Newly Weds Foods is an industry leading manufacturer of intermediate food products including batters, breadings, and seasonings. Based in Chicago, the company has 22 manufacturing plants worldwide, and serves customers in 68 countries. Their 150,000 square foot plant in Watertown, Mass. runs 24 hours a day, six days a week and uses approximately 1/2 million pounds of flour daily.
Beginning in 2007, energy efficiency emerged as a priority for Newly Weds due to increases in energy and raw material costs that put pressure on profitability. At the same time, NSTAR began a concerted effort to help Newly Weds reduce energy consumption at its Watertown plant. In partnership with NSTAR, Newly Weds completed three major energy efficiency projects in 2008, including:
- A comprehensive lighting project, incorporating High Performance T-8 and T-5 HO systems, occupancy sensors and daylighting;
- A new high efficiency compressed air system with a variable speed drive, a cycling dryer, and a point of use desiccant dryer; and
- A replacement high efficiency bread line vertical dust collector, utilizing gravity dust separation and premium efficiency motors with variable speed drives.
Newly Weds' continues to work with NSTAR on energy efficiency opportunities for 2009 and beyond. Newly Weds’ Watertown plant is a model for energy efficiency project development within the company. It intends to take lessons learned from its Watertown facility to each of the other 12 plants in the U.S., and to evaluate their viability for overseas locations as well.