Among US food plants, new constructions often take all the credit for having the most advanced operations. They have the greenfield sites, robots on day one, and a clean slate to work from.
But many companies are working with buildings and equipment that are decades old. So we compiled a list of 10 American food plants, half of which have operated since before 1990, that boosted their efficiency through a technology investment. Each project is a retrofit.
Some of these plants weren't able to separate individual losses from the plant-wide total. Others needed to update systems that weren't operating on the same level as the rest of the facility. For example, Tyson was operating its refrigeration system at higher discharge pressures than required, and Flowers was relying on a 300-horsepower compressor before transitioning to a 150-horsepower variable frequency model. Addressing inefficiencies like these unlocks major gains in equipment that's already installed and paid for.
Unrealized losses
3 projects
These losses stayed invisible for three different reasons: averaged reporting at one plant, scheduled spot checks at another, and an untracked line at the third. Specialized equipment made each one visible.
01
General Mills
Hannibal, Missouri · Mexican foods · operating since 1972
Starting pointUtility use was reported as plant-level averages, which didn't separate a typical production day from a high-consumption one.
What they installedGeneral Mills implemented a smart target dashboard using production and weather regression models to set utility targets that change with conditions. The solution included live monitoring that flags deviations for same-day fixes.
The resultUtility expenses decreased by about $500,000. Savings included water tower consumption worth $180,000 a year, a steam cooker running at a rate equal to nearly $200,000 annually, and a compressor drawing about $8,000 a month. The dashboard traced each of these costs to a specific piece of equipment.
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02
Smithfield Packaged Meats
Kinston, North Carolina · ham steaks · plant built 2006
Starting pointLine-level reporting didn't time-stamp or count forming film use on a packaging line.
What they installedSmithfield purchased three machine-vision cameras watching the forming film line, costing $18,000. The company describes them as basic plug-and-play units its maintenance department installed and operated.
The resultFilm waste decreased 75%. Forming film savings totaled $167,000 a year, in addition to about $2,000 in avoided landfill cost. Payback took just under one month.
03
Conagra Brands
Council Bluffs, Iowa · frozen meals · operating since about 1978
Starting pointCompressed air leaks, steam leaks, and early-stage equipment faults can develop between scheduled inspection rounds, and fixed-route inspection covers the plant only while an operator is walking it.
What they installedConagra deployed an autonomous four-legged robot that walks fixed inspection routes, detecting compressed air and steam leaks, thermal hot spots, and equipment anomalies without an operator present.
The resultThe robot completed 358 inspections with success rates above 85%. It found eight air leaks and one steam leak worth nearly $7,500 a year combined. It also detected compressor anomalies and pump and motor deviations that the Department of Energy puts at an estimated $81,000. Payback came in under a year.
Legacy systems
4 projects
Refrigeration, compressors, and lighting were still calibrated to a previous production setup. Three solutions involved scaling down or lowering a setpoint, and the fourth eliminated a cooling tower entirely.
04
Flowers Foods
Lynchburg, Virginia · organic bread · bakery about 40 years old at conversion
Starting pointThe 40-year-old bakery was converting to organic production, but lighting, compressed air, and boiler systems were sized for an earlier era.
What they installedFlowers completed a full LED conversion. A 150-horsepower variable-frequency compressor replaced a 300-horsepower fixed-speed unit, and heat recovery from a thermal oxidizer allowed the plant to remove two gas boilers.
The resultEnergy intensity dropped 22.6%. Water intensity went from 389.9 to 140 gallons per ton, down 64.1%. Both were normalized per ton of product, keeping production volume constant.
05
Tyson Foods
Robards, Kentucky · poultry · in Kentucky more than 30 years
Starting pointSix ammonia refrigeration compressors were running at higher discharge pressure than the load required.
What they installedTyson optimized refrigeration controls, reducing discharge pressure by 10 psi across all six compressors, with higher suction temperatures.
