Pilgrim's Pride Earns GE Ecomagination Award for Reducing Greenhouse Gas Emissions, Waste Solids and Water Use

Pilgrim's Pride Earns GE Ecomagination Award for Reducing Greenhouse Gas Emissions, Waste Solids and Water Use

TREVOSE, Pa.--January 21 --Pilgrim’s Pride Corporation (NYSE:PPC - News), the largest chicken company in the U.S., today received a 2008 ecomagination leadership award from GE Water & Process Technologies, a unit of General Electric Company (NYSE:GE -), for achieving reductions in greenhouse gas emissions, waste solids, and water usage at its El Dorado, Arkansas facility. Presented at a general meeting of Pilgrim’s Pride executives in Atlanta, Georgia, the ecomagination award honors the company for achieving nearly $500,000 in annual operational savings and numerous environmental benefits. A new ecomagination-certified GE wastewater treatment system, using entrapped air flotation technology (EAF), enables the El Dorado plant to reduce the amount of waste solids produced in the wastewater treatment system by 425,000 pounds per week. This eliminates the need to transport the waste solids offsite, and reduces the associated greenhouse gas emissions from trucking by more than 800,000 pounds per year—or the amount of carbon dioxide that would be removed from the atmosphere by a one hundred acre forest.

The reductions are possible because the EAF system eliminates the use of 286,000 gallons per year of ferric sulfate, a chemical that is commonly used to help remove contaminants from wastewater but can result in large amounts of waste solids. Pilgrim’s Pride also captures and reuses the high quality effluent produced by the system, and currently recycles about 30,000 gallons of water per day to wash down outdoor areas and for non-contact cooling.

“GE’s extensive portfolio of advanced equipment and chemical treatment technologies is helping companies throughout the world to expand their sustainable business practices and achieve significant operational and environmental benefits,” said Jeff Garwood, president and CEO, GE Water & Process Technologies. “The solutions implemented by Pilgrim’s Pride not only provide positive benefits for the business, but also the community at large—by reducing the number of trucks on the road and the associated GHG emissions, waste solids going to landfill, and demands on potable water supplies. We are extremely pleased to honor Pilgrim’s Pride today for its commitment to making changes that produce big wins for the business and the environment.”

“The GE EAF wastewater treatment technology was selected for our El Dorado, AR processing plant following extensive onsite testing and an evaluation of other treatment equipment and options,” said Vernon Rowe, Corporate Environmental Manager for Pilgrim’s Pride Corporation. “Based on the test results and evaluations, we were convinced that the GE EAF technology gave us the best opportunity to treat our wastewater to a higher quality with reduced chemical usage and reduced waste solids. As a matter of fact, what once were waste solids have now been turned into a valuable by-product that is being processed at our Farmerville, LA protein conversion plant and being converted to a valuable protein source for poultry and animal feed. We are very pleased with the results we have achieved with the GE EAF technology and will be evaluating other opportunities to use the technology in similar applications.”

Pilgrim’s Pride is continually exploring and implementing new technologies to use water more efficiently at its plants. To date, the company has implemented water reuse systems that save well over 3,000,000 gallons of water every day at its combined plants. Such strategies are particularly important not only to conserve potable water supplies, but also to ensure that facilities continue to operate at full capacity during times of water shortage. Pilgrim’s Pride recently intensified the examination of ways to implement additional water savings at its plants in Georgia in light of the unprecedented drought conditions the state is currently experiencing.

The Metro Atlanta Chamber of Commerce and GE Water & Process Technologies recently hosted the Georgia Water Solutions Forum in Atlanta on Dec. 10, 2007. Speakers at the forum, which included Senator Johnny Isakson, Atlanta Mayor Shirley Franklin, Georgia Environmental Protection Division Director Dr. Carol Couch and GE Vice Chairman John Rice all addressed the need to implement sound water stewardship practices and expand on everyone’s role in developing technology, policy, and conservation strategies that can help the region reduce, reuse and replenish water supplies in Georgia.

ABOUT GE WATER & PROCESS TECHNOLOGIES

A world leader in water, water reuse, wastewater treatment and process solutions, GE Water & Process Technologies brings the best technologies to enhance our customers’ efficiency while protecting our environment. GE offers the broadest portfolio of water and process technologies, including: separation equipment; membrane & filtration technology; diagnostic tools; specialty chemicals; mobile water capabilities; service; and financing. GE is your single source no matter what your water or process need. GE is committed to develop and bring to market technologies that promote energy efficiency, lower harmful emissions, increase supplies of water, and reduce our use of fossil fuel—it’s called ecomagination. For more information visit www.ge.com/water.

ABOUT PILGRIM’S PRIDE CORPORATION

Pilgrim's Pride Corporation is the largest chicken producer in the United States and Puerto Rico and the second-largest producer and seller of chicken in Mexico. Pilgrim's Pride employs approximately 55,000 people and operates 38 poultry processing and 12 prepared-foods facilities, with major operations in Texas, Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, Tennessee, Virginia, West Virginia, Mexico and Puerto Rico as well as other facilities in Arizona, Iowa, Mississippi, Ohio and Utah. Pilgrim's Pride products are sold to foodservice, retail and frozen entree customers. The Company's primary distribution is through retailers, foodservice distributors and restaurants throughout the United States and Puerto Rico and in the Northern and Central regions of Mexico. For more information, please visit http://www.pilgrimspride.com.



Contact:GE Water & Process TechnologiesTony KobilnykGlobal Trade Media Relations ManagerOffice: 905.465.3030 Ext. 3381Cell: 905.330.6083anthony.kobilnyk@ge.comorGE Water & Process TechnologiesEllen MellodyMedia Relations ManagerOffice: 215.942.3307Cell: 215.989.3025ellen.mellody@ge.comorPilgrim's Pride CorporationRay AtkinsonDirector of Corporate CommunicationsOffice: (540) 896-0406Cell: (540) 476-4468ray.atkinson@pilgrimspride.com
Source: GE Water & Process Technologies