Service: Planta en Control
Sector: Beverage manufacturing
Note: The company name, Bebidas del Norte, has been changed in accordance with our non-disclosure agreement.

Bebidas del Norte operates a large bottling and beverage plant near Monterrey, supplying soft drinks and flavored waters across northern Mexico. The site is energy-intensive, with compressors, chillers, bottling lines, cold rooms, and packaging equipment running across multiple shifts.

The company had already commissioned a traditional energy audit that produced a thick report, but only a small fraction of recommendations were implemented. Management wanted an approach focused on ongoing execution rather than one-off diagnostics. That is why they chose Planta en Control.

Initial conditions

At the beginning of the engagement, the plant faced:

• Annual electricity costs are around MXN 42 million.

• Significant variability driven by seasonality and marketing promotions.

• Limited visibility into where energy was used inside the plant, beyond total CFE bills.

• A backlog of efficiency ideas with no clear owners, timelines, or follow-up.

The operations director made it clear that they needed a management process, not another study.

Implementation of Planta en Control

Mexico Energy Partners structured the service around a few practical steps:

• Consolidated data from CFE bills, production records, and available submeters to build a baseline of energy use.

• Defined a small set of energy KPIs with the plant team, such as kWh per liter bottled, peak demand levels, and compressor efficiency indicators.

• Set up standard formats for weekly or biweekly summaries, monthly performance reports, and a living pipeline of energy-saving measures.

• Established a recurring Energy Coach session with operations, maintenance, and finance to review progress and remove roadblocks.

This framework ensured that energy performance would stay on the agenda every month.

Early opportunities and quick wins

Within the first quarter, Planta en Control highlighted several actionable opportunities:

• Compressed air leaks and excessive pressure setpoints forced compressors to work harder than necessary.

• Refrigeration setpoints that were lower than required for product quality increased chiller energy use.

• Idle equipment, such as conveyors and packaging systems, should run during breaks and cleaning periods.

Each of these actions involved operational changes and maintenance tasks rather than significant investments, delivering visible early savings.

Building a structured pipeline

Over the first six months, the plant and Mexico Energy Partners created a pipeline of more than two dozen measures:

• Operational changes and training initiatives.

• Control and maintenance improvements, such as better scheduling and sensor calibration.

• Low- and medium-CAPEX projects, including variable-frequency drives and lighting retrofits.

For each measure, the team documented the expected investment, estimated kWh and peso savings, simple payback, and current status. The Energy Coach sessions focused on this list, ensuring that items moved forward rather than remaining "good ideas."

Results after twelve months

After one year of Planta en Control, Bebidas del Norte achieved:

• Approximately a 13 percent reduction in electricity consumption per unit produced.

• Estimated annual savings of around MXN 5.4 million.

• A prioritized project portfolio integrated into the company's capex planning process.

The plant leadership reported that discussions about energy became more concrete, data-driven, and collaborative, with maintenance, production, and finance working toward shared targets.

Strategic value for the beverage sector

For Bebidas del Norte, Planta en Control converted energy efficiency from a one-time project into a continuous management discipline:

• Energy KPIs are now tracked alongside quality, safety, and production metrics.

• Investment decisions in compressors, controls, and refrigeration are backed by clear financial cases.

• The organization has a transparent roadmap for further reductions in costs and emissions.

For beverage and food manufacturers in Mexico, Planta en Control shows that sustainable savings come from consistent monitoring, structured follow-up, and cross-functional governance, not just from technology upgrades.