Mid-sized Cold Storage Warehouse in Texas benefits from Seaco’s Customer-centric Approach to Value Generation

Executive Summary A mid-sized cold storage facility located in Texas, that is part of the Food Wholesalers Industry, was battling rising chemical treatment costs, frequent operational shut-downs and associated loss of business during a challenging year. The company served customers across the United States along its primary distribution lines in meat/ meat products, seafood, dairy and plant-based produce – which mandated reliable service in a complicated logistics chain. Seaco Technologies worked hand-in-hand with the customer to update their chemical treatment and service program to the customers’ satisfaction, while ensuring operational cost savings within the first year of service.

CHALLENGES Prior to implementation of Seaco’s treatment program, the customer was utilizing an alternative supplier’s water treatment products and services over a consistent period of 10 years. Over time and aging of the equipment, the treatment efficacy had deteriorated – which led to mounting bills for the facility. The corrosion rates under the previous treatment program were also >5mpy, which led to large, localized pitting and intermittent spikes in chemical usage. The service standards had reduced to infrequent visits and minimal updates. With the ongoing year being a particularly challenging one for the industry, the customer required a quick response and correction of the issue, as they anticipated incoming orders and business to pick up with upgrades to the company’s model of operation.

The Seaco Solution Seaco specifically designed and implemented a treatment program, coupled with a tightly managed scale/ corrosion treatment plan that successfully met and exceeded the customer’s requirements, while ensuring significant cost savings for the customer within the first year –

• The chemical program significantly outperformed the previous treatment in place – corrosion levels were maintained at < 2-3 mpy.
• Biological levels and overall system hygiene were maintained at 13-20 RLU of microbiological ATP. No sessile biofilms or deposits were detected on treated surface.
• No Legionella bacteria were detected
• The average system water cycle of 5.6, based on recorded water meter readings under Seaco’s treatment, represented an increase in program efficiency (in comparison to 4.7 for the previous 12 months). The maximum cycles allowed under the city’s Evaporative Credit program for a conventionally treated system is 7 cycles.
• The increase in program efficiency also resulted a significant water savings. The average daily water consumption decreased from 7,052 GPD to 6229 GPD over 12 months of Seaco treatment. The water savings reduced the facility’s water bill by >$14,000 within the initial months of treatment.
• The customer also realized chemical treatment cost savings upwards of $25,000 under Seaco’s program – the chemical footprint on the facility went from 5-6 different totes under the previous vendor to 3 totes under Seaco’s program, due to effective and efficient program design.
• Operational performance of the program improved with the addition of following items: 1) uninterrupted power supply with surge protection, 2) control sensor manifold filtration with automated dump valve, 3) automated dump valve on blowdown water meter filter.
• Besides the regular and customer-approved service visits, the program was monitored using Seaco’s proprietary remote-monitoring and reporting feature, that allowed for greater visibility/control on the customer’s end, faster response time in case of incidents, chemical-level monitoring and automatic alarms to the customer as well as the service representatives.