Scotsman Supercubes for Welsh 'Super Water'!
Scotsman 'gourmet Supercubes' from Hubbard Ice Systems are the shape of choice for Cardiff Ice Company. This South Wales based Company is making ice from mountain Spring water brought in from the hills of Pembroke, eighty miles away, using Scotsman modular ice machines.
For many years Hubbard Ice Systems has been stressing the importance of water quality in ice production. However, few go to the lengths of Cardiff Ice Company, who produce thousands of cubes every week from tanker-loads of the pure water produced by the Prince's Gate Spring Water Company at Narberth, in the Pembrokeshire hills.
The unusual premium quality ice cubes will be sold in five major supermarket chains by the end of the year. It has also been included in Selfridges' 'Taste the Nation' promotion.
Business is brisk for this 'Super Ice' and the Company is already in negotiation to sell it to the Netherlands, Belgium and Spain. "If you talk to other countries, one of the biggest images they have of Wales is the clean purity of the mountain water", Sarah Penny of Cardiff Ice Company adds. "We chose the Scotsman Supercube machines because the ice is better aesthetically and melts more slowly than conventional cubes. This is premium water and it deserves to be made into a premium ice cube."
Supercubes are exclusive to Scotsman machines and have several advantages over more traditional tubed ice cubes. They freeze fast yet don't stick together so easily in the holding hopper as their curved surface discourages the cubes bonding together.
Supercubes also tend to be clearer and purer than conventional ice cubes because of the way they make ice: by spraying water upward into refrigerated cups. The cubes are ultra clear and this clarity makes drinks look more attractive and as the cubes are not hollow but solid ice, they provide longer lasting cooling power than conventional tubed ice cubes.
The Prince's Gate Spring Water is freighted in weekly and stored in large stainless steel tanks alongside the machines. Each tank contains up to 30,000 litres, enough to create up to 1 million 28ml Supercubes and the one MC15 and five MC45 machines are working constantly to make over 12,000 1kg bags every week.
Aimed at medium sized production, catering and leisure operators, the MC15 and MC45 are modular units, designed to be sited above the B550 storage hopper, supplied separately. The main difference between them is in output capacity; the smaller MC15 producing up to 140kg per day, whilst the MC45 producing up to 180kg daily.
Both MC15 and MC45 are available in both air-cooled and water-cooled versions, with the water-cooled models being ideal for where ventilation might be an issue. Cardiff Ice Company use both water-cooled and air-cooled models, allowing them to be sited for best use of space. The MC45 is also available with a remote air-cooled condenser on request for sites where ventilation might be a problem, such as in cellars. Exterior construction is of AISI grade 304 stainless steel.
For more information on Cardiff Ice Company and its Welsh Spring Water Ice Cubes, contact Sarah Penny on [sarah.penny@welsh-ice.com or telephone her on 029 2088 0899.
