Established in 1992, California-based Controlled Environments Construction (CEC) has more than 18 years of national and international experience designing and building cold storage facilities for large, multinational food and pharmaceutical companies, including Castle and Cooke Cold Storage, Baker Cold Storage, Amgen, Cargill and Golden State Foods. CEC’s founder and president, Gary Guesman, has been in construction for more than 33 years, with 25 years of food and food-related construction experience. The company is dedicated to incorporating customer-oriented technology that will improve the client’s bottom line. According to Guesman, the company won’t incorporate technology that does not positively affect the client’s bottom line.

Driven by the philosophy that action is the answer to environmental challenges, CEC is known for integrating innovative green technology into the construction design. Guesman feels that an increase in energy prices will have the biggest impact on the cold storage industry over the next ten years. CEC is in the business of mitigating energy costs through energy efficient technology, including fuel cells and improving the energy efficiency of the cold storage sector.

What sets CEC apart from its competition is a willingness to try new and different technologies. According to Guesman, the company does the research first and then integrates proven technologies into the framework of the design. CEC is a company that turns challenges into opportunities through the integration or reorganization of existing technologies.

FUEL CELL TECHNOLOGY IN COLD STORAGE

“We provided and installed the first fuel cell ever hooked up to a cold storage facility,” says
Guesman. CEC integrated the fuel cell technology into a project for Inland Cold Storage in Port
of Stockton, California. “We are self-generating about 80 percent of our own energy requirement
on that site using natural gas,” says Guesman.

CEC worked closely with the client to develop the project. “It was upon our recommendation that
the fuel cell was installed,” says Guesman. The technology allowed Inland Cold Storage to take
advantage of energy efficiency incentives in place in California.

“In the food processing and cold storage business, one of the major impacts on our clients’

businesses are energy costs,” says Guesman. ”We’re trying to mitigate those energy costs
and at the same time provide an environmentally sound program so that they can meet
requirements now and in the future for their power and be environmentally responsible
corporate citizens.”

CEC is focused on creating energy that is both economical and clean. Fuel cell technology
is superior to other energy technologies in energy efficiency, cost savings and impact on the
planet. CEC is a distributor for FuelCell Energy, a fuel cell manufacturer based in Danbury,
Connecticut. “A fuel cell in and of itself is a great tool, but it’s only a tool and you have to
integrate it into the cold storage system,” says Guesman. “You have to understand cold
storage facilities and food processing facilities in order to take full advantage of these new
technologies.”

INNOVATIVE GREEN TECHNOLOGY

“We’ve developed a system where we can develop convertible space,” says Guesman.
Typically in cold storage, rooms are either freezers or coolers. CEC developed a facility-wide
refrigeration and structural strategy to allow the spaces to convert to freezers or coolers with
the ability to run from -20 degrees to 45 degrees at a control of +/- 2 degrees. The company
has been working on the program for the last 15 years, allowing clients the maximum amount of
flexibility and benefiting clients who are subject to seasonal fluctuations in their businesses from
fresh to frozen.

CEC was one of the first companies to rely on microprocessor-based controls for energy
savings. Based on this technology, the company developed its own control architecture that
uses time of day calibration to respond to peak energy demand and lower cost energy.

“We’re working with a company to develop a biogas facility to provide for local energy
requirements for food distributors, agricultural interests and to put power back onto the grid in
California,” says Guesman. “We’re seeking out new and different ways to employ our strategy.”

CEC is currently working with New Jersey-based Value Recovery, Inc. an environmental
technology company that focuses on emission controls for the fumigation of imported and
exported food products. Value Recovery’s “single pass” technology destroys spent methyl
bromide after the fumigation cycle. . Methyl bromide is considered a volatile organic
compound (VOC) commonly used in fumigation. “We’ve worked closely with Value Recovery on
developing a protocol that allows their patented system to provide scrubbing of methyl bromide
from fumigation activities,” says Guesman. CEC links employees to the discussions about
innovative technology to get feedback and increase interest in the technology being explored.

CEC is using technology in the business to control energy use and create a smaller footprint.
CEC sees natural gas and biogas vehicles in its future. Guesman believes that these types of
fuel will help the company dramatically decrease its carbon footprint and seeks to transition 25
to 30 percent of its vehicles by the end of next year.

FUTURE PLANS

In addition to developing new projects in the United States, CEC is looking towards the cold
storage markets of India and China and is currently working with a sales affiliate. “From the
farm to the plate, there’s no one that compares to how Americans do food, from distribution
to sanitation, safety and the like,” says Guesman. The company seeks to take its experience
with food storage construction and incorporate it into facilities within these emerging markets.
Further, the company also wishes to expand its reach in the fumigation markets.

The economic climate of the past 18 months has impacted the business. CEC is offering
incentives to clients to move forward with projects. Through creative financing and lender
education, CEC is finding ways to help clients fund their projects.

Guesman plans to redirect his efforts in five years and take a consultant-type role within the
company. His son, who’s worked up the ranks of the company to his current position as partner,
is poised to take over as president and run the day to day operations when Guesman transitions
out of the leadership role.