Over the past 6 years, Hupfer and Van Beek have formed an exceptional collaboration. Hupfer’s innovative N’Ice & Easy® plays a crucial role in cooling fresh meals delivered by food trolleys in various hospitals. Van Beek’s screw conveyors provide an efficient and automated way of filling the food trolleys with so-called flake ice. They very precisely extract this from the bottom of the ice silo, after which they are able to fill 60 to 120 trolleys per hour. Thanks to this semi-automatic process, the trolleys are filled quickly and accurately. The result is that meals, desserts and fruit are presented to patients and/or clients every day, not only chilled, but also fresh.
The German company Hupfer designs and manufactures systems for logistics in commercial kitchens, with a specific emphasis on hospitals and nursing homes. From plates to food trolleys, and with the technology to supply and keep meals and snacks at the perfect temperature in an energy-efficient way. Hot and cold meals can be delivered fresh to patients and/or clients in several ways. Compressor technology and CO2 systems are widely used. But what about ice? The advantage of this cooling technique: There is a lot of energy in ice. When used, this energy is released. The melt water that is released is reusable when intelligent methods are applied.
Willem Kruit, Development and Construction manager at Hupfer, was tasked by his supervisor to develop this cool idea into a commercially viable system. Eventually, Willem and his colleagues from the Hupfer engineering department came up with a total solution consisting of a metre-high silo for storing tonnes of ice, an ice machine that converts the ice into flake ice, and a system for the efficient transport of flake ice to the food trolleys. Once the concept had been established, it was important to find the right developers for its manufacture. Because, despite the large Hupfer engineering department, certain concepts and elements could not be handled in-house or were outside their areas of expertise. Willem: “The N’Ice & Easy was developed and patented by Hupfer. However, we needed some external solutions for, among other things, transporting the ice. A conveyor system robust enough to transport flake ice without it suffering damage. Insulation was also important to conserve the ice’s energy as much as possible before it does its work, namely cooling.”
After selecting these screw systems, including third-party screws or in-house maufactured variants, Hupfer discovered that this was the type of specialist work that Van Beek excels at. Joram van der Heijden, sales engineer at Van Beek: “We were able to apply the flake ice experience we had gained in the transport of fish to this project.” The screws transport the ice and drain the melt water. Joram: “If the ice machine is inoperative for a while and no trolleys are being filled, then the ice will melt. Also, the screws will rotate so the melt water drains and is remixed with the ice. The screw system has a drainage point to release excess water.” Willem: “We worked extensively with Van Beek in order to arrive at the perfect solution. To optimise efficiency, they also fitted insulated walls to minimise energy loss from the N’Ice & Easy to the trolley”.
Van Beek has also been closely involved in a number of improvements that Hupfer’s logistical concept has undergone over the years. This collaboration has resulted in standardised N’Ice & Easy models, so that the screw conveyors fit perfectly in various hospital situations. Willem: “Our total solution fits seamlessly into a hospital environment, including ice silo and motor connectivity.” Hupfer and Van Beek will continue to work together on future improvements. Because it’s the details that make a difference in this demanding field of work. Hupfer and Van Beek will continue to raise standards not only for hospitals, but for every business looking for advanced commercial kitchen solutions.
Van Beek screw systems and support frame as part of the Hupfer total solution.
The horizontal screw (1) transports the product from the frame-mounted ice machine. The ice is then transported upwards by the vertical screw (2) to fill the food trolleys from above.
