RSI Completes Yosemite Foods’ Project: Largest CO2 Refrigeration System in the U.S.
March 18, 2019
Congratulations to the RSI team on the recent completion of the Yosemite Foods’ project! After 14 months, we are happy to report that the state-of-the-art CO2 refrigeration system at the pork harvest and meat processing facility located in Stockton, CA, is fully operational.
Michael Lau and his team at Yosemite Meat Co. Inc. of Stockton evaluated various natural refrigerant and Freon based systems, his criteria included the following:
- Must be environmentally best-in-class
- Safety is critical, and a non-corrosive substance
- Ability to reclaim heat is critical
- Must be cost effective, both on first and operating costs
A collaborative effort between Commercial Refrigeration Services of South Africa, Refrigeration Solutions LLC, Advanced Refrigeration Systems of Sacramento and our customer Yosemite Meat Co. Inc. of Stockton, CA brought together one of the world’s largest CO2 plants to date.
“We couldn’t have completed a project of this scale without the amazing leadership and technical expertise of our Foreman, Spencer Curto and EMS Foreman Alex Kapelkin,” says Bob Thomas, General Manager of RSI. “I’m so impressed with the professionalism and work ethic of the entire RSI team in the design and installation of America’s largest CO2 transcritical refrigeration system for Yosemite Foods.”
The Yosemite Foods facility is designed to process 3,200 hogs daily under 160,000 sq. ft. of processing space with an additional 40,000 sq. ft. of livestock holding capacity. With approximately 95,000 sq. ft. of refrigerated and freezer space, RSI was contracted to provide the design, installation and equipment for all refrigeration on the project. “RSI has been professional and timely in working with us on this challenging project to meet deadlines and provide a high-quality installation and refrigeration system,” comments Michael Lau, Vice President, Yosemite Foods LLC.
Utilizing advanced equipment from South Africa, the facility includes the largest CO2 transcritical refrigeration system in the U.S. with a total of 5 racks, 2,450 horsepower and 22.5 million BTUs/hour.
About Yosemite Foods
Yosemite Foods is a custom pork processor and distributor of other quality beef, poultry and specialty meat products. Yosemite Foods products are sold whole or boxed into wholesale cuts and distributed to grocery stores, restaurants and further processors. The majority of the Yosemite Foods products are sold to niche Asian and Hispanic markets throughout California.
