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36 min ago 3 min read
Food and beverage carbon dioxide (CO2) supply reliability and resilience is back in focus amid CO2 tightness in the US Southeast.
The pressure on US suppliers and end users is projected to grow, with market research indicating global sales of food and beverage grade CO2 will rise from $8.8bn in 2026 to $14.6bn by 2036.
Speaking on a recent gasworld webinar, Andy Castiglione, President at WestAir Gases & Equipment, said that forward-thinking and developing contingency plans were key to building resilience as a regional industrial gases supplier to California’s food and beverage sector.
Headquartered in San Diego, WestAir has a portfolio of branches across California today, with major fill plants and distribution centers in National City, San Diego, and Anaheim in the LA Basin.
Historically, the state has always been one of the hardest hit by supply tightness due to plant closures and large CO2 demand within food, beverage, agriculture, and industrial sectors.
“California has been a growing market…But our CO2 supply sources have been dwindling over the years, and we lost two big facilities here in California fairly recently,” said Castiglione.
CO2 product can be transported by train from as far as Mississippi to support regional industry, but this supply still has a risk factor, he added.
“[There is] never a good replacement for having local supply sources, and local knowledge and local feed on the street [but] we have had some time to prepare.”
It is important for regional industrial gas distributors to have a contingency plan in place to improve supply reliability. This includes installing large CO2 storage systems, having extra drivers, and increasing transport availability.
For Castiglione, “When I look at reliability…we’re responsible for every step A to Z… we’re responsible for the entire process.”
He said that reliability as an industrial gas distributor looks like forming a diverse supply network, transporting the product, supporting logistics, and correctly invoicing.
These lessons are applicable across the US, where, according to CO2 consultant Bruce Woerner, “We have a tale of two cities. The Midwest is pretty long in CO2, [while the] West Coast and East Coast [are] still very tight on CO2.”
The role of end users
End users also play an important role in securing CO2 supply reliability in the US food and beverage sector.
Beyond adding extra storage and considering pricing, end users need to understand the supplier when looking for CO2 supply and assurance.
For Castiglione, the diversity behind a supplier’s network and its equipment capabilities are important considerations.
He also urges end users to understand the supply agreements they are entering into and to ensure it is a mutually beneficial agreement.
Moving forward, he shared, “Taking a holistic approach to CO2 is as important as it ever has been… and really looking at what is that perfect balance for you and your organisation and your CO2 requirement.”
