Kettle Foods Saves Green with Gold

Company Marks One-Year Anniversary of LEED® Gold Potato Chip Factory with Savings

SALEM, Ore. & BELOIT, Wis.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--One year after the grand opening of America’s first LEED® Gold certified food manufacturing plant, Kettle Foods is seeing the green in building green.

“When we decided to go for green, or in this case gold, with LEED® certification of our new factory, we knew it was the right thing to do,” said Tim Fallon, Kettle Foods president, North America. “The bonus is that making our Kettle Brand™ Potato Chips in a more environmentally friendly way is also proving to be good business.”

The factory, which produces thousands of bags of the company’s Kettle Brand™ Potato Chips for shipment to the East Coast, began production on May 9, 2007. In line with initial energy- and water-saving estimates, the Beloit, Wis., facility is yielding both environmental and economic benefits, including:

* Annual energy savings (gas and electric) of 20 percent, translating to an estimated cost reduction of $110,000 on natural gas and $51,000 on electricity.
* Annual water savings of $34,000 due to reclamation systems capturing and reusing 3.4 million gallons of water.
* Monthly recycling of 2,300 gallons of waste oil with conversion to biodiesel, an alternative fuel used to power a company fleet of diesel-engine cars called BioBeetles.
* Annual reduction of more than 3 million pounds of carbon dioxide emissions resulting from the elimination of shipping lines between Oregon and the Midwest.

As part of the company’s overarching commitment to limiting its impact on the environment wherever possible, Kettle Foods offsets 100 percent of the electricity used to operate both its Salem and Beloit factories with renewable wind power. Additionally, the Beloit plant is home to 18 wind turbines. Mounted on the roof, the swiveling turbines are on track to meet estimated annual electricity generation, enough to make 56,000 bags of Kettle Brand™ Potato Chips every year.

In addition to resource savings, the company is partnering with Tallgrass Restoration, LLC, to return the factory’s five-acre backyard to its native prairie state. After being planted last spring, it’s currently in the first phase of regrowth and restoration. Though it will take more than a year to nurture the land back to its native state, it’s already showing signs of renewal, including the return of wildflowers, birds and small prairie animals. The next phase of restoration includes a controlled burn, a natural process that allows the diversity of the natural landscape to emerge and thrive.

About Kettle Foods

Founded in 1978, Oregon-based Kettle Foods is a privately owned company committed to producing great-tasting, all-natural snacks with a caring commitment to its employees, craft and community. In doing so, it leads the industry as the No. 1 natural potato chip brand, according to ACNielsen, with distribution throughout North America, Japan, Guam and Western Europe. Its manufacturing sites in Salem, Ore., Beloit, Wis., and Norwich, United Kingdom, produce more than 20 flavors and four varieties of potato chip offerings, five flavors of tortilla chips and a variety of nut butters and trail mixes. Visit www.kettlefoods.com for more information.