LIGHTS OUT IS MONEY LOST
Panadería Pepín is a bakery and deli that provides a variety of breads, rolls, cakes and snacks as well as healthier, whole-grain options.
POWER NEED
Panadería Pepín is a bakery and deli with three locations across Puerto Rico. It provides a variety of breads, rolls, cakes and snacks as well as healthier, whole-grain options.
Héctor Nieves, manager of Panadería Pepín, relies on the ovens and coolers to help produce and maintain fresh bakery and deli products. A steady flow of power is required for this equipment to keep products from spoiling and ensure that the bakery remains open during normal hours of operation. Consequently, running a business on an island with an often unreliable power grid can interfere with the bakery’s daily production levels and sales.
“Our local utility is required to supply power to the entire island,” explained Nieves. “We see regular power outages because it becomes increasingly difficult to maintain this level of support to businesses at all times – not to mention the damaging weather we often see, which can leave us without power for days.”
Every moment the lights are off at the bakery means money lost, according to Nieves. “I just can’t afford to lose money that often when all of our products are prepared on a daily basis,” said Nieves. “My customers expect freshness and, when the lights are off and my doors aren’t open, I can’t simply save the food for tomorrow. I have to throw it away because I can’t sell stale bread. It would ruin our reputation for providing high quality baked goods and deli products.”
SOLUTION
To solve Panadería Pepín’s power problems, Nieves knew he needed to find a reliable backup power source to guarantee the bakery would remain open when electricity from the main power outlet fails. He looked to local Cat® dealer RIMCO for help outfitting the bakery in Guaynabo with a properly sized standby diesel generator set.
“To maintain my peace of mind and our sales, I immediately selected RIMCO to supply a Cat generator set,” said Nieves. “I always felt that Caterpillar provided the highest quality possible, and RIMCO continuously offered unbeatable service. I couldn’t turn away from that combination.”
Since 1981, RIMCO has been providing power generation solutions and heavy machinery to Puerto Rico, the U.S. and the British Virgin Islands, Barbados and other islands of the Eastern Caribbean. RIMCO offers unwavering sales, parts, maintenance and customer service support that is trusted above all others throughout Puerto Rico.
Nieves worked with RIMCO sales consultant Anthony Escalet to install an Olympian™ 100 kW D100-6S diesel generator set in 2010, which provides backup for the entire bakery including the air conditioner, lighting, coolers, ovens and cash registers. Olympian generator sets offer a complete line of key-start and automatic-start control panels equipped with many operational and protection features not generally offered on comparably sized systems. Optional instrumentation, shutdowns/alarms and state-of-the-art communication for remote monitoring and control are also available. With similar dimensions and hardware, control panels offer modular flexibility that are easily interchangeable.
RESULTS
While the unit is still under warranty, Panadería Pepín has a service contract with RIMCO that provides onsite examinations and emergency repairs with trained technicians. However, Nieves has yet to experience any problems or issues with the generator set.
Panadería Pepín processes thousands of dollars in transactions each day. Now with the generator, Nieves doesn’t have to worry about losing this income. “Power outages don’t bother me at all now; it’s such a great feeling knowing that the bakery is taken care of during emergencies. To me, this level of reassurance is money well spent.”
Although there are three Panadería Pepín stores, only the Guaynabo location is equipped with backup power so far. “The generator set has more than proved to us how valuable having a Cat generator set can be and how important it is to our business’ bottom line,” said Nieves. “There is no doubt that we will be looking to Cat for the same generator sets in the near future to provide a reliable backup power source at our two other locations.”