Palermo’s scales pinsa production with flexible refrigeration technology

Frozen pizza is a widely enjoyed meal among American consumers. Steeped in Italian tradition, Palermo Villa, Inc. (Palermo’s) grew from a small bakery to a leader in frozen pizza manufacturing in the US. Their mission to deliver a great pizza experience, combined with a strong commitment to innovation, has driven their success for the last 60 years. Palermo’s is now focusing their growth on a new product line, pinsa, and a new market, food service.

Expanding production capacity for a new product line 

Since Palermo’s needed more production capacity to grow, they decided to build a new bakery facility in West Milwaukee, Wisconsin for pinsa manufacturing. Pinsa is an oval-shaped Italian flatbread similar to pizza, but since it has a different fermentation process, baking temperature, and ingredients, Palermo’s knew their new facility would have unique refrigeration requirements. Beyond increasing production capacity, Palermo's needed a refrigeration system that could deliver precise temperature and humidity control, simplify operations across facilities, and support future production flexibility.

Designing a flexible refrigeration system for pinsa production

Palermo’s selected Kuhlman Incorporated to design and install the refrigeration system in their new facility. Kuhlman’s first challenge was to simplify equipment operation and maintenance across both Palermo’s factories and reduce energy consumption in the new facility. During the design phase, the team identified strict temperature and humidity requirements for several pinsa production processes, requiring refrigeration equipment capable of supporting precise environmental control. Additionally, they had to meet an aggressive timeline to get the refrigeration system up and running before the food processing equipment arrived. 

Leveraging proven partnerships to increase energy efficiency

Since 2005, GEA compressor packages have been operating at Palermo's corporate headquarters in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, supporting an ammonia refrigeration system for their pizza manufacturing. Palermo's confidence in the reliability and low maintenance requirements of its existing GEA equipment made the selection for the new facility a natural choice. Even though the two facilities were very different, GEA was able to replicate their existing GEA Omni control panel and Supervisory Computer and Data Acquisition System (SCADA) experience, making it easier for technicians to operate and maintain.

To support production areas with varying temperature and humidity requirements, Kuhlman designed a flexible two-stage refrigeration system that allows Palermo’s operators to respond quickly to changing production demands. A two-stage ammonia refrigeration system utilizing four GEA compressor packages was designed to serve approximately 80,000 square feet of refrigerated space. The packages included two high-stage, one booster and one swing, which would provide flexibility for various production needs. The GEA Omni control panels would play a big part in regulating the equipment to meet their temperature and humidity requirements.

Designed for energy savings and operational efficiency

In August 2025, the GEA equipment was commissioned on schedule, supporting Palermo’s production launch timeline. For pinsa production at the new facility, they are running one high-stage machine, which delivers the processing/storage cooling load and one booster, which delivers a very low temperature for deep freezing. The swing compressor can support different operating duties as production requirements change. It also provides additional operating flexibility when another package is unavailable due to planned maintenance, helping Palermo’s maintain refrigeration capacity without interrupting production. GEA continues to support Palermo's as production requirements evolve, implementing operational adjustments through the GEA Omni control platform.

For this project, Palermo’s received a grant from Focus on Energy, a Wisconsin state energy efficiency and renewable resource program. Kuhlman conducted a study for the grant, which estimated annual energy savings of approximately 916,440 kWh with a 3-year payback. The projected savings were associated with the refrigeration system design, including two-stage compression, GEA compressor packages with thermosiphon oil cooling and VFD capacity control, and operation at reduced discharge pressure.

This project demonstrates how strategically designed refrigeration systems can become a foundation for food manufacturing growth, innovation and sustainability. With a scalable refrigeration system, familiar controls, and significant projected energy savings, Palermo's is well positioned to support continued growth in pinsa production while maintaining the operational efficiency and product quality that have defined its success for decades.