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News Releases |
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For Immediate Release
January, 2008
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Contact Information:
Juliet A. Boghossian
310.832.8000, ext. 2142
jboghossian@contessa.com
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Contessa Premium Foods Opens First and Largest LEED-Certified Frozen Food-Manufacturing Plant in the World
Contessa Sets New Industry Standard in Environmental Responsibility
January 07, 2008 - LOS ANGELES HARBOR, Calif.—
On Oct. 18, Contessa Premium Foods offered a VIP sneak peek of its revolutionary Green Cuisine™ Plant, the world's first and largest environmentally responsible, LEED-certified frozen-food manufacturing plant. The event offered Contessa business associates, political dignitaries and green-minded influencers to get the first glimpse of the facility via tours led by Contessa President and CEO John Z. Blazevich and company representatives.
The presentation portion of the event, hosted by Sara Snow of Discovery Health Channel's "Get Fresh with Sara Snow," included a proclamation by the city of Commerce, renaming the street where the plant is located "Contessa Drive."
This is the first time the U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC) has awarded LEED certification to a frozen-food manufacturing facility, thereby setting a new industry standard. The LEED rating system is the national standard for the design, construction and operation of green buildings, and recognizes five areas of environmental and human health: sustainable site development, water savings, energy efficiency, indoor environmental quality and selection of materials.
Located in Los Angeles, the new plant — a 4-million-cubic-foot facility, costing more than $40 million, that will produce up to 150 million pounds of product the first year alone — will use advanced design and technology to significantly reduce Contessa's environmental impact. The facility, its processes, and the product manufactured there will be known as "Green Cuisine."
"Until now, the USGBC has never LEED-certified a frozen-food manufacturing facility," said John Z. Blazevich, CEO and President of Contessa. "As a leader in our industry, we didn't wait for environmental standards to be established. Instead, we collaborated with LEED and decided to raise the bar for the entire industry and to do the right thing for the long-term sustainability of our environment."
The new Contessa plant excels in all five areas of the LEED rating system. Some of the more notable features include:
- A solar-power array that reduces carbon dioxide emissions by more than 730,000 pounds each year, producing an effect similar to conserving 276 acres of pine forest — roughly the size of 209 football fields, including end zones — each year.
- A heat-recovery system that captures waste heat from the refrigeration system and redirects it to preheat water for the plant's boilers.
- Variable frequency drives that adjust the amount of power supplied to motors at specific times or under specific conditions to minimize energy use.
- An innovative loading dock that prevents the loss of refrigerated air, reducing temperature fluctuation — and energy use — in the loading dock area.
In order to surpass LEED standards, Blazevich and his engineering team also developed "first-to-market" innovations, such as a heat-recovery system that has never before been used in a temperature-controlled environment. The system involves "stripping" and capturing waste heat produced by superheated refrigerant gases as they leave refrigeration compressors. These gases are redirected to a heat exchanger, where they flow through tubes within a water-filled shell, heating the water and cooling the gas. The water is sent to a tank where it's stored for use in the plant's boilers. Because the water is pre-heated, the boilers don't need to consume as much energy to bring the water up to the temperature required for a certain task. The gas eventually returns to the compressors to begin the cycle again.
In addition to using modernist systems and technology designed to reduce water and energy consumption and waste when the plant is in use, every effort was made to address environmental concerns during the building's construction. For example, many of the building materials contained recycled content, and almost half the materials were sourced within 500 miles of the site to support the local economy and reduce the amount of fossil fuel consumed during transportation.
Blazevich continued, "We are breaking new ground by opening the first fully temperature-controlled, energy-efficient plant of its kind. The freezing and refrigeration processes used for Contessa Green Cuisine products ensure the highest quality and freshness and will have consumers rethinking what frozen food means to them."
The Green Cuisine Plant is just one example of Contessa's ongoing commitment to the environment and paramount quality. Since its inception, the Company has used methods of shrimp production that are considered entirely turtle-safe, and Contessa shrimp is farm-raised and harvested through a process known as aquaculture — the cultivation of aquatic plants and animals — which is an ideal way to augment the world's food supply.
For more information about Contessa and its new Green Cuisine Plant, please visit www.contessa.com.
About Contessa Premium Foods, Inc.
An environmentally responsible food manufacturer, CONTESSA PREMIUM FOODS, INC. produces innovative, high-quality, flavorful frozen foods. Contessa's Green Cuisine™ plant is the first LEED-Gold-certified frozen-food manufacturing plant in the world. Often imitated but never equaled, Contessa exceeds consumer expectations by combining inventiveness, convenience, value and unmatched standards of consistent quality in everything it does. Known as "America's Favorite Shrimp®," Contessa has been a leader in premium seafood since its inception. Today, its portfolio has grown to include additional specialty seafood, Green Cuisine convenience meals, gourmet stir-fry vegetables and more. Contessa imports, processes and distributes its products throughout North America, Europe and Asia, and markets to retail, club, food-service and private-label channels. Dedicated to environmental responsibility in all areas of its business, Contessa leads the way in "green" business practices, from the way it harvests its products to the materials used in its packaging. And, in a move that set a new industry standard, Contessa's Green Cuisine plant became the first of its kind in the world to achieve LEED certification. The facility, its processes, and the products manufactured there are known as "Green Cuisine."
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