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Sunshine to offset most of Dramm’s Algoma facility’s energy needs 

New 10,000-square-foot, 120 kW ground-mounted solar field is currently under construction at company’s fish fertilizer facility

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January 13, 2025

ALGOMA – Fritz Dramm, fertilizer production and compliance manager at Dramm Corporation, said the solar fields nearing completion at the company’s Algoma facility will only ramp up the environmental impact of the fish fertilizer product manufactured there.

The facility (located at E5842 WI-54), Fritz said, is home to the production of DRAMMATIC® Liquid Fish Fertilizer, a product collected from fish offal collected from commercial and sport fishermen.

The product, he said, diverts millions of pounds of fish waste from landfills and waterways, using the nutrient-rich offal to promote soil health for organic and conventional farmland and homeowners’ gardens alike. 

Fritz said the beauty of the new 10,000-square-foot, 120 kW ground-mounted solar field well underway at the facility is its ability to offset a significant amount of the plant’s energy consumption.

With 6,100 square feet dedicated to 220 high-efficiency solar panels and one inverter, Fritz said the static panels will collect the majority of solar energy when the sun is highest but will collect energy anytime the sun shines.

Fritz Dramm said the new 10,000-square-foot, 120 kW ground-mounted solar field has the ability to offset a significant amount of the Algoma plant’s energy consumption. Submitted Photo

Any excess energy not used by the facility, he said, will be returned to the grid.

“Offsetting up to 74% of energy costs is incredible,” he said. “It follows suit with the similar solar array on the southwest corner of our Manitowoc property.”

Fritz said Dramm’s corporate headquarters completed in 2022 features 286 solar panels, providing 90% of the company’s energy at that site.

The $120,000 project in Algoma, he said, is supported by a grant from the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Fertilizer Production Expansion Program (FPEP).

“There are tax advantages to investing in solar these days, with the program covering about half the project costs,” he said. “It’s a nice investment for us as we do consume quite a bit of energy at the plant with the large motors required to grind up the fish.”

Right time, right location

Given most of that activity occurs in spring, summer and fall, when the sun is at its highest, Fritz said it made sense for Dramm to incorporate solar energy into the Algoma property.

That cycle of production, he said, also lent itself well to the solar panel installation in December and January, when the facility is fairly quiet.

Construction on the Algoma facility’s solar panels is expected to be completed this month. Submitted Photo

During its high season, Fritz said it’s not unusual for 53-foot reefer trailers to bring 40,000 pounds of fish scraps to the plant for grinding.

Over time, he said that has worn down the grinding equipment, prompting Dramm to upgrade its motorized equipment simultaneously. 

“We expect the new equipment to double our grinding volume in a day, doing the work with fewer people and faster,” he said. “Given there are only a few people active at the plant, having employees available to do other things with shipments, supplies, etc. is going to be a big advantage.”

In line with sustainability theme

Over the next 20 years, Fritz said the installation is projected to offset 2,384 tons of CO₂ emissions, reducing greenhouse gases.

He said this is the equivalent of eliminating the impact of driving 5.4 million miles by car or planting the equivalent of 35,756 trees.

It’s just the latest in the company’s decades-long history of embracing sustainability, Fritz said. 

“When you think of any of our products, there is a theme of sustainability at play in the background,” he said. “I think of something like our (Dramm 400 AL) waterbreaker for hand watering to ease the strain of watering flowers in a greenhouse and doing it without spilling or wasting water. That’s where all our products in that line have followed – well thought-out and organized systems and tools to effectively water without waste.”

The original opportunity to add the fish fertilizer to Dramm’s product line, Fritz said, fell in step with that mindset as well. 

The 220 high-efficiency solar panels will collect energy anytime the sun shines. Submitted Photo

“Rather than throwing fish scrap into a lake or landfill or burying it on a farmer’s land somewhere and losing the nutrient value, Kurt (Dramm) sought a way to make a usable product,” he said. “Until Kurt passed, it was one of his favorite things to talk about because it was interesting and challenging and not our typical type of product.”

In 2000, Fritz said the Algoma location – partnering with and assuming operations of a small fertilizer manufacturer – allowed for the creation of the fertilizer segment of Dramm.

The product, he said, has grown steadily through the years, appealing to a range of clients from small cranberry growers to corn and bean growers with thousands of acres to small organic outfits.

Fritz said the newest solar array is a great example of how Dramm is guided by thoughtfulness and responsibility in their production as well as how the tools they create are used by their customers.

“We have good discussions to address problems and challenges that growers and other customers tell us they need to overcome,” he said.

Fritz said the solar panels’ construction process is expected to be completed this month.

TBN
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