INTECH INTERNATIONAL A/S AND DSI A/S OF DENMARK HAVE SURPASSED 100 SOLD UNITS OF VERTICAL PLATE FREEZERS WITH AUTOMATIC UNLOADING. QUOTATIONS FOR 70 MORE UNITS HAVE BEEN GIVEN.
The functionality and stability of the automatic unloading vertical freezers has proven to be second to none, and the effect on the working environment on board industry trawlers has been remarkable, which has been noticed among shipowners and skippers.
On board the ”Atlantic Viking” of Aalesund are installed ten DSI vertical plate freezers with the automatic unloading system from Intech International. When one freezer is lifted, 1500 kilos of frozen blocks remain standing on the conveyor belt under the freezer. From there they are transported via other conveyor belts to the packing department.
The Norwegian inventors of the automatic unloading system are Erik Juelsen (left) and Arve Støhle. Here they are seen with a model of the prototype. The white plastic blocks under the vertical plate freezer illustrate the frozen blocks being unloaded onto a conveyor belt.
THE ULTIMATE SOLUTION
Within only three years, sales of the auto unloading vertical freezers have reached the first milestone of 100, and the two companies are expecting to sell another 100 within a few years from now. In Russia alone there are several large trawler projects in stock, and the Russians are very interested in the system, says manager and co-owner at Intech International A/S, Carsten Trudslev.
”We have sent quotations for 70 units within the last three months, so we are very optimistic about the future sales. When shipowners choose this auto unloading plate freezer, instead of using other robot solutions in the market, we are being confirmed, that we have developed the ultimate solution for the vertical DSI plate freezer,” Carsten Trudslev says.
NORWEGIAN PATENT
The unloading system is a Norwegian patent, that Intech International has the rights to manufacture and sell. More than ten years ago, Norwegian Arve Støhle realized there was a need for an automatic solution to emptying plate freezers. As engineer on board a line boat he witnessed how tough manual unloading of 50 kilo blocks was on the workers. Wear and backbone problems were common on board, but his idea would turn that completely upside down. Together with his brother-in-law Erik Juelsen, he developed a hydraulic system, that lifted the freezer and not the frozen blocks. Thereby the blocks are left upon a conveyor belt and transported all the way to the packing department. They had no success finding a Norwegian manufacturer of the system, but in Denmark they eventually found the perfect match with Intech International.
ENVIRONMENTAL IMPROVEMENTS
In the Autumn of 2013 the fishing company Giske Havfiske in Aalesund, Norway bought a new trawler ”Atlantic Viking”. The shipbuilders had been given the task to build a ”green” trawler with low energy consumption, efficient use of the catch, high safety standards and a good working environment on board. The shipowner Bjørn Giske says, that the ten vertical plate freezers with automatic unloading really have improved working conditions.
”The automatic unloading is functioning perfectly and the shifts of seven men each do not have to lift the frozen blocks anymore. Each block weighs 50 kilo. So every shift avoids lifting 1500 kilo per freezer. That amounts to 15 tonnes for every shift,” says Bjørn Giske.