Sales are up for Optimar Iceland''s Optim-Ice liquid ice machines. "Last autumn we received [enough] orders for Optim-Ice machines to keep our manufacturing facilities busy to the end of the year," reports Reynir Gudjonsson, sales and marketing manger.
"It did not stop there either, because orders are coming in from all over the world. We have sold three BP-120 liquid ice machines to vessels here in Iceland, with storage tanks. All three machines are working perfectly and the user and the fish buyers are happy with the raw material," he said.
"We have delivered two big systems to Canada with two pre-coolers and two of our biggest Optim-Ice machines, the B-130, and two storage tanks. The vessels are owned by Fishery Products International and they also have two liquid ice machines they bought from us last year.
"We have just delivered a first to Iran. A brand new rack system for connection to an existing freezing system. By using part of the existing freezing system they have saved money on their investment.
The system has six Optim-Ice generators and a capacity of 80 kW. The rack solutions can run on either R-404A, R-507 or R-717 (ammonia), as pump system or Dx system. We also just received two orders from a Greenland fishing vessel owner for two B-130 systems," Gudjonsson said.
Optimar now offer all machines in three different versions. The B version is the standard, BP where the P stands for Pre-cooler because the pre-cooler is built in. Lastly we have the BT version, where the T stands for tropical applications, where seawater inlet temperature are above +20°C and up to +35°C. This increases the flexibility of the machines to be fitted to match working conditions.
"We have been spending time and money on making the Optim-Ice machines more reliable and better fit to work in the circumstances that arise," he added.
On the Scottish front Gudjonsson said the McDuff´s Shipyard in Scotland have delivered a fishing vessel name Fruitful Bough which has a BP-105 Optim-Ice machine with a 1,400 litre storage tank. "We hope that this will produce the same results seen by Gavin Thain skipper/owner of Challenge II UL-33.
He experienced last summer's heatwave with a 10-day trip in the sweltering heat before returning to Scotland. He said: "Great weather for a cruise, but a nightmare for a fishing trip." So, when he unloaded at Peterhead he expected to get poor prices for his fish, but was delighted to find best prices achieved right across the catch. "The cod, haddock, ling, coley, monk, lemon sole, and plaice were all top quality, and it's all down to the liquid ice'." Thain told Gudjonsson. "I am thrilled with the results and the high returns I obtain for my fish-whatever the weather," Thain added.
In fact, Thain has now undertaken comparative storage temperature trials using on-board liquid ice and flake ice machines.
An initial trial showed that liquid ice cooled the fish down more rapidly after washing and gutting, then kept it at a lower storage temperatures in the hold. The Challenge II UL-33 has two Optim-Ice BP-105 machines and a 1,400 litre storage tank. Gudjonsson says that Optim-Ice gives quicker cooling, hinders bacterial growth, gives longer shelf life, is labour saving and is quick to pay back is investment cost.
