Cabinet Minister Opens Adande’s Refrigeration Test Facility
Company to accelerate development and commercialization of its Aircell air flow management system
Adande played host to two Members of Parliament (MPs) at its new test facility. Liz Truss, the secretary of state for environment, food and rural affairs, was joined by local MP Peter Aldous to celebrate the technology specialist’s £4.2 million investment in R&D and its £0.5 million labs.
After unveiling the facility, Truss said, “The British food and drink industry is leading global innovation right across the food chain. The energy saving technology on show today and Adande’s investment in research and development are fantastic examples of how the sector can become more competitive through reducing its environmental impact. Not only will this technology help to reduce energy consumption and cut costs, it will keep food at its best for longer and help reduce food waste.”
Aldous said, “The £4.2 million investment is a great boost to an already highly successful company. It is great to be here to see this unveiling today and see this company going from strength to strength. ”
The new £500,000 laboratory is part of a £4.2 million investment to help Adande, and its consortium partners, accelerate the development and commercialization of its Aircell air flow management system, which has been designed for the improved performance and reduced energy consumption of refrigerated display cases used for food retailing. The investment is being funded by a £2.1 million Advanced Manufacturing Supply Chain Initiative (AMSCI) grant and an AMSCI loan of £380,000, together with private equity investment.
The development of Aircell is expected to see turnover grow at least fourfold to between £20 million and £30 million by 2018. The investment program has also led to the recruitment of nine new employees at Adande in technical, engineering, management, sales, and administrative roles. Additional employment opportunities will be generated at Adande, its consortium partners, other cabinet manufacturers and subcontractors, leading to 97 additional jobs in the next eight years, the firm said.
The new facility includes three environmental chambers for testing to BS EN ISO 23953, which is the accepted industry standard for the testing of refrigerated display cases. They also provide the resources to meet and exceed future test standards. The energy efficient facility incorporates the latest design features, including a single control system to regulate humidity, temperature, and fan speed within the chambers, backed by sophisticated data acquisition and monitoring systems. In addition, Adande has also established a dedicated facility, housing CAD resources and a sophisticated computational fluid dynamics suite, for the numerical analysis of complex issues relating to fluid flows and simulation scenarios such as turbulent flows.
Adande’s managing director, Ian Wood, said, “We have made a significant investment in the design and development of Aircell, with recent laboratory tests and in-store trials bringing the technology within the realms of commercial viability. We are now well placed to work with refrigeration equipment manufacturers and grocery retailers to deliver solutions, which meet the specific needs for sustainable refrigeration, tangible energy savings, and an improved shopping experience.”
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Content for the European Spotlight is provided courtesy of Refrigeration and Air Conditioning Magazine, London. For more information, visit www.racplus.com.
Publication date: 8/22/2016
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