Innovation From the Ground Up - Seite 3

Wysocki added that these innovations are "not so much a top-down driven exercise, although corporate sets out the challenge."

It really helps drive that engagement, it also enables team members to see that they're making a big impact.

MICHAEL WYSOCKI, ENGINEERING MANAGER AT FONTANINI FOODS

Citing an example, he says an oven operator, "one of our second-shift team leaders led a focus group on figuring out how to recover a lot of the oil that is generated inside these ovens, some of that grease and stuff that cooks off the product. Historically, we had to separate it out using expensive equipment and chemicals in our wastewater pretreatment operation before it would eventually get discharged to our local water district."

Wysocki's team "really dug deep and came up with some pretty cool ways" to recover more oil. "Working with my team we were able to modify some pumps and controls and give them the tools that they need," he said. "Then our vendor would haul some of this material away and give us some credits for it."

_{A BOOST FOR MORALE}
And the Bottom Line

Saving energy and being better environmental stewards is a morale boost for team members, Wysocki said. Through a reporting structure devised by the industrial engineering group, workers can see what's working and what could be improved.

"It really helps drive that engagement," Wysocki said. It also enables team members to see that they're making a big impact.

Energy conservation has become more important in recent years as fuel costs have risen, Wysocki added. "Food plants inherently have a lot of utility demand," especially when you have to have a refrigerated facility. "So we have a unique opportunity to make a big impact on utility costs by being able to innovate and share ideas. If you can reduce those costs, that has a huge impact on the bottom line."

Even relatively minor changes, Sieren notes, such as replacing lighting in the facility with LED bulbs, can make a significant difference, financially and for the environment.

"But there's always more we can look at," he said. "There's a lot of good things going on, but a lot of more good things to come."

Foto: Accesswire

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Contact Info:
Spokesperson: Hormel Foods Corporation
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SOURCE: Hormel Foods Corporation

View the original press release on accesswire.com


The Hormel Foods Stock at the time of publication of the news with a fall of -1,44 % to 31,46EUR on NYSE stock exchange (15. Dezember 2023, 17:06 Uhr).