Kwik Trip Distribution Center

Location: DeForest, Wisconsin

Areas of Expertise: HVAC

Kwik Trip’s new DeForest Distribution Campus marked a major expansion of the company’s logistics network. Spanning 151 acres, the development included a 280,000-square-foot distribution center, 45,000-square-foot truck maintenance facility, truck wash, and an on-site employee health clinic. Together, these facilities support more than 350 stores across Wisconsin and Illinois, strengthening efficiency and supply chain performance.

Hooper’s Mechanical Division – HVAC Team played a key role in the project, engineering and installing integrated heating, cooling, refrigeration, and DDC control systems designed for energy efficiency and long-term reliability. From early design and BIM coordination through final commissioning, Hooper collaborated closely with project partners to deliver sustainable systems on time and within budget.

The distribution center featured freezer, cooler, and dry storage areas, along with four temperature-controlled banana-ripening rooms. Hooper installed a 30-horsepower steam boiler, large rooftop air-handling units, ventilators, hoods, and condensers—many set by crane.

The truck maintenance facility included an in-floor heating system with 28,000 feet of PEX tubing for heat and snow melt, plus advanced ventilation for safety. The truck wash added another 8,000 feet of in-floor PEX tubing connected to a dedicated boiler system.

Hooper’s HVAC Controls team managed systems across the entire campus, including a large ammonia refrigeration system programmed to automatically shut down HVAC units during ammonia alarms—ensuring safe, reliable operations for Kwik Trip employees and facilities.