McDonalds

McDonald's Owner Converted!
John Schroff, President and Chief Executive Officer of JMS Enterprises, Inc. of Waynesboro, MS knows a lot about fast food --- he owns four McDonalds restaurants in Mississippi. In his business, a quick and efficient operation is necessary to be successful. That's why Schroff eventually converted his all-gas McDonalds to an all-electric restaurant and that's why he's been a proponent of all-electric ever since.

An electric conversion.
Schroff started switching his remaining all-gas McDonalds to all-electric based on the positive experiences he had with his other restaurants. "We started by converting some of the frying vats to electric. We also converted the gas heating units through the air conditioning system to electric heating. The reason we switched was because of our experience with maintenance and reliability in the other restaurants. We went electric at the older store based on increased efficiency from equipment, easier maintainability and added reliability."

Big Mac, Filet 'O Fish, Quarter Pounder, Electric Fryer . . .
Maintainability has been a key ingredient in the success of the new electric equipment. According to Schroff, "The electric vats are much easier to clean simply because they're easier to use. We don't have to get underneath them and clean as hard around the components. They are much easier to clean and deal with than the gas units."

The analysis is electric!
When Schroff decided to build a new restaurant, he had a wealth of experience working with an all-electric and an all-gas restaurant. "When this new store was built we had experiences from an all-electric store and from converting a gas store to all-electric," said Scrhoff. "After we analyzed the efficiency of those restaurants, we determined that the best package for us to use at the new store was all-electric right from the start."

As Schroff discovered, Mississippi Power offers financing packages to help start all-electric business or to convert all-gas businesses. "At Mississippi Power Company, we offer low-interest financing on electric heat, electric water heat and electric cooking equipment," said Sherry Lesher, a Hospitality Segment Representative for Mississippi Power Company. "We also have a discounted rate if your business is all electric --- whether it is new or existing. The rate varies form 4 to 10% depending on your usage."

The bottom line.
"The economics of using electric versus gas was simple. We were able to combine the efficiencies and get a lower rate for our utilities. By getting that lower rate we added to our bottom line," said Schoff. "McDonalds Corporation provides us with guidelines to estimate our utility costs and our energy costs. Using those guidelines, we projected our energy costs at this new store and have consistently been below our energy requirements every month."

Bright ideas.
"One of the best experiences I've had with my all-electric operation is that when I need help I can get it from Mississippi Power. If I wanted to expand my operation in the future, I know they would provide me with the package I needed to get it done quickly and efficiently. Also, if I wanted to come up with any new ideas, I know they would be there to help me expand on those ideas and make sure I could implement them as efficiently as possible."