RMH Foods
RMH Foods is the latest evolution of the Rocke family business that began in 1937 as a local butcher shop and smokehouse. Jon Rocke, president of RMH Foods, wanted to change the business focus to the manufacturing of nationally distributed premium entrees. ENTEC is a key partner in the change.
"ENTEC's consultative approach and professional service were critical to the successful performance of this facility."
–Wayne Rocke,
RMH Foods
Becoming a nationwide distributor of specialty food products required the construction of an efficient processing plant to prepare, cook, and package meat products in accordance with RMH’s exacting standards and rigid USDA requirements.
The project also faced a compressed schedule for completion. The 60,000 square-foot plant had to be built and operational in a matter of months to meet the expectations of corporate partners and clients.
Between December of 2001 and May of 2002, when the environmental systems designed and installed by ENTEC were turned on, ENTEC President Tom Weed and project manager Don Howerter made it their mission that RMH products would get from Rocke’s meating haus to yours.
An important part of ENTEC’s solution for refrigeration included the Blast Cell, an area within the Chill Cooler where entrees are stored right after they come out of the oven for quick-chilling. ENTEC’s design for the Blast Cell has proven to be very beneficial to RMH, as capacity and performance actually exceed original specifications. This gives RMH more flexibility to accommodate broader temperature ranges for cooking and chilling new products in the future.
A custom-designed direct digital control (DDC) system monitors the equipment 24-7, assuring that daily USDA inspections continue to rate RMH products as exceeding government standards.
“I am as proud of this project as anything I’ve ever done,” says Howerter, a 20-year ENTEC employee. ENTEC’s client, Jon Rocke, credits Weed and his staff for their ability to quickly assess the project’s scope and develop a reliable solution, which equates to about 350,000 individual entrees each week.
