Energy savings in Romanian vegetable preserves company

Alex Star SRL is an SME producer of pickles, canned vegetables and fruits, in a small community of Afumati, Romania. The company was established in 1991 and as part of its energy efficiency programme, it planned to install a new autoclave for canned vegetables sterilising.

The RoSEFF team performed analysis of the proposed technology, its potential for energy savings and profitability.

The €85,500 investment allowed the company to increase its production capacity by 52%, from 5.3 million to 8 million cans per year, and decrease energy consumption by 34%. The energy savings arise from the fact that the new autoclave operates alongside the existing one, using the steam boiler more efficiently. The boiler now operates much closer to its optimal design efficiency.

This project allowed the company to be more cost efficient, sustain its business and continue employing local people. The project also generated CO2 emissions savings of 158 tonnes per year.

The success of this project led the company to implement a second RoSEFF project in 2016 to purchase new process and handling equipment.

This project is supported by the European Union (EU).