In the food manufacturing business, Joel Manecke says, it’s almost impossible to operate without variable-frequency drives (VFDs).
“It’s pretty critical,” says Manecke, manager of Specialty Products & Technology in Fosston, Minn. “I’ve run dryers in the past that didn’t have anything on them. But if you can’t change fan speeds, you really limit your capabilities.”
Manecke and Specialty Products & Technology have increased their efficiencies since upgrading existing VFDs and also installing them in a new building at its Fosston business over the past two years.
Specialty Products & Technology, which offers a variety of sweeteners made from pure honey and molasses, added a spray drying facility to its drum drying facility in 2013. The spray dryer is used to spray-dry honey and molasses powders.
The company ships its products, which are used in such things as barbecue sauces, dressings and breads, worldwide.
The VFDs will allow Specialty Products & Technology to save 100,436 kilowatt-hours (kWh) annually. Lighting upgrades will result in another 32,020 kWh savings each year. All told, the company had nearly 136,000 of kWh savings in 2013 because of the improvements.
Specialty Products & Technology is in a better position to see the improvements as well. It upgraded to T5 lighting in the old portion of its building and installed the same lighting in its new facilities, which were built to make room for the spray dyer.
“The T5 lighting is super-bright,” Manecke said. “You couldn’t see anything with the old lights.”
The kWh savings at Specialty Products & Technology, which is served by Fosston Municipal Utilities, helped the PowerSavers program meet its saving goal for the fourth straight year. Th e 2013 goal for the Minnkota/NMPA Joint System was 25,803,794 kWh. Year-end results showed a preliminary savings total of 27,240,896 kWh.
State law requires Minnesota electric utilities to invest a portion of their revenues each year in conservation improvement programs that promote energy-efficiency technologies and practices to their consumers. In order to meet the state’s requirements, the PowerSavers program was designed to help business and residential consumers become more efficient energy users through educational efforts and incentives.
Michelle Landsverk, Fosston community and economic development director, was pleased to see Specialty Products & Technology grow and add jobs with the multimillion dollar expansion.
“Obviously it’s very important that we have jobs, and good jobs, for people,” she said. “I’m very excited to see the expansion of this industry in our community, the new jobs and also the tax base that’s grown because of the facility here.”
Landsverk said Specialty Products & Technology has had steady growth. The company is one of the significant employers in a growing community.
“We have some momentum right now,” Landsverk said. “We have an awful lot going on. But we are handling it. We want to keep it going.”
This article was reprinted with permission from the May-June 2014 edition of the Minnkota Messenger.
