Word Circulating About Coenco

Tom Dietrick, an independent poultry grower in Cedar Falls, Iowa, is saving a small fortune. And he’s not the only one.

Four years ago, he began using the Positive Air System patented by Coordinated Environmental Control Inc. (Coenco) of Fayetteville in six of his seven turkey houses. He says the installation of Coenco’s Real Air Movers has improved his feed conversion costs by 0.2 percent.

Previously it took Dietrick 2.6 pounds of feed to grow one pound of turkey meat, at a cost of 7 cents per pound of feed or 18 cents per pound of meat. Coenco cut those numbers to 2.4 pounds of feed or about 17 cents per pound of meat.

Considering Dietrick raises 100,000 toms, at an average of 27 pounds each, and 150,000 hens averaging 14 pounds each, that’s a savings of around $67,200 per year.

“It doesn’t sound like much until you look at the whole picture,” says Dietrick, whose farm includes 340 acres. “It causes the air to be cleaner. It helps keep the temperature within two degrees of where you set it and it does a great job of moving air and getting the moisture out of the houses.

“It’s decreased our mortality rate by a couple of percentage points. It just makes for healthier birds.”

Odor reduction, even in the winter when poultry houses must be sealed up for warmth, is another benefit.

Coenco’s system, which uses a unique bullet-like movement of air by stainless steel or die cast aluminum fan tubes, is being used by 15 poultry operations across the nation and in numerous production plants of Tyson Foods Inc. of Springdale and Cargill Inc. of Wayzata, Minn.

But it’s not just for agriculture anymore. Coenco’s systems have proven so effective that commercial companies and manufacturers are installing them in plants and warehouses. Coenco currently has contracts with more than 100 companies, including Wal-Mart Stores Inc. of Bentonville, Gerber Foods Inc.’s Fort Smith plant and the new $120 million Owasso, Okla., factory built by Whirlpool Corp. of Benton Harbor, Mich.

“The methodology was developed in a poultry house, but it’s shown to be effective in any open-space building,” says Frank Siccardi, Coenco’s owner and developer and a longtime veterinarian.

“We installed our first system for Fruit of the Loom the other day, and they plan to install our system in all 20 of their plants within the next year. It’s refreshing to work with people who want to understand the technology and use it.”

Siccardi says the system works by carrying air in a straight line for about 150 feet — rather than spraying it in a circle like traditional fans — and bouncing it off a wall. It utilizes low horsepower motors that save on energy costs while coordinating with existing heating and cooling systems.

“Rather than independent items functioning independently,” Siccardi says, “”the Positive Air System brings about an interaction of all of the factors going on in the building. The lights, the motors, the people, the animals, the building. It coordinates everything to enhance the effects of the environmental control.”

Coenco, at 3532 on Washington County Road 706, employs six people and has annual sales of around $1 million. Its fan blades are imported from Denmark, and its specially designed motors come from Motor Technology Inc. of Dayton, Ohio, and Baldor Electric Co. of Fort Smith.

Cost of Coenco’s systems ranges from around 10 cents to 12 cents per SF in highly dense warehouses to $1 per SF for sophisticated factories or athletic buildings.