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Industrias Lácteas Asturianas (ILAS), the company behind the Reny Picot brand, has launched a comprehensive water and energy efficiency project at its Navia plant (Asturias, Spain) together with Edison Next Spain, announced on 8 September. The idea is easy to explain: recover the condensate generated by the industrial process itself, reuse it and make use of the heat it still carries. The plant therefore draws less fresh water and needs less fuel to raise steam.
According to the company, the installation will recover around 115,000 m³ of water a year, roughly the volume of 46 Olympic swimming pools, and save 5,741 MWh annually. Liquefied natural gas consumption will fall by more than 7,000 MWh a year, and more than 1,100 tonnes of CO₂ emissions will be avoided. Edison Next is designing, developing and fully financing the project, and will be responsible for operation and maintenance for ten years, undertaking to guarantee the expected performance and savings. The installation will include measurement and verification systems and will apply for Spain's Energy Savings Certificates scheme (CAE). The news was reported by Revista Aral and by Reny Picot itself.
What it means for a packaging plant
In a food factory, water and steam rarely appear on the production dashboard. They are paid for on the monthly bill, but they are not allocated to a line, a product or a shift. That is why projects like this almost always start in the same place: knowing how much is consumed, where and when.
Steam and hot water sit behind many operations close to packaging: heat treatments, CIP cleaning, equipment washing and, for some formats, container sterilisation. Every drop of condensate sent down the drain means treated water and energy lost at the same time. Recovering it, however, requires control of its quality: if a heat exchanger leaks, the condensate may carry product and must not simply be returned to the boiler. Continuous measurement of parameters such as conductivity or turbidity, with automatic diversion when they go out of range, is what turns a good idea into a safe installation.
The second point is the contract model. When a third party finances the investment and is accountable for the savings, measurement is no longer an extra: it is the basis of the agreement. You need a well-documented baseline, reliable meters and a clear method for adjusting for higher or lower output, or a change in product mix. Without production data linked to energy data, it is hard to tell genuine savings from a simple drop in activity.
Finally, maintenance. Leaking steam traps, damaged insulation or valves that do not close properly quietly eat into the savings. A plan that includes regular checks of the steam network and alarms when consumption per unit drifts protects the investment throughout its service life.
Practical takeaways
- Measure before you invest: water, steam and gas meters by area or by line show where the real savings potential lies.
- Talk in consumption per unit: litres of water and kWh per tonne or per thousand packs are indicators you can compare across shifts, products and plants.
- Monitor condensate quality: continuous measurement and automatic diversion stop a heat-exchanger fault from ending up in the boiler.
- Look after the steam network: steam traps, insulation and leaks belong in preventive maintenance, with records that show how they evolve.
- Link energy and production: cross-referencing consumption with production orders, stoppages and cleaning cycles lets you verify savings and spot drift early.
The Navia case shows that sustainability on the factory floor is increasingly decided by data: without measurement there are no savings that can be demonstrated or financed. If you are planning something similar, let's talk.
