TCD in Urk has introduced a new range of ice machines that are already selling as fast as they can be made.
According to Roelef van Urk at TCD, the new range of icemakers are manufactured to TCD’s specifications in China
‘We selected the manufacturer carefully,’ he said. ‘TCD has a reputation for quality and service, and we have to protect that, so we picked the right company to build icemakers to our specifications and standards.’
‘A lot of the older icemakers in the fleet are 25 to 30 years old and coming up for replacement, and R22 as a refrigerant is being phased out. So we designed an ice machine with a static drum and knife that turns around it, as our experience of old machines with revolving drums was that the seals are a weak point where leaks occur. So this is a simpler construction with fewer components and less to go wrong,’ he said.
‘These are made in the best grade of stainless steel and we keep all the components in stock here for servicing. The machines run on either seawater or on fresh water with a dose of salt that drops the temperature to produce colder ice – and the water is filtered to five microns and UV filtered.’
Now fitted on both fishing vessels and shore installations, the first batch of machines was sold before it had even reached Holland. The second batch of the new machines is on its way, with more than half of them already sold.
‘We can make these in any size but most of the skippers like to have a 2.50 tonne capacity, although a lot of the older machines are probably down to two tonnes by now. A three tonne production is a good option now, as fishing is good and a lot of the boats are finding that with more fish, they need more ice.’
A vote of confidence in the new TCD icemakers came from an Urk processor who saw the 42 tonnes of gurnards landed recently by the UK-153 after a four day trip. The boat’s three tonne machine easily kept up with the catch rate, and DaySeaDay’s manager was so impressed with the quality that he ordered the same machine for the processing plant.
