Powerit Solutions Helps Mission Produce Curb Energy Use During Its Global Expansion
Seattle, Washington (PRWEB) September 15, 2014 -- September 15, 2014 – Powerit Solutions (http://www.poweritsolutions.com), an international clean technology company that sets the demand management standard, today announced that Mission Produce (http://www.missionpro.com) will deploy Spara Demand Manager™ (DM) at a new avocado storage facility in Peru. The Spara DM™ technology links industrial facilities to the smart grid, so customers can effortlessly control energy use for savings and sustainability.
A global importer, processor and exporter of avocados, Mission Produce, which is based in Oxnard, California, was the first company to supply ripe fruit to retail, wholesale and food-service customers nationwide. This revolutionized the avocado industry, and Mission’s sales more than doubled from 2008 to 2013.
Growing and Reducing Operational Expenses
The company has fueled that growth, in part, by keeping tight control over product quality, waste and major operational expenses such as electricity. A critical component of Mission’s success is its demand management system – advanced technology that lets the company participate in smart grid programs, reduce peak electricity demand while maintaining quality and implement continuous operational improvements across multiple facilities with remote supervision from headquarters.
“This is the fourth country in which we’ll be supporting Mission,” says Kevin Klustner, Powerit’s CEO. “And, after standardizing and automating their control systems in the United States, Canada and Mexico, we’re exceedingly proud to be partnering with them in the same way in Peru. Powerit is growing right alongside Mission as it extends its thriving enterprise all over the world.”
Adds Jake Nixon, Mission’s Vice President of Engineering & Process Improvement: “Peru is an essential part of our global strategy, and to have Powerit, once again, as our partner, means that we’ll succeed on so many levels, as we have in the past.”
Mission Produce has been installing Powerit’s energy demand management technology since 2008, and Powerit now helps the produce company manage a load of approximately 8,300kW. This has helped Mission Produce save over $2 million.
Solving Problems and Generating Maximum Returns
“Historically, any time we’ve had problems with refrigeration systems, that has caused a cascade of issues and lessened our ability to use our fruit to its maximum potential and get maximum returns,” explains Nixon. “Prior to having Powerit Solutions at our external facilities, we were kind of blind to what was happening; we were going by word of mouth from people on-site who might not be technical. Now, we notice problems before they become big problems, and we can look at how we can prevent an issue from happening again. Looking back five years ago, we were constantly battling refrigeration issues, and each one could cost us $25,000 to $100,000. Today, it’s very rare for anything to happen that has a noticeable effect.”
Adds Nixon: “Operating out of a country such as Peru that is so far away, with a facility that is so remote, and producing product that requires long shelf life, a bulletproof system with the capabilities of Powerit’s is essential for success.”
Connecting to the Cloud
Mission Produce is now designing its new facilities to take advantage of the Spara system’s capabilities; and it’s also leveraging Spara Hub™, a new cloud-based tool from Powerit that provides advanced analysis, remote management, an enterprise-wide view of energy usage and savings. As a result, Mission Produce can now view up-to-date energy pricing data and real-time connections to smart grid programs. For more information about how Mission Produce uses the Spara system, please refer to this case study: http://www.poweritsolutions.com/index.php?id=923.
About Powerit Solutions
Powerit Solutions is a Seattle-based international cleantech company that sets the demand management standard. Its Spara DM™ technology links industrial facilities with the smart grid so customers can effortlessly control energy use for savings and sustainability. Spara uses sophisticated algorithms, built-in load-shedding intelligence and data drawn from equipment, electricity meters and utility transmissions to optimize facility energy use – without compromising production or quality.
For more information, visit the Powerit Solutions website: http://www.poweritsolutions.com
Steven Gottlieb, GreenC3, LLC, http://www.poweritsolutions.com, +1 (206) 427-9591, [email protected]
Share this article