Sanitary & Utility Piping Design
Process Piping Engineering for Plants That Must Stay Clean
Hixson designs sanitary process and utility piping as part of a full in-house A&E team, so your P&IDs, equipment and building systems all line up.
- Sanitary piping designed to 3-A, FDA, USDA and SQF standards
- P&IDs, equipment lists and utility loads from one team
- Clean utilities for cGMP: WFI, purified water, clean steam
Designing food, beverage and cGMP plants since 1948 with 20 in-house disciplines.
Prefer to talk? Call 513-241-1230
Talk to a process piping engineer
Tell us about your plant and project. We will follow up to scope the work.
Why plant teams bring piping design to Hixson
One team, start to finish
Process, mechanical, electrical, controls, structural and architecture sit in-house. Fewer handoffs and fewer field conflicts.
Built for washdown and cGMP
We design sanitary process and utility piping to 3-A, AMI, FDA, USDA and SQF practice, with CIP-ability reviewed during design.
Piping tied to real process data
Mass and energy balances, process flow diagrams and P&IDs drive line sizing, utility loads and equipment specs.
Safety handled in design
HAZOP, LOPA and PSM support, plus ammonia refrigeration and combustible dust compliance built into the documents.
Through startup
Equipment procurement support, FAT/SAT, startup and commissioning, plus construction administration in-house.
Industry depth
Food, beverage, dairy, meat and poultry, pet food, nutraceutical, pharma and biotech plants across North America.
What our process piping engineering covers
Piping is where process, utilities and sanitation meet. Our process engineers develop the P&IDs and utility requirements, then our mechanical, plumbing and structural teams design the systems and supports that make them work in your building.
Because all 20 technical disciplines are in-house, the piping design is coordinated with equipment layouts, 3D models, controls and the plant structure before it reaches the field.
- Sanitary process piping and CIP-able circuits for food, beverage and dairy
- CIP skid sizing, chemical supply, spray device specs and cycle development
- Clean utilities for cGMP: WFI, USP purified water, clean steam and pure gases
- Plant utilities: process and domestic water, hot water, high-pressure rinse, compressed air, natural gas, sanitary and process drainage
- Thermal processing and pasteurization piping: HTST, UHT, retort and heat exchanger integration
- Industrial refrigeration piping for ammonia, freon and CO2 systems with PSM documentation
- P&IDs, line lists, equipment specifications and procurement support
- HAZOP review, FAT/SAT, startup and commissioning support
Trusted by leading manufacturers
“Driving every facility design decision we made (with Hixson) was the question: How can we produce safe, high-quality products while operating the plant more efficiently and smarter?”
“This project (designed and engineered by Hixson) is big for our company’s growth because it will more than double our capacity when it is fully ramped to scale.”
“(Together with Hixson,) we were able to figure out a way to not only keep this brewery going, but make it a world-class brewery in terms of quality and efficiencies.”
What happens after you reach out
We listen
Tell us the process, the product and what the piping has to do. We ask about utilities, sanitation and site limits.
We scope the work
Our engineers outline the deliverables you need, from P&IDs and line sizing to full construction documents.
You get a proposal
We send a written scope and fee for your review, then set a kickoff with the disciplines your project needs.
Frequently asked questions
How is process piping engineering priced?
Every project is scoped on its own. Fees depend on the process, the number of systems, the level of documentation and whether you need design only or support through startup. We put the scope and fee in writing before work begins.
Do you only do piping, or the whole project?
Both. We can handle piping design as part of a larger project or as a defined scope. Hixson has 20 in-house disciplines, including process, mechanical, plumbing, electrical, controls, structural and civil engineering.
Do you design sanitary piping for cGMP and food plants?
Yes. We design to 3-A Sanitary Standards, AMI principles, FDA, USDA and SQF, and we design clean utilities such as WFI, USP purified water, clean steam and pure gases for cGMP facilities.
Can you work on an existing plant instead of a new build?
Yes. We work on greenfield plants, expansions, retrofits and line additions, including tie-ins to existing utility infrastructure.
Where do you work?
We serve industrial and corporate clients across North America, including the United States and Canada. Our office is in Cincinnati, Ohio.
Do you build the piping too?
No. Hixson provides design and construction administration, not construction labor or equipment manufacturing. We support procurement, FAT/SAT, startup and commissioning.
Get your process piping scoped by engineers who know plants
Send us your project details and we will follow up to discuss scope, systems and next steps. Call 513-241-1230 or use the form.
- Sanitary piping designed to 3-A, FDA, USDA and SQF standards
- P&IDs, equipment lists and utility loads from one team
- Clean utilities for cGMP: WFI, purified water, clean steam
Prefer to talk? Call 513-241-1230