When the floor beneath your equipment isn’t built to handle the load, everything suffers — your production output, your team’s safety, and your bottom line. That’s the challenge So Good So You, a fast-growing food and beverage manufacturer, faced at their Inver Grove Heights, Minnesota facility. They needed a structural concrete equipment pad that could support new, high-capacity machinery and help their operations run faster and safer. Randahl Construction delivered.
The Problem: An Improperly Poured Floor That Couldn’t Keep Up
For facilities managers and business owners in food and beverage manufacturing, the concrete beneath your feet is rarely top of mind — until it becomes a problem. Cracked, uneven, or undersized slabs create a cascade of costly issues: equipment vibrates out of alignment, machinery sits unlevel, and workers navigate uneven surfaces that become tripping hazards on a daily basis.
So Good So You was preparing to bring in new equipment designed to operate at a significantly faster production pace. But before that machine could run, the floor had to be ready to handle it. The existing concrete simply wasn’t engineered for the load or the precision that modern equipment demands.
The Solution: A Purpose-Built Structural Equipment Pad
Randahl Construction handled the project from the ground up — literally. Our crew self-performed the saw cutting, demolition, and removal of the existing concrete, including a targeted 375 SF section and a 16’ x 15’ area to accommodate a new drain line. All excavated material was hauled off site, keeping the facility clean and the project timeline tight.
The new pad — measuring 15’ x 25’ and a full 12” thick — was built to last and built to spec. Key elements included a 10” compacted Class 5 base, a 5/8” double rebar mat at 12” on center, and 1/2” styrofoam isolation expansion at all edges per engineering plans. A smooth trowel finish was applied, and the slab was cured and sealed with 8000cs sealant. Special inspection and test results were supplied for full documentation and code compliance.
One added challenge: this pour was completed in cold environment conditions. To execute this pour, our team used a specially formulated high early concrete mix engineered to cure properly in low temperatures — ensuring the finished slab met every strength and performance specification, no matter what the thermometer read.
A dust protection barrier was erected at the job’s start to safeguard the active production area — because in food and beverage manufacturing, contamination and unexpected downtime are never an option.
The Impact: Faster Operations, Safer Workplaces
The results of this project speak directly to the pain points that keep facility managers up at night. With a properly engineered and level isolation pad in place, the new equipment can now run at peak performance without vibration issues or misalignment. That means faster production cycles and fewer costly interruptions.
From a safety standpoint, the impact is just as significant. Eliminating the deteriorated concrete removed trip hazards and uneven surfaces that put workers at risk every single shift. A compliant, smooth, sealed slab is easier to clean, maintains food safety standards, and creates a professional working environment that reflects the standards So Good So You holds itself to.
Is Your Facility Floor Holding You Back?
If you manage or own a manufacturing, food processing, or industrial facility and your concrete is cracked, outdated, or not built for today’s equipment — don’t wait for a breakdown or an injury to force the issue. Randahl Construction specializes in commercial and industrial concrete solutions that are engineered to perform, completed efficiently, and built to last.
Give us a call today. Let’s talk about what your facility needs to operate at its best.
