Rahbek Fisk Improving Staff Safety with IceDry®
05 December 2006 09:40
Rahbek Fisk is one of Europe's leading producers of frozen fish products and ready meals. Its 250 staff at two sites each produce approximately 12,000 tonnes of ready-prepared products annually for catering and retail customers, of which approximately 85% are exported.
At the factory in Fredericia problems arose with formation of ice and frost in several of the freezer departments containing the raw product. The freezer departments are located in immediate proximity to the manufacturing premises, where atmospheric humidity is high - above 75-80% RH due to daily cleaning.
The hot and humid air condensates upon entering the freezer departments, causing problems such as ice formation at door openings, on the floor and on strip blinds, ice build-up on the ceilings, and frost formation on the evaporators.
For the staff bringing raw goods on racks into and out of the freezer departments these problems constitute a daily safety risk of falls, accidents and collisions. Rahbek Fisk consulted Munters in order to tackle these problems.
A proposed solution was prepared, initially for use only in a single freezer room. Having experienced the benefits of the IceDry® system, Rahbek Fisk soon had IceDry installed in all three freezer rooms for storage of raw goods.
The IceDry system is especially designed for installation inside the actual cold stores. The dehumidified air is directed via channels to the door openings where the dry air is blown down over the door with nozzles. The IceDry solution goes directly to the root of the problem by preventing the warmer and more humid air outside the cold store entering and causing ice and frost formation. At the sluice door the dehumidified air is blown down into the sluice entrance.
Production manager at Rahbek Fisk, Carl-Hermann S., explains: "The IceDry system has solved some vital safety-related problems for us. Today the floors are free of ice and frost - which has greatly pleased our truck drivers. Also, it has removed the need to defrost the cold stores. Previously we had to close the cold stores four times a year for five to six days at a time in order to defrost - now we only defrost for shutdown during the summer holidays".
In addition to the safety benefits, IceDry also ensures an improved utilisation of the evaporators, thus preventing the need for costly manual removal of ice and frost.
For more information on this company:
Munters - Frost Prevention in Freezing and Cold Storage with Humidity Control
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