Faribault Foods started in 1895 as a vegetable company, and was known for small-sized, juicy corn kernels, tiny “petits pois” peas and a willingness to please its customers. Today, the processor makes canned vegetables, sauced beans, refried beans, baked beans, kids’ and family style pasta, soup, chili and organic and Mexican specialties.
The Xcel Energy award was based on results at the processor’s Faribault, MN plant, where natural gas usage has been reduced by 38.2% since 2007. This reduction was achieved by an innovative system, which captures and transfers energy from heated water within the plant to water entering the plant, and was created by Faribault Foods, in partnership with Thermo-Environmental Systems. Given the substantial amount of energy used in the processor’s water-intensive cooking systems, this had a dramatic effect on the natural gas consumption in the plant.