Complete backup power solution for food distributor

POWER NEED

Founded in 1792 in Lisbon, Portugal, Jerónimo Martins is a food specialist with over 225 years of experience with distribution centers and retail stores across Portugal, Poland and Colombia.

A leader in the Food Distribution sector in Portugal through its Pingo Doce and Recheio brands, Jerónimo Martins also specialise in identifying, developing and implementing specialised retail concepts.

Jerónimo Martins is the biggest food distribution company in Portugal and supplies more than 483 of its own supermarkets across the country through 11 distribution centers.

Because so many people rely on their grocery stores – and as the result of Portuguese legislation requiring all buildings that receive visitors to have a backup power source to supply energy to emergency electrical consumers and security systems – Jerónimo Martins contacted local Cat® dealer, STET (Sociedade Técnica de Equipamentos e Tractores) to fulfill their power needs.

Jerónimo Martins requested backup electrical power sources to ensure they could remain fully operational, should there be a power grid failure.

SOLUTION

“Jerónimo Martins uses a significant amount of Cat equipment across its retail stores and distribution centers.” said Oscar Manuel Oliveira, Power Systems Product Manager with Cat dealer STET.

“Most recently two C18s were installed at the Pingo Doce grocery store in the city of Póvoa do Varzim.”

"These are the first two C18 Power Density gensets produced in EAME with new and enhanced technology that helps each generator set produce a higher power output of up to 850 kVA.” Designed to automatically start, the generator sets can keep the power on for more than 20 hours without needing to be refueled.

The C18s have an impressive new feature, as Oscar explains. “It’s called Selective Cylinder Cutout (SCC). When the generators start, they detect what kind of load they need to compensate for. If the load is low enough, the system cuts out half of the cylinders so that the six cylinder engine runs on just three cylinders. This happens in just 10 seconds.” The units work in parallel with one another.

This means the system will start both generators, synchronize the two and, automatically decide whether it’s necessary to run one or both gensets. Overall, the system can run on just 10 percent of its capacity, which saves fuel, emissions and money.

RESULTS 

"What impresses us most is the cost benefit ratio of this new model – high performance at a reduced cost. And, thanks to thorough planning, they were installed smoothly and in a short time,” added Francisco Meireles, General Manager for Gesfuste, which oversees facilities management for Jerónimo Martins.

For Oscar, having Jerónimo Martins operate Cat equipment is more than just choosing a complete solution, it’s about fostering a partnership. “We are extremely proud of our long-term relationship. We have performed many installations and have customer service agreements for all their gensets. That says a lot about how much trust they put in us.”

Francisco agrees. “Electricity is an essential asset. Since the commissioning of the gensets, they have been put to the test more than once in real situations, and they performed perfectly. This just verifies that the C18s responded according to our expectations. In an operation where we must meet customer demands daily, it is a source of pride. STET’s maintenance knowledge and our Cat gensets’ reliability have been great contributors to a lasting relationship.”

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