An Energy Conservation Program in the Food Industry

Abstract

General Foods Corporation is one of the largest food manufacturing companies in the United States. It's brand names are well known, covering a wide range of food products. Maxwell House coffee, Post cereals, Birds Eye frozen vegetables, Jell-O desserts and Kool-Aid powdered drink mixes are some of the more prominent ones. The company also manufactures some food ingredients, such as gelatin and dehydrated vegetables, for other manufacturers. There are 19 manufacturing facilities in the United States making these products. They range in size from less than 50 employees to over 1,000. They're each a part of the Corporate Energy Conservation Program and their annual energy consumption ranges from 10,000 MBTU's to 1,800,000 MBTU's. Because of these differences in product lines and size, each facility has a unique energy consumption pattern and needs a unique approach to the energy conservation task.