The resultInitially, the projected energy savings was 2,217,495 kWh a year. Four months' worth of utility bills confirmed an annual savings of 2,100,000 kWh. Tyson then implemented the same change at plants in Arkansas and Mississippi.
06
Boardman Foods
Boardman, Oregon · onion processing · privately held, roughly 200 employees · plant built 1992
Starting pointCompressed air was feeding the onion peeling process continuously, whether or not the line needed it.
What they installedBoardman placed automated controls and intermittent air jets on the peeling process, so air fired on demand instead of running constantly.
The resultCompressed air demand declined 70%, about 700,000 kWh a year. That's the largest percentage cut to a single energy system in this list.
07
PepsiCo / Quaker Oats
Bridgeview, Illinois · cereals and snacks
Starting pointThree water-cooled air compressors required a dedicated cooling tower, with their waste heat vented rather than recovered.
What they installedAir-cooled compressors replaced the water-cooled units, plus two heat recovery systems. The cooling tower was eliminated.
The resultThe project reduced about 400 metric tons of CO2 equivalent a year, roughly 8% of the plant's annual emissions, as well as an estimated 500,000 gallons of water. One change impacted two utilities.
Recoverable water
3 projects
In each of these three projects, purchased and treated water was being discharged to the sewer.
08
Hormel Foods Progressive Processing
Dubuque, Iowa · shelf-stable meals · opened 2010
Starting pointReverse osmosis concentrate from the retort water systems was going to drain, taking treated water and salt with it.
What they installedHormel placed a reverse osmosis concentrate reuse loop on the retort water systems, retrofitted into existing retorts.
The resultThe plant recovered 7.28 million gallons of water a year. Facility-wide water use decreased 8%, and wastewater was down 10%. The project was completed in phases across five months.
09
Nestlé Health Science
Eau Claire, Wisconsin · nutritional beverages · company on site since 1987
Starting pointA plant in a region the company classified as high water stress was discharging rather than recovering process water.
What they installedThey adopted a reverse osmosis water recovery system running above 90% recovery.
The resultThe initiative saved more than 26 million gallons of water a year, the largest water volume on this list, and 37 metric tons of CO2 equivalent.
10
Nestlé USA, Gerber
Fort Smith, Arkansas · baby food · on the same site since 1964
Starting pointCooling tower water treatment was dependent on chemical dosing, which caps how many times the water can be cycled before it's discharged as blowdown.
What they installedAn electrochemical cooling tower water treatment system was installed in 2022 to treat the water and cut chemical reliance. More cycles of concentration lead to less blowdown, which reduces the energy bill.
The resultNestlé reported 14,000 cubic meters of water saved a year. The Department of Energy credits the project with the same water savings, plus 25,000 MMBtus of energy annually.
The savings were already on site
These 10 projects share a starting point. In every case the savings were inside a system the plant already owned. Tyson changed a setpoint on compressors it had been running for years. Boardman added controls to a line that was already peeling onions. Smithfield installed three cameras at a packaging machine, spent $18,000, and recovered $167,000 a year.
When planning your next capital request, consider that some of these projects led to additional utility savings. PepsiCo replaced water-cooled compressors to cut energy, removed a cooling tower along the way, and saved an estimated 500,000 gallons of water. Nestlé's treatment system at Fort Smith was a water project that also returned 25,000 MMBtus of energy. A business case scored on kilowatt-hours alone would have undercounted both.
Verification is also a key factor in a project's success. Tyson's Robards plant compared its 2,217,495 kWh projection to four months of utility bills and confirmed an annual savings of 2,100,000 kWh. That confirmation is what made the same project fundable at two more plants. Eight of these 10 projects were documented through the Department of Energy's Better Buildings and Better Plants program, which any company with US manufacturing operations can join at no cost. A verified result is the primary differentiator for the plants on this list.
If you do one thing
Ask about the most recent adjustment to your utility setpoints, including process water, refrigeration, and compressed air. If they haven't been revisited since startup, they're good candidates for your next project.
