Reser’s Fine Foods said it has completed two major energy-efficiency projects at its Don Pancho West facility in Salem, Oregon, working with independent nonprofit Energy Trust of Oregon. In a Sept. 29, 2026, PR Newswire release, the company said upgraded refrigeration and compressed-air systems are expected to cut the plant’s overall electricity use by more than 20%, or nearly 1.9 million kilowatt-hours a year, and reduce facility emissions by about 8%.
Don Pancho moved into the roughly 300,000-square-foot Salem plant in September 2025, expanding tortilla production capacity. Reser’s framed the project window as a chance to lock energy performance into equipment decisions. Energy Trust provided a no-cost energy study and post-installation performance analysis.
The new centralized refrigeration system uses carbon dioxide as its primary refrigerant, replacing six systems that used a higher-GWP refrigerant, per the company. Reser’s expects the CO₂ plant to use about 41% less electricity than the modeled baseline while delivering more consistent temperature control and about 114% greater refrigeration capacity. The compressed-air project added a variable-speed compressor and an energy-efficient heated-blower dryer, expected to use about 44% less electricity than the modeled baseline by matching output to demand and cutting air losses.
Rusty Corriell, Reser’s director of capital projects, said energy efficiency was a design consideration for the facility and credited Energy Trust’s technical input. Reser’s operates 14 facilities in the U.S. and Mexico and has worked with Energy Trust on multi-site efficiency work since 2003. Trade follow-up also appeared in Supermarket Perimeter (Sep 30). Read the Reser’s / PR Newswire release for project metrics and executive quotes.
Reser’s Fine Foods Don Pancho Energy Trust of Oregon