Danone, World’s Largest B-Corp, Gets Cell Enhancement from Illuminati Labs

Danone, the world’s largest B Corporation, is the company behind brands like Horizon Organic, Silk, Evian, Activia, Dannon, Oikos and many more of your favorite foods. Danone North America’s 67,000 square foot food preparation, research and testing facility in Louisville, CO, was in dire need of a cell signal enhancement system. At the advice of Verizon and Wilson Electronics, they called in Illuminati Labs to provide relief.

About the Project:

Danone’s massive building received cell signal from a fiber optic cable provided by Verizon. During some nearby construction, the fiber was accidentally cut, and Verizon was called in to replace it. Verizon soon discovered that once the cell signal reached the Danone building it was being distributed via the Public Safety DAS system, which is no longer allowed under Louisville’s municipal rules. (At the time the building was constructed it was probably permissible, but the vast majority of cities now require these signals to be distributed separately to ensure that first responders have plenty of communication network in the event of an emergency). Verizon called the experts at Wilson Electronics and together they referred Danone’s sourcing manager, Andrew Boey, to Illuminati Labs, asking us to create a separate cell system in the building once the fiber was replaced.

The nature of this Danone facility created some interesting challenges for Illuminati Labs’ installation crew. The first challenge was that the degree of signal suppression created by the building was extraordinary. Normally, when we conduct a site survey, we see very weak signal throughout a building and then a few pockets that have absolutely no signal at all. But in Danone’s building full of labs, massive refrigerators, and sterile rooms, the entire facility had zero signal.

The second challenge was that the food preparation, research and testing labs had to be kept perfectly sanitary – the growing cultures could not be exposed to any outside contaminants. This meant our installers had to be decked out in full “clean room” garb. We’re familiar with extreme precautions, having done systems in several hospitals and psychiatric wards, but we’ve never had to stand in trays of sanitizer before entering a room!

Thankfully, we had Danone’s Adam Frederick, Sr. Pilot Technologist/Maintenance Specialist, to be our “wrangler.” He coordinated moving everyone safely from one lab to another while we conducted our testing of each room. We owe him a huge thanks because we couldn’t have done it without his help.

About the Company:

Multi-national food production corporation, Danone, acquired White Wave Foods in 2017 and formed Danone North America to nourish people, communities and the world through its diverse portfolio of healthful dairy- and plant-based products, coffee creamers and beverages. 

In 2018, it celebrated becoming the largest certified B-Corporation in the world. The B-Corp status, it said, is “a promise that a company is doing business in a way that meets rigorous standards of performance, transparency and accountability”.

Danone North America received a perfect score of 100 on the 2019 Corporate Equality Index (CEI), a leading benchmarking survey and report on corporate policies and practices related to LGBTQ workplace equality, administered by the Human Rights Campaign (HRC) Foundation.

“From the very beginning of Danone North America, we made a bold commitment to nourish lives, including those of our employees, and sustain a healthier world through food by declaring our priority to become a Certified B Corp by 2020—a milestone we achieved in April 2018, two years ahead of schedule,” said Mariano Lozano, CEO of Danone North America.

“Our business is a force for good, balancing our financial interests with the social and environmental benefits we want to create for people, their communities and the planet. We have a deep commitment to inclusive diversity and the many members of our PRIDE employee resource group [ERG] are living proof, in addition to this recognition by HRC.”

Illuminati Labs is particularly honored to work with a company with such an impressive commitment to the world and human rights.