Background
Dr. Oetker is a global food manufacturer known for its pizzas, baking products, and desserts, with a South African production facility in Selby, Johannesburg. The factory operates sensitive, continuous production lines that cannot tolerate power interruptions. Persistent load-shedding and frequent local municipal grid outages were forcing the facility to run diesel generators at a cost of approximately R1 million per month — a significant and unpredictable drain on operating margins.
Challenge
The Selby facility had severely limited space for additional infrastructure, ruling out conventional containerised energy storage. The solution had to be engineered in a top-and-bottom stacked configuration to fit within the available plant area — a technically complex arrangement requiring precise thermal management and structural design without compromising safety or accessibility.
Solution
SOCO ENERGY designed and installed a fully integrated 1.7MWh inline UPS solution, providing true seamless transfer during power outages with zero interruption to production. The system was engineered in a space-optimised top-and-bottom configuration and fully integrated with the facility's existing diesel generators, which now serve only as extended-duration backup rather than primary cover. The entire system was commissioned in 4 weeks.
Outcome
In the first year of operation, Dr. Oetker saved R12 million — eliminating diesel consumption during load-shedding and protecting the production line from municipal outages. The system continues to shield the facility from grid instability, converting an unpredictable operational risk into a fully managed, reliable energy position.