Two HallScrew compressors are at the centre of a bespoke ammonia refrigeration system installed by J & E Hall at Dawnfresh Seafoods, a leading producer of fresh and frozen fish in the UK. Dawnfresh is based in Scotland at the Bothwell Park Industrial Estate at Uddingston near Glasgow.
Fish is big business and last year the Uddingston plant processed more than 9000 tonnes of chilled and frozen trout – 85 per cent of the UK market. At the same time the plant handled more than 2400 tonnes of scampi – 40 per cent of the UK market. Last year – at a cost of more than £1 million – Dawnfresh updated its £12 million processing centre at Uddingston, adding four new trout processing lines to the one already existing.
Environmentally conscious installation
As part of the expansion, J & E Hall were employed to design and install a two-stage freezer plant at the factory. The project was run and managed from J & E Halls’ office in Glasgow. Scott White, manager of J & E Hall in Glasgow, said: “The freezer operates at an air temperature of -50°C, so we needed an efficient way of maintaining this low temperature. Two HallScrew compressors were ideal for the job.”
Protecting the environment is a feature of the project, as Scott explained: “Working with the customer, we opted for an ammonia based refrigeration system. This was helped by the fact that there were existing refrigeration systems at Dawnfresh running on ammonia. The customer was aware of its benefits – ammonia is a high efficiency natural refrigerant with no ozone depletion properties.
Dawnfresh engineering manager Brian Stewart is pleased with the introduction of the ammonia based system from J & E Hall: “It has without doubt had a beneficial effect on the production line at Uddingston. We had previously used a system based on nitrogen tunnels to maintain the product at the right temperature. In our line of work refrigeration plays a key role in the success of the business. The ammonia-based system ensures we are operating efficiently and also has benefits in terms of the environment.”
As part of the expansion, J & E Hall were employed to design and install a two-stage freezer plant at the factory. The project was run and managed from J & E Halls’ office in Glasgow. Scott White, manager of J & E Hall in Glasgow, said: “The freezer operates at an air temperature of -50°C, so we needed an efficient way of maintaining this low temperature. Two HallScrew compressors were ideal for the job.”
Protecting the environment is a feature of the project, as Scott explained: “Working with the customer, we opted for an ammonia based refrigeration system. This was helped by the fact that there were existing refrigeration systems at Dawnfresh running on ammonia. The customer was aware of its benefits – ammonia is a high efficiency natural refrigerant with no ozone depletion properties.
Dawnfresh engineering manager Brian Stewart is pleased with the introduction of the ammonia based system from J & E Hall: “It has without doubt had a beneficial effect on the production line at Uddingston. We had previously used a system based on nitrogen tunnels to maintain the product at the right temperature. In our line of work refrigeration plays a key role in the success of the business. The ammonia-based system ensures we are operating efficiently and also has benefits in terms of the environment.”
