Scotsman makes its Mark on High St. Store
The Scotsman ACM-45 has been selected to provide ice cubes in the new in-store coffee bars in major Marks & Spencer branches around the UK. The machines make the Scotsman thimble-shaped 'Supercube' ice cubes familiar to a generation of bar staff, and have been specified to deliver ice for Marks & Spencer's iced coffee drinks.
Speciality coffee is at the heart of the retail giant's new 'CAFE revive'. Known for its devotion to high quality food and quality control, Marks & Spencer has now rolled out more than 90 in-store CAFE revive coffee shops and over half were installed with ACM45 models from the outset, with more being retrofitted as the need for quality ice becomes apparent.
"We needed compact but reliable ice machines, because iced coffee is an essential ingredient of a successful coffee shop", says Eileen Berrisford, Hospitality Operations Manager. "I chose Scotsman machines because Hubbard Ice Systems give fantastically good personal service, in my experience. The ACM45 model supplied the right type of ice for our iced coffee, it was the right price, and capable of doing the job we needed."
Hubbard's maintenance and service policy also fitted in to the store's ethos on quality and hygiene, she says. Hubbard provides clear and unambiguous guidelines on ensuring high quality and safety of ice at all times.
Around 20 of the coffee bars were running before the call came from the store chain for ice machines. Until then, ice had been brought in daily, but the success of the coffee bars made the chain realise it needed a machine behind each bar. For new bars this was a simple rocess - the machine was designed in - but Hubbard's Adrian Rayner says the biggest logistical difficulty was installing the machines after the bars were already operational.
"Luckily the ACM45 is a very compact machine, and easy to plumb in", he says. "But now that M&S has proved its concept, the coffee bars are being designed to include them from the outset."
The Scotsman ACM45 is a compact, reliable icemaker producing up to 24kg of ice per hour, storing up to 14kg in its integral bin, and ideal for smaller outlets such as coffee bars. Built to the same high specifications as the larger machines in the Scotsman range, it is constructed of high quality stainless steel, measures 529mm (w) x 525 (deep) x 823 (high), and is approved for CE, VDE, SEV and WRC standards.
The Supercubes produced by the ACM45 have several advantages over more traditional 'square' ice cubes. They don't stick together so much in the holding bin. The ice is made by spraying water upward into refrigerated cups, so any impurities fall out as the water freezes. This means the ice is crystal-clear and the cubes melt more slowly, due to their purity.
Maintenance is very easy with this machine. 'Interior' cleaning is essential but is easy to forget, and even more difficult to check up on. To counter this problem, the ACM45 is 'self-flushing', automatically flushing out any residual water and rinsing the reservoir before harvesting each batch of ice cubes. As well as being more hygienic, it significantly reduces the formation of scale, resulting in fewer service calls.
