New liquid ice machines by Optimar Iceland

It is hydraulic driven and needs little electric to run the electronic side. The machine type BPH-105 has a capacity of 220l of 40% thick ice an hour or 5.3t per day. It has a built-in precooler and is ideal in areas where seawater temperatures range from +5°C to +18°C. The first unit was installed in a fibre glass vessel built by Seigla in Iceland. The vessel Sæhamar is 12.2m long, 3.6m wide, it is power by a 700 hp Yanmar and has max. speed of 30 nautical miles. They fish whitefish by longlining and process all of their fish themselves. They are very satisfied with the liquid ice machine.

Optimar Iceland also has a new liquid ice machine for bigger applications – the newest is the largest ever. The BP-140 has eight ice generators and has eight times more capacity than the BPH-105 or around 2,000l of 40% thick ice an hour and 48t a day. The BP-140 also has a built in precooler and is ideal anywhere in the North Atlantic or anywhere where the seawater temperature is +5°C to +18°C. Power requirements for each machine is less than 55kW. Two of these new BP-140 are going to an owner in the Faroe Islands, that has two trawlers for Saithe/Pollock. Each new machine equals the capacity of two BP-120’s.

According to Gudmundur Jon Matthiasson, general manger of Optimar Iceland: “We are very pleased with the sales of our machines this year. We think that enormous work of convincing our customers about the qualities of our ice is finally paying off, not just through our work, but also the work of neutral agencies that are focusing on increasing quality in their relevant countries like Seafish in Scotland and BIM in Ireland. Not to forget that the reliability of our machines is no longer an issue, as is their reputation. The main reason why sales are picking up is though without a doubt the fact that our customers realise that Optim-Ice gives better raw material and longer shelflife. That is in the end what this is all about.”