COROOS - Smart Lighting for Preserved Foodstuffs

In cooperation with itsme Lighting Technology, COROOS is switching to LED lighting in its warehouses at its Kapelle site. Together, they chose luminaires from Bever Innovations from Zierikzee. They are equipped with motion detection and daylight compensation. Bever’s smart control provides additional energy savings, while raising the lighting level to meet the latest standard for safe working in indoor areas (NEN EN 12464-1).

COROOS has been preserving fruit, legumes and vegetables into products in jars, tins and flexible packaging since 1957. The Dutch family-owned company is ranked among the top three in Europe and has branches in Kapelle and Geldermalsen. More than 300 million consumer units are produced and stored at the plants every year. Five years ago, Jeroen Fondse started in Kapelle as Chief Electrical Engineer; since 2021, he has been working as Project Engineer. He introduced itsme, which he knew from his previous employer, to COROOS. Initially for technical hardware, such as PLCs and drives - later on, itsme’s lighting branch also came into the picture.

Motion detection and daylight compensation

“There was a lot of energy-saving potential in the warehouses in particular,” says Fondse. The forklift traffic there was at irregular intervals, but the fluorescent lighting was on all the time. COROOS engaged itsme Lighting Technology for a multi-year project to switch to LED. It started with one warehouse. “itsme looked at the building plans of the premises and checked on site what had changed over the years. They digitised it, and then they conducted a lighting study. Finally, they made a 3D model with the new lighting to see if it met our requirements and the applicable standards. Those model studies gave a good picture upfront, as a result of which only minor adjustments were needed afterwards on site.”

“itsme’s Lighting Technology 3D model studies give a good picture upfront.”

By mutual agreement, COROOS and itsme Lighting Technology chose LED luminaires from Bever Innovations. “There were several reasons for that,” explains Fondse. The first was Bever’s smart technology. “Their luminaires are equipped with motion detection and daylight compensation, so that lights are only on during forklift movements in the warehouse and no more than necessary. Bever also uses “sensor sharing”: sensors can communicate with each other wirelessly and you can group them together. For example, if the sensor on the first of a row of luminaires detects movement, they all switch on. We are also on the Bever Dashboard, which allows us to monitor energy consumption and the number of switches. The dashboard is still under development; more features are being added all the time.” The quality of their luminaires also argued in favour of Bever. “Their expected lifespan is high and they can also be installed in cold environments. So, we can use the luminaires almost everywhere, which means we don’t have to keep a large variety of different versions in stock.”

Integrated emergency lighting

Another important factor for COROOS was that Bever is a local player. The innovator in the LED lighting industry is based in Zierikzee, which, like Kapelle, is situated in the province of Zeeland. Fondse: “Bever wanted to think along with us about our demand for integrated emergency lighting. Bever didn’t have that yet, but together with itsme and COROOS they developed a new product for that, by adding batteries to their regular luminaires. That way, the luminaires run as emergency lighting when the power drops out.” 

“Bever does not yet have a solution for every lighting problem,” says Yannick Dusarduijn, Consultant at itsme Lighting Technology. “However, when it concerns smart lighting, we turn to Bever a lot of the time; they provide high-end luminaires that can be controlled very well. We do not make recommendations to our customers from a set portfolio or catalogue, instead we always look for the solution for each application. At COROOS, for example, we are now also working on outdoor lighting, provided by Philips. Via a bridge module developed by Bever, this outdoor lighting can be controlled from the online Bever Dashboard.”

“COROOS got more light for less energy, which could also be intelligently controlled.”

“The project for the warehouses started as a pilot with a dozen or so luminaires,” says Fondse. “To see if it was a good solution for us, we monitored and then assessed the results.” Dusarduijn: “Together with Jeroen, we presented those results to COROOS. The savings convinced the management. They got more light for less energy, which could also be intelligently controlled and was integrated with the emergency lighting.” Meanwhile, several warehouses have been fitted with the new lighting, with several more halls planned for the next couple of years; more than 200 luminaires installed, about 500 more to go.

“In addition to energy savings, safety was an important driver for COROOS,” adds Fondse. “For that, we looked at the lighting level. The connection capacity of the luminaires has remained the same, which means we have managed to double the light output. As a result, we now comply with the laws and regulations for safe working, whereas in the old situation we were substandard.” Had the lighting level remained the same, COROOS could have achieved up to 80% energy savings. Now, with safety improvements, it is still a significant 65%.

Obviously, in the production halls there are also opportunities for energy savings with LED, but smart control does not yield much there. “In production, the lighting stays on 24/7, for safety and overview. In this case, smooth luminaires will be used. We need these in food to prevent dirt from accumulating.”

Enthusiastic forklift drivers

“The cooperation between COROOS and itsme Lighting Technology is going very well,” concludes Jeroen Fondse. “We are confident about the future.” This, of course, has everything to do with the good results achieved so far in terms of energy savings and lighting levels, as Yannick Dusarduijn of itsme Lighting Technology also knows. “Jeroen told us that their forklift drivers are very enthusiastic about the new lighting.”

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