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Jelly Belly Leverages WeatherTRAK Smart Irrigation to Reduce Water Use at 35-acre Campus

“An inviting look to our campus is important since we host a half million members of the public each year to our tours. An irrigation solution with minimal capital investment and disruption that would yield significant water savings in our landscaped areas was intriguing.”

— Jeff Brown
V.P. Operations & Distribution, Jelly Belly Candy Co.

Maintaining a 35-acre campus that encompasses a corporate headquarters, manufacturing, warehousing and a public tour center in arid Fairfield, California, demands plenty of water. Water usage takes on a more significant impact when one factors in maintaining 5.5 acres of green space featuring turf, trees and shrubs, all of which were designed to enhance the experience of the visitors that tour Jelly Belly’s facility each year.

By partnering with HydroPoint Data Systems and Valley Crest Landscape Maintenance (now BrightView), the Jelly Belly Candy Company expects to reduce outdoor water use by 29%.

How? One element in the plan involves replacing outdated irrigation clocks with smart irrigation controllers to deliver significant cost savings.

“We actively look for ways to improve cost efficiencies in our manufacturing and site expenses,” explains Jeff Brown, V.P. of Operations & Distribution for Jelly Belly Candy Co. “We host a half million members of the public each year on our tours, so an inviting look to our campus is important. An irrigation solution with minimal capital investment and disruption that would yield significant water savings in our landscaped areas was intriguing.”

HydroPoint’s WeatherTRAK Smart Water Management solutions provide grounds crews with 24/7 visibility and remote control access to irrigation schedules and water use. Daily evapotranspiration (ET) data is transmitted to the WeatherTRAK controllers, updating the automated watering schedules as local weather conditions change. Plants receive precise amounts of water only when they need it.

The technology eliminates over-watering as well as costly water run-off, hardscape repairs and liabilities. The system automates irrigation to run after business hours so Mr. Jelly Belly and the 30-foot inflatable Jelly Belly mascots can greet visitors without interference from overspray or excess water in the popular grassy picnic areas surrounding the visitor center.

HOW WEATHERTRAK HELPED:

  • Instant alerts and notifications – fault detection, diagnostics, and unscheduled use is brought to attention immediately
  • Elimination of overwatering – The WeatherTRAK automated system makes adjustments based on soil type, plant type, sprinkler type, slope, sun exposure, weather and more
  • Centralized site info – easily-accessible info on personnel location, group management and communications, and ability to import a site image and maps for site reports
  • A decrease in spending – Jelly Belly can avoid spending on repairs, runoff and leaks and breaks, thanks to WeatherTRAK alerts, precise landscape and irrigation asset tracking, dashboard reporting summaries and water budget reporting and analytics
  • More control – more oversight, more visibility through dashboards and data collection, and sophisticated communication networks that include two-way messaging, uploading photos, and real-time mapping