MINNEAPOLIS — Cargill has introduced Cargill Process Optimizers (C.P.O.) at the International Baking Industry Exposition in Las Vegas on Sept. 27. The new service is designed to help bakers and other food manufacturers improve bottom-line results by reducing energy and water consumption, reducing yields and enhancing capacity.

According to Cargill, the new business leverages the company’s broad knowledge and experience in producing food, agricultural and industrial products with proprietary software tools to assess and recommend improvements to food and beverage manufacturing plants. Cargill said the service already has helped more than 120 Cargill and customer facilities around the world achieve savings and process improvements, including increasing capacity 2% to 10%, lowering heat and refrigeration energy use 5% to 15%, and minimizing losses during batch changeovers.

“Especially in today’s economy, food manufacturers are exploring a variety of cost-saving options to stay competitive,” said Dave Ward, general manager of C.P.O. “Whether a bakery needs to squeeze more capacity from existing assets or tackle sustainability goals, C.P.O. delivers pragmatic, actionable solutions with a quick return on investment, usually within two years.”

Specific to bakeries, Cargill said C.P.O. has helped to identify yield loss points through a combination of detailed mass and energy balances and statistical analysis, reducing overall costs and improving yields.

“Despite differences in scale, product format and product type, many baking plants share similar characteristics and face common challenges,” Cargill said. “C.P.O. has been successful in helping both fresh and frozen bakers grow their bottom lines by maximizing efficiencies across their operations.”