Cooling the Climate: Inside Reser's Shift to CO2 Refrigeration

SALEM, Ore. – September 29, 2026 – When a food manufacturing plant expands its footprint to 300,000 square feet, the immediate assumption is a proportional spike in energy consumption and carbon emissions. Yet, at the newly opened Don Pancho West facility in Salem, Oregon, the math is moving aggressively in the opposite direction. Reser's Fine Foods, the family-owned culinary giant behind deli staples and authentic Mexican foods, has just completed a massive operational transition. By partnering with the Energy Trust of Oregon to overhaul its refrigeration and compressed air infrastructure, the company is projected to slash the facility's electricity consumption by more than 20 percent—saving nearly 1.9 million kilowatt-hours annually—and reduce overall facility emissions by 8 percent.

For a column dedicated to deconstructing effective strategies for positive change, the Don Pancho West facility serves as a masterclass. It is a story not just of corporate sustainability, but of how public utility incentives, impending federal regulations, and regional economic revitalization are converging to fundamentally alter the industrial cold chain.

The Cold Chain's Carbon Problem

The refrigeration industry has a massive, often invisible, climate problem. For decades, the global cold chain has relied heavily on hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs)—synthetic refrigerants that, while highly effective at keeping supermarket salads and tortillas fresh, boast a global warming potential thousands of times greater than carbon dioxide.

The regulatory landscape, however, is rapidly shifting. The Environmental Protection Agency's American Innovation and Manufacturing (AIM) Act, enacted in 2020, mandated an 85 percent phase-down of these toxic HFCs over 15 years. This federal pressure has sent industrial food processors scrambling for viable, long-term alternatives.

Reser's answer at the Don Pancho West facility is a centralized carbon dioxide (CO2) refrigeration system. CO2, or R744 in engineering parlance, is a natural refrigerant with a baseline global warming potential of exactly one. By replacing six older, higher-GWP systems with this centralized CO2 architecture, Reser's has positioned itself as an early adopter in large-scale food manufacturing.

The engineering behind this is complex. CO2 systems, particularly transcritical systems required for large industrial cooling, operate at significantly higher pressures than traditional HFC setups. They require specialized piping, advanced compressors, and rigorous safety protocols. Yet, the operational payoff is staggering. The new system at Don Pancho West is expected to use 41 percent less electricity than a modeled baseline, all while providing more consistent temperature control and delivering a 114 percent increase in refrigeration capacity.

Financing the Future of Manufacturing

The primary hurdle for any manufacturer looking to adopt transcritical CO2 refrigeration is the initial capital expenditure. The equipment is highly specialized, and the engineering required to integrate it into a 300,000-square-foot facility is substantial. This is where the mechanics of public-private partnerships become critical to driving tangible environmental difference.

Reser's and the Energy Trust of Oregon have maintained a collaborative relationship dating back to 2003, systematically tackling energy efficiency across multiple facilities. For the Don Pancho West project, Energy Trust provided technical expertise, a no-cost energy study, and crucial post-installation performance analysis.

Behind the scenes, organizations like Energy Trust—which operates under the oversight of the Oregon Public Utility Commission—offer custom incentives that fundamentally alter the return-on-investment calculus for private enterprises. By utilizing utility customer funds to subsidize up to 90 percent of eligible costs for groundbreaking energy projects, these programs de-risk the adoption of green technology.

"Energy efficiency was an important consideration as we planned and built this facility," said Rusty Corriell, Director of Capital Projects at Reser's Fine Foods. "Energy Trust brought valuable technical expertise to the process and helped us evaluate solutions that support efficient, reliable operations. These projects will help Don Pancho West operate efficiently and thrive for years to come."

"Energy Trust is proud to support Reser's in incorporating energy efficiency into the new Don Pancho facility," added Laura Schaefer, Senior Program Manager at Energy Trust. "Considering energy performance early and verifying results after installation creates lasting environmental and operational benefits."

Revitalizing Salem's Industrial Corridor

The environmental metrics of the Don Pancho West facility are only half the story; the regional economic impact provides the other. The new plant, located on the former Norpac industrial site, represents a massive reinvestment in Marion County's food-processing corridor.

When Don Pancho moved its operations to this new facility earlier this month, it gained a footprint three times the size of its previous plant. This expansion is designed to secure the brand's production capacity for flour, corn, and specialty tortillas for at least the next two decades. In an era where supply chain resiliency is paramount, localizing and expanding production capacity is a strategic imperative.

Furthermore, this expansion anchors manufacturing jobs in the Pacific Northwest. Local economic reports indicate that the Don Pancho operation employs over 400 people in the Salem area. By choosing to grow locally rather than relocating to states with cheaper, but potentially less sustainable, infrastructure, Reser's is demonstrating a commitment to the regional workforce.

This commitment to efficiency extends beyond the cold chain. The facility also completely overhauled its compressed air infrastructure—a notoriously energy-intensive component of food manufacturing used for everything from pneumatic conveying to packaging. By installing a variable speed compressor and an energy-efficient heated-blower dryer, the system can dynamically adjust its output to match the facility's real-time demand. This targeted upgrade alone is expected to use 44 percent less electricity than the modeled baseline, further shedding load from the regional power grid and supporting the City of Salem's broader climate action goals.

A Blueprint for the Broader Industry

The 1.9 million kilowatt-hours saved annually by the Don Pancho West facility is the equivalent of removing the carbon emissions from millions of miles driven by passenger vehicles. But the true value of this project lies in its scalability.

As the $100 billion refrigerated food market watches the regulatory clock tick down on synthetic refrigerants, the industry desperately needs proven case studies. The collaboration in Salem proves that the transition to natural refrigerants is not just an environmental mandate, but a viable operational strategy that increases capacity while drastically lowering utility overhead. It is a testament to the fact that with the right mix of strategic foresight, utility incentives, and engineering innovation, the manufacturing sector can successfully cool its products without warming the planet.