HCR specified by Wal-Mart.

Lewistown, Montana based HCR, Inc., has announced their engineered freezer and cooler doorway equipment has been specified by Wal-Mart for all specialty distribution centers that supply grocery items to Sam's Clubs, Wal-Mart Super Centers and Wal-Mart stores nationwide.

After a lengthy review of doors by Wal-Mart maintenance managers and Energy-Cost Analyses reviewed by their consulting refrigeration engineers, the cost-justification decision was made to switch to the higher first-cost HCR doorway equipment from the high-speed traffic doors using big heaters. Utilizing HCR equipment will result in the total elimination of ice, frost and condensation at Wal-Mart freezer doorways. In turn, this contributes toward increased productivity, reduced doorway maintenance and replacement, improved doorway safety, reduced refrigeration loads, fewer defrost cycles and a direct dollar pay-back on the equipment through lower annual energy requirements.

All Wal-Mart freezer doorways (new and existing) will be equipped with the HCR Model DCAV "Double Conditioned-Air Vestibule" that utilizes "free", low-grade, waste heat generated by the refrigeration system and is captured by a hot-gas reclaim coil. The high-speed traffic door heat source of several hundred thousand kilowatt hours typically required per freezer doorway, generated by large infrared heaters and/or heat lamps, is reduced to zero with HCR engineered doorway equipment.

All Wal-Mart high-traffic cooler doorways will be equipped with the HCR Model AC "Horizontal Re-Circulatory Air Curtain". By not having a physical door to hit, maintain or replace, the HCR Model AC provides a totally open doorway allowing fork truck traffic to pass thru more quickly, which leads to improved productivity, reduced maintenance and increased safety. Because of HCR's unique design, the Model AC is highly effective in reducing two-way air exchange that normally takes place between open doorways of different temperatures and allows for a completely unobstructed doorway.

The HCR Model NPAC "Negative Pressure Air Curtain", which has special fluctuating air pressure detecting instruments, is currently in use at all existing Wal-Mart specialty distribution centers. Over a six-year maintenance history review between eight specialty distribution centers there has only been a pulley belt and fan motor bearing replaced at two locations. Both were warranty problems.

The HCR Models DCAV, AC and NPAC have been used by major grocery and food service distribution centers, refrigerated warehouses and food plants nationwide since 1974.

For additional information, contact Bill Hefner, Marketing Manager, HCR, Inc./East Coast Office. Phone [phone].