month the Scada monitoring and control system was 80% complete. This left us in a position to control and monitor almost the entire process from the laboratory. This system can be completed upon final commissioning of the plant.

By August, hydraulic commissioning was complete on all plant with the exception of the drying unit. During September, work centred around planning the pelleting, packing and marketing of the final product and the highlight of the month was showcasing the new product at Glee 2005. (Please visit Latest News section for more detail of Silver Hill Foods Organic Duck Manure Pellets at Glee 2005)

In October the EPA issued our new IPPC Licence which is a revision of our original licence to incorporate activity at the new Slurry Treatment Plant. As a result, we are now planning to review and update our existing Environmental Management System to take account of our new Licence conditions.

During November we have been developing a sampling and monitoring regime to cover the elements of the plant which have already been successfully commissioned. We have also been working on the development of our automatic packing syste. Several trips were made to view packing options including a visit to WEFTEC in USA and Hortifair in Amsterdam.

In December some final work will be completed on our pelleting mill, we will continue development of our packing system and we look forward to announcing the commencement of full production early in 2006.