Sidel Systems U.S.A. Inc. is celebrating over 45 years of service in reducing energy waste and helping businesses save money while supporting sustainable practices. As one of the leaders of energy efficiency solutions for greenhouses and industrial applications since 1978, Sidel Systems U.S.A. Inc. has remained committed to transforming wasted energy into productive resources, setting a benchmark for eco-friendly innovation.
"I started as a truck driver, driving long haul from Edmonton, Alberta, to Laredo, Texas. After that, I got a gig to help someone build glass greenhouses. That one job became a catalyst, not just for my professional life, but also my personal life," founder Sid Abma recalls. "I ended up falling in love with the farmer's daughter, and that got me into the greenhouse industry."
Abma's fascination with energy efficiency began when he noticed the substantial heat loss in commercial greenhouse systems. "My job was to make my clients' heating systems as efficient as possible because we're heating glass and plastic buildings, elements that are not very energy efficient," he explains. The Sidel SRU Flue Gas Condenser, a heat recovery device that was added in the early 1980s, captures energy typically lost through exhaust and redirects it into productive use.
The SRU Flue Gas Condenser takes the combusted natural gas heat exhaust energy from natural gas boilers. This process enables greenhouse operators to facilitate and enrich plants with CO2 and irrigate them using water recovered from combustion. "We strive to be 100% energy efficient with our use of natural gas," Abma notes. "Waste is not waste if it has a purpose."
Over the decades, Sidel Systems U.S.A. Inc. has expanded its energy recovery solutions beyond greenhouses to commercial laundries, hospitals, universities, food processing, and packaging systems. Abma emphasizes the company's broader mission. "We're wasting all this exhaust. Let's turn it into good-paying jobs and money," he says. "We can use the recovered waste and leverage it by letting people work with harvesting and planting. The world will never have too much food, and with ideal conditions, absolutely anything can be grown."
Looking ahead, Sidel Systems U.S.A. Inc. is applying its decades of expertise to emerging industries, including AI data centers, which require enormous amounts of power. "AI data centers need a lot of power, and with community power plants being set up to source efficient energy, there's also a grave potential for the waste to go into the atmosphere," he notes.
But Abma envisions similar principles being applied. "Power plants are just big natural gas appliances. We can take the exhaust as it leaves the power plants, before it goes into the atmosphere, put it through the SRU Flue Gas Condenser, and use the heat efficiently," he says. "The cooled exhaust, which is CO2, can enrich plants and the water, which is sourced after taking the heat energy out, and can be used for irrigation. We're delivering a turn-key solution that could bring effective change for the environment. All that's left now is for people to implement it."
Abma's philosophy continues to guide the company: sustainable energy solutions should save money, reduce emissions, and support communities. He says, "My whole goal was to do this for my clients. I was not thinking about me; I was thinking about my clients. What can I do for them?"
As Sidel Systems U.S.A. Inc. marks more than four decades of innovation, its commitment remains rooted in the same principles it began with: to increase energy efficiency, reduce wasted energy, support sustainable agriculture, create more well-paying jobs, and inspire industries to rethink efficiency.
