Cooke Aquaculture, the largest Atlantic salmon producer on the East Coast, has invested in a state-of-the-art ice system that will boost the quality of its products while reducing energy consumption.
Cooke’s True North Salmon division has contracted with Young’s Industrial Refrigeration Ltd., of Newfoundland and Labrador, to supply a state-of-art slurry ice system from IceSynergy, Inc., of Springfield, Missouri.
The system will be one of the largest ever installed for fish chilling, providing ice slurry to three different processes (value-added totes, holding tanks and harvest vessels) simultaneously.
With the system due to come on line early 2012 at Cooke’s primary processing facility in Blacks Harbour, NB, the True North Salmon team is looking forward to the improved chilling performance throughout all their processes along with subsequent boost in product quality. The company also expects to see energy and labour savings and streamlined operations with the new, innovative system in place.
“The fact that it can simultaneously supply ice slurry to multiple drop points spread out over considerable distances is tremendous for operational efficiency,” said Ross Butler, Cooke Aquaculture’s VP Processing.
“We also expect to see product quality improve as a result of reduced core temperatures throughout harvest, holding and processing.”
The MaximICE® technology is different from traditional slurry ice makers which grind ice and mix it with water to create a slurry. The ice crystals generated by IceSynergy’s system are tiny, rounded crystals formed in the solution, making them very smooth for excellent flow properties, especially as sea water slurry ice.
Cooke Aquaculture is a family-owned company that has grown into a global industry leader over the past 25 years in large part due to its commitment to innovation. Cooke’s motto is “Refusing to go with the flow” and the company is constantly searching for ways to improve in all aspects of its operations – from the egg to the plate.
“Our company really wanted to employ the advantages of slurry ice so we conducted a nine-month study to learn what technology and company would best fit our needs,” Mr Butler said.
“We believe we’ve found the right combination and look forward to seeing the system in operation.”
Cooke Aquaculture operates salmon hatcheries, farms and processing facilities through Atlantic Canada and Maine. It also has operations in Chile and Spain.
“Our main product is fresh salmon and our major customers are our neighbours in the northeast US and Canada,” Mr Butler said.
“We are dedicated to delivering the best and freshest salmon and the MaximICE® system is another investment that will help us do that.”
Based in Springfield, Missouri, IceSynergy manufactures MaximICE® Orbital Rod Evaporator (ORE) slurry ice equipment. MaximICE ORE technology has enjoyed success in the process cooling and HVAC industry. This technology is now being applied to fish preservation applications.
