Meeting the Refrigeration Needs of a Pasteurization Plant

Load Requirements & Challenges

Private label juice manufacturer Citrus Systems, Inc. specializes in pasteurizing an extensive line of juices and fruit drinks. The business provides juice to local dairies, grocery stores, and institutional customers. Their success and future contracts led them to build a new facility that was twice as large as their previous location. This presented some challenges for their refrigeration needs.

• Large capacity needed
  • 2 pasteurizers
  • 6 packaging lines
  • 18 blending and storage vessels
  • 560,000+ cubic feet of storage
  • Doubled square footage from previous facility
• Previous system was assembled on-site instead of a packaged unit
• Must follow precise HACCP food safety guidelines from FDA

The Zero Zone Solution

• Provided three refrigeration systems to meet capacity:
  • Low temperature rack: 82 tons of cooling at -23°F
  • Medium temperature rack: 124 tons of cooling at +20°F
  • 4-Circuit chiller: 240 tons of cooling at +18°F
• Designed and built a package rack system to be installed on-site
• To ensure food safety, system includes remote monitoring and diagnostics

The refrigeration systems were designed to provide trouble-free, energy-efficient operation for their production process. Zero Zone included features and technology to match the needs of pasteurization plants, such as multiple chilling circuits, industrial PLC controls, and evaporative condensing with variable speed fan control. A heat reclaim system off the compressor discharge circuit reduces both electric and natural gas demand by repurposing heat for hot water used throughout the production facility.

Being able to guarantee that the system always maintains temperature is essential for their HACCP program. To monitor operation and communicate any alarm conditions, Citrus Systems needed a remote diagnostics system connected to the refrigeration equipment. Consistency and dependability are essential in the pasteurization and food processing industries to protect the quality of the final product.

A Satisfied Customer

Thomas E. Boehland, founder and president of Citrus Systems, takes great satisfaction in how everything came together, describing the equipment as “a work of art.” He praised the Zero Zone team: “You can tell that there is a lot of pride in what they put together. It isn’t just a bunch of refrigeration components that are cobbled together on-site to get the job done. It’s a nice package and you can tell just looking at it. The factory people take pride in it and even sign off on the equipment with each individual person putting their names to it. You don’t see that very often these days.” Boehland concluded by saying, “I’ve put my faith in Zero Zone to do what we need to be done.”

Contact our sales team to get started on your next refrigeration journey.

Read more in the full case study: “An Industrial Work of Art.”