How Foyle Food Group Slashed Energy & Gas Consumption with EpiSensor IoT

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Case Study

Empowering Data-Driven Decisions: How Foyle Food Group Slashed Energy & Gas Consumption with EpiSensor IoT

Company

Foyle Food Group

Headquarters

Industry

Energy Management

Key Products used

Industrial IoT Gateways , Wireless 3-Phase Electricity Monitor (ZEM), Wireless Digital Signal Sensor ZPC and Wireless Analogue Signal Sensor (ZIO/ZVO).

Key Points of Interest

370+ meters installed across 16 networks in 7 locations.
14% reduction in gas intensity recorded for the period 2022-2023*.
The top performing site reported a 100Mwh reduction in electricity consumption for 2022-2023, despite production volumes increasing*.
Energy usage data derived from EpiSensor meters and sensors enabled ISO 50001 certification.
EpiSensor products are encased in water and dust-proof IP67-rated polycarbonate enclosures, making them suitable for food processing plants.

Foyle Food Group is one of the largest meat processors in the UK. They employ over 1,350 employees on sites across the UK and Ireland. It is a family-owned business, with over 40 years’ experience in the beef supply chain and processing sector. With a steadfast dedication to sustainability, the group is committed to ensuring their operations are environmentally responsible.

Project

Foyle Food Group comprises 7 distinct and separate meat processing facilities with a capacity of 300,000 cattle per year. The annual energy spend across the group is in excess of €6M.

The initiative to install EpiSensor’s Industrial IoT solutions was led by the group CEO, who recognised that it was imperative to obtain granular insights on electricity, gas, and water usage in each facility if they were to make a significant impact on reducing energy consumption and enhancing sustainability efforts. They also wanted to monitor system conditions both from a predictive maintenance perspective and to detect anomalies.

Employees manage inventory at commercial meat processing plant. Source: Canva.

Why EpiSensor

EpiSensor technology was not only selected because of its accuracy and reliability, a deciding factor was the durability of our sensor enclosures, which are manufactured from polycarbonate and meet IP67 standards, meaning pressure washing and stringent cleaning agents do not impact their performance and reliability. The system also integrated seamlessly with third-party equipment and the existing Building Management System (BMS), simplifying system integration. Lastly, scalability- the system’s design allows for ease of expansion by employees (from 250 to 370+ products thus far), with no requirement for specialised training, ensuring the energy management programme can evolve and grow with the company’s needs.

About the Project

Foyle Food Group began monitoring electricity usage, gas intensity, water consumption, and temperature, using EpiSensor’s range of IoT meters and sensors, combined with our powerful API-enabled Gateways. The management team was kept abreast of live energy and temperature data through user-friendly dashboards and reports, establishing Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) to relate energy usage with production outputs. Customised reports, designed for different departments and audiences, were generated daily and weekly. To enhance transparency and motivate efficiency on the production floor, public dashboards displayed real-time data on electricity and water use. Crucially, Foyle Food Group maintains complete control over the data, which is securely encrypted from sensor to server.

Access to this system was granted to various users, from shift supervisors to the CEO with permissions customised to each user’s role. This enabled informed decision-making and facilitated the achievement of the ISO 50001 Energy Management certification on selected sites.

Our Contribution

Approximately 370 wireless products are installed across all facilities, producing millions of data points per year. This includes calibrated monitoring of chill temperatures for compliance and auditing, as well as electricity tracking across incoming supplies, compressors, condenser fans, chillers, effluent plants, pumps, fat processing plants, meat boning areas, and the chilled warehouse. The system also included monitoring of gas intensity and water usage (45-degree water and 82-degree water) on all machines and processes.

Results

Key achievements from deploying EpiSensor Industrial IoT infrastructure include:

- Rapid Detection of Waste and Anomalies: Identified water leaks and rapid detection of energy inefficiencies enabled Foyle Food Group to recoup the capital cost of the EpiSensor system within months,
- ISO 50001 Certification through Advanced Energy Monitoring: Utilisation of EpiSensor’s meters and sensors enabled Foyle Food Group to obtain ISO 50001 certification.
- Significant Reduction in Gas Intensity: Foyle Food Group reported a 14% decrease in gas intensity throughout 2022-2023, contributing to the group’s overall carbon emissions reduction targets.*
- Remarkable Electricity Consumption Savings: The group’s top-performing site reported a reduction of 100Mwh in electricity consumption during 2022-2023, despite a 2% increase in production volumes.*
- Durable and Resilient Monitoring Equipment: Many of the deployed sensors are regularly exposed to treated water at 82°C and various detergent chemicals, with zero impact on system performance.
- Informed Management Decisions with Industrial IoT Platform: The deployment of the EpiSensor Industrial IoT platform provides crucial data, empowering Foyle Food Group’s management team to make informed decisions.
- Culture of Data-Driven Decision Making: They fostered a culture of data-driven decision making throughout the company, enhancing competitiveness and efficiency by clearly understanding the relationship between production and energy usage.
- Significant boost to their Sustainability Efforts: Foyle Food Group’s commitment to sustainability, evident in their 2023 report (published in accordance with Global Reporting Initiative ‘Sustainability Best Practice’ Standards) reported remarkable energy and gas savings, which contributed to their overall 25% reduction in Scope 1 and 2 emissions between 2019 and 2022.

Conclusion

By utilising EpiSensor’s accurate, reliable, and rugged IoT infrastructure, Foyle Food Group has implemented an impactful energy management programme driven by real-time granular insights and data-driven decision making. This approach has not only led to reduced costs and increased operational efficiency, the group has surpassed its 2025 emissions reduction targets 2 years ahead of schedule, demonstrating the impact of effective energy management.