New England Produce

Thirty years before the Revolutionary War, Faneuil Hall was established to provide Boston area farmers a place to sell their fruits and vegetables. The Faneuil Hall market area, today, one of Boston’s most popular tourist attractions, served as a produce distribution center until 1968, when the New England Produce Center was built in Chelsea, MA.

The New England Produce Center is the largest privately-owned terminal market in the country. New England Produce Center supplies fresh fruits and vegetables; and agriculturally related items, to wholesalers, retailers and food service customers serving the more than eight million people located from Connecticut in the South, to the Canadian border in the North, and all the Maritime Provinces of Canada in the East, to Albany, New York in the West.

The facility consists of 128 store units, 24 feet wide by 100 feet long.  At one point, early in its history the rail cars would off load onto the platforms, now the platforms are serviced by trucks. The truck loading platforms are situated at the front and rear of each unit and are 15 feet wide and completely covered. 

For years each customer gas meter was located inside each store unit. Under new gas requirements to be met by the end of calendar year 2018, Process Pipeline was requested to evaluate the feasibility of relocating the meters to a common meter bank outside the store units and come up with a design for the new supply header for each unit.

The four buildings were modified in so many ways over the years. We found meters under stairwells, in closets, behind walls, inside coolers, etc. It was a true puzzle. There was no real solution to install the new pipe headers within the buildings without disrupting the existing store owners.

Our only solution was the simplest and it protected the pipes from possible forklift strikes. Install the headers above the loading dock canopy.