J&J Distributing, a family-owned company that delivers fresh and dried produce from its warehouse on St. Paul's North End, is trying to grow in a sustainable way.
The company is in the middle of an $8.5 million expansion that involves energy-efficiency improvements; expanding its produce-cutting room, and building a greenhouse. All in all, it's adding 20,000 square feet to its existing 100,000-square-foot warehouse, according to project materials.
Recently the company was recognized for its strides in the energy-efficiency and conservation area, with a 2011 Sustainable Saint Paul Award, through the city. The federal Department of Energy released a
video this month about the company's green jobs creation.
Jim Hannigan, the company's president and CEO, says J&J made a commitment to going green in 2008. "Creating a negative carbon footprint is beneficial to the company and community," he says, adding that the energy-efficiency upgrades will help it reduce its energy consumption by about 40 percent every year.
Considering that the agriculture business, in general, is an "energy hog," the company tries to be mindful of its fuel consumption. "Everything we touch has to do with energy in some manner," he says.
The J&J multiple-part project is one of the first to progress under the
Rebuild St. Paul umbrella, which combines bonding, city, state, and federal funds, and private partnerships, "to get projects off the pages of planning books and into the ground," according to city information.
A loan from the Saint Paul Port Authority's Trillion BTU program, which is geared toward energy efficiency, along with Xcel Energy rebates, enabled the company to change out its whole refrigeration system, according to project information on the city's
website. J&J replaced 44 rooftop refrigeration units with three climate systems, city materials state.
It also revamped its lighting system, installing a combination of Light Emitting Diode (LED) and fluorescent fixtures, while it will also have a white roof that reflects heat, according to Dave Gontarek, a project manager for the city's planning and economic development division.
Waste energy from a new, more energy-efficient chiller will heat the greenhouse and office spaces, Gontarek says. The greenhouse will yield 220,000 pounds of tomatoes and other produce each year, according to city information.
Sources: Jim Hannigan, president and CEO, J&J Distributing and Dave Gontarek, a project manager for the city of St. Paul's planning and economic development division
Writer: Anna Pratt