Direction-changing double airflow works wonders in thawing
Controlled and waste-minimizing thawing of frozen food is Kometos’ core competence. With over 30 years of experience, the Finncold thawing equipment has become a well-known. The product category features an efficient innovation: direction-changing double airflow which caught the interest of an Estonian meat processing company.
The investment pays itself back quickly
Kometos’ Finncold defrosting equipment is designed especially for efficient, hygienic, and economical defrosting of meat, fish, and poultry products. The solution is delivered to the customer as a customized defrosting module.
The Estonian Nõo Lihatööstus meat processing company had been using Kometos’ Finncold defrosting system for 10 years when they decided to invest in a larger system – to their own advantage.
– Production Manager Priit Raudsepp had already been talking about their need for a second defrosting module. As the discussions progressed, Kometos’ technical expert Tommi Pietiäinen and I went to Estonia to inform them about the new innovation. Nõo was immediately interested. CEO Toomas Kruustük said that if the machine does what we promise, they are willing to invest, explains Sales Manager Tommi Wirtanen.
With six months of experience, the investment has already paid back itself in reduced operating costs.
Double airflow: speed, quality, and energy efficiency in defrosting
It took 12 weeks from the order to the delivery of the equipment from Kometos’ facilities in Kauhajoki to Estonia, ready for use. Compared to its predecessor, the new module had more fans and a changing airflow direction: instead of the previous three fans, the module now features six fans, whose airflow direction is automatically changed according to temperature data to different parts of the module.
Direction-changing double airflow brings about significant improvements. Wirtanen explains:
The end result of the process is even more consistent and faster: the temperature stays almost exactly the same in different parts of the module, and with twice as many fans, defrosting is significantly faster without sacrificing quality.
One unique additional feature was tailored to the solution in Estonia: the heat no longer comes from traditional electric resistors but from the factory’s own hot water network. An energy-efficient circular economy solution saves both energy, money, and the environment.
– Thanks to the solution’s energy efficiency, operating costs have been reduced by almost a third in Estonia, Wirtanen presents concrete figures.
Pioneers are changing the market
It takes trust to innovate together with one’s equipment supplier. However, Kometos and Nõo Lihatööstus see themselves as representing a similar pioneering spirit in which cooperation and bold testing create a competitive edge.
Production Manager Priit Raudsepp says:
We’ve been very satisfied with the purchase; we could not have received anything better anywhere else. Competitors could not offer the modular solution we needed, not to mention the airflow solution. Fortunately, Kometos once again lived up to expectations. The equipment has provided us with concrete added value.
It all started with the German market
The Finncold double airflow solution is already a success in the global market, since the entire innovation started in Germany.
– It all started when our German reseller had a conversation with a local customer about the need to develop such a defrosting solution. This is typical of Kometos: we innovate according to our customers’ needs and thus open up entirely new markets, says Wirtanen.
💡Did you know? With Finncold equipment’s scheduled thawing program, the defrosting process can be started at a desired time, and once the process is completed, the system automatically switches to the so-called storage mode and maintains the product at the desired final temperature.
