ICE & REFRIGERATION                                                                                         GOOD GEAR GUIDE 2002

Japan takes to flake ice

Japan has become the second largest market after France following a bit rise in export business in the past year for French icemaker manufacturer Geneglace.
"We sold a series of 30-tonne flake ice machines to Japan for marking artificial snow for ski slopes, but they were followed quickly by orders for ice machines for fishing undustry uses, "Geneglace's Peirre Brisse told.
Japan is showing a great deal of interest in flake ice at present, whereas traditionally the country has used only block or plate ice.
"We are also seeing a lot of growth in the retail sector in Japan due to new western-style supermarkets. Flake ice is ideal for their fish displays. "Tje Japanese have discovered the advantages of flake ice, which are that it has a larger surface area than chip ice and, because it is harvested mechanically, it is therefore dry."
The retail sector was also behind the development of a slow ice delivery system, as supermarkets want to deliver ice to displays via a hose, but without the high speeds of these systems.
"It was a problem to decrease the delivery speed, "Pierre Brisset sais "We worked with Ice-Flo and an Irish company based in Dundalk to develop this. Between us we came up with a reliable solution, so that they can deliver up to 30 kg a minute within a 100 metre range".
Geneglace is also seeing an increase in interest in storage and handling systems, such		 as been installed at Concarneau market.
"There is no central ice plant there, but there are five-tonne ice units spread throughout the market area. So there are medium sized ice plants located where they are needed close to the users. Ice does not travel well, so they have fresh ice where it is needed, which also saves time on packig fish".
"The hygiene factor is also important. With flake ice, the ice is untouched until the user needs it" Pierre Brisset added.
Geneglace has also been supplying ice-making machnes to Norway, most recently to Polar Stolt of Hammerfest, where ice is needed for a ten-tonne-an-hour production of salmon.
"They have two 20-tonne-a-day machinews with an ammonia plant. They don't use a buffer system and the ice is being used as it comes fresh from the machines. It is fed into the company's weighing system to get the right quantity of ice for the wieght of slamon in every box."
Norwegian agent Teknotherm of Trondheim has been installing Geneglace systems and has been very active.
"Teknotherm has been very busy with ice-makers and we have delivered four 30-tonne ice-makers recently, as well as other system," Pierre Brisset said.
These model F900 machines of 30 tonnes capacity feature a fully insulated drum, with the ice produced inside the drum and the insulation on the outside. This keeps summer/winter and day/nigh variations to

 

   a minimum.
"It also eliminates what we call parasitic ice, which can form on bearings and channels of the refrigeration to the water. With our stationary drum there are also no bearings under load, so there is no chance of a refrigerant leak. These machines need minimal maintenance as they have very few moving parts, " Pierre Brisset added.
Amonia is now being used for these refrigeration plants, as Norway has banned R22 refrigerant and the ice-makers now involve the use of no greenhouse gases.
"We also do not have an ice cutter, so there is no cutter to sharpen periodically. We use a reamer which rolls over the ice to break it, so no sharp edge is needed.
Trials with a three-tonne ice-makers to produce slush ice have been carried out with encouraging results. A three-tonne machine can produce 12 tonnes of slush ice.