ST. PAUL, MN, JULY 13, 2017 -- Inalca SpA, a leading Italian meat processor and producer of charcuterie and snacks, significantly reduced water and energy use at its plant in Rieti, Italy, by partnering with Nalco Water, an Ecolab company. The partnership spanned several water management projects and resulted in annual savings of 3.7 million gallons (14 million liters) of water and more than $72,000 (€65,000).
"Our vision of sustainable development is constituted by our knowledge, activities and business processes that have the essential aim of analyzing, controlling and correlating the economic, environmental and social challenges that develop within our supply chain," said Roberto Clerici, operation manager at Inalca SpA. "Our commitment to environmental sustainability is based on reduction and optimization of energy and water consumption, biomass recycling, use of recycled paper and recyclable plastics, and waste reduction."
Inalca's Rieti plant, which produces canned meat products, utilizes the most modern technology available and has the capacity to process up to 40,000 tons of meat per year. The facility's heating plant, which consists of three boilers fueled by methane gas, generates the steam necessary for production. The plant's cogeneration system also uses methane gas to produce electrical energy and the heat from the exhaust fumes is used to produce steam and hot water.
"Inalca had several key business drivers for this project, with safety and food quality being the top priorities," said Alberto Serafini, vice president and market leader, Europe South for Ecolab. "We were charged with implementing solutions to reduce site water and energy consumption, reduce total cost of operation and improve site process operations."
Nalco Water partnered with Inalca on several projects at the Rieti plant:
For improved water preparation, replacement of the demineralizer (DEMI) plant with a Nalco Water reverse osmosis plant to reduce chemical use and total cost of operation;
To improve boiler asset reliability and reduce water and energy use, implementation of Nalco Water 3D TRASAR™ Boiler Technology;
For improved water reuse, vacuum pumps cooling water reuse as makeup water for evaporative condensers;
For improved cooling water reuse and recycling, installation of Stork® hydrostatic sterilizers and STOCK™ retorts sterilizers.
The projects at the Rieti plant were completed with zero accidents, and all sustainability and operational goals were met:
Implementation of 3D TRASAR Boiler Technology resulted in a reduction in water use of 14,000 cubic meters and annual savings of more than $11,000 (€10,250).
More than 2,400 gigajoules of gas were saved due to increased cycles of concentration within the boilers, saving more than $43,500 (€38,800) in annual gas costs.
More than 121,000 pounds (55,000 kilograms) of commodity chemicals saved through pretreatment and process enhancements, saving more than $17,500 (€15,600) annually.
More information on Ecolab's work to reduce water and energy use for Inalca and other customers can be found in the company's latest Sustainability Report, available at www.ecolab.com/sustainability/2016-sustainability-report.
About Inalca SpA
Inalca SpA is the leading beef processor in Italy and a leading beef processor in Europe. As Inalca SpA and Montana Alimentari SpA, the company produces and sells a complete range of vacuum-packed fresh and frozen meats, products portioned in a protective atmosphere, tinned meats, ready foods, fresh and frozen hamburgers, minced and pre-cooked meats. Inalca SpA has 2,500 employees and operates nine highly automated production plants, with five dedicated to beef processing and four for the production of charcuterie and snacks. Inalca SpA has the capacity to process 400,000 tons annually and Montana Alimentari SpA offers more than 230 charcuterie and snack products under the Montana and IBIS brands. For more information, visit www.inalca.it.
About Ecolab
Nalco Water is an Ecolab company. A trusted partner at more than one million customer locations, Ecolab (ECL) is the global leader in water, hygiene and energy technologies and services that protect people and vital resources. With 2016 sales of $13 billion and 48,000 associates, Ecolab delivers comprehensive solutions and on-site service to promote safe food, maintain clean environments, optimize water and energy use, and improve operational efficiencies for customers in the food, healthcare, energy, hospitality and industrial markets in more than 170 countries around the world. For more Ecolab news and information, visit Ecolab.com.
