Adande, the Lowestoft-based innovators in refrigeration solutions, opened its new research and testing facility last week.
Liz Truss opens the new Adande test centre with Peter Aldous MP for Waveney
Liz Truss, the Conservative MP and Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs officially opened the facility at Barley Way in the Suffolk town.
She stated:
She stated:
“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.”
Adande has invested £4.2 million into the business recently, £500,000 of which was used to design and build the new laboratory. With its partners, Adande intends to boost the development of its unique retail refrigeration solution, Aircell, and bring it to market.
Ian Wood, managing director of Adande, said:
Ian Wood, managing director of Adande, 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.”
About Aircell
Aircell, is a patented air flow management system which reduces the mount of energy needed in refrigerated display cabinets used by supermarkets for groceries. The system has been in use in a big retailer's store for some months now, where it has used at least 30% less energy than conventional refrigerated display cabinets. The investment will speed up Adande's development program for Aircell so they can supply more retail customers in the UK and abroad.
The Investment
Much of the investment funding has come from manufacturing programs, namely a £2.1 million grant from the 'Advanced Manufacturing Supply Chain Initiative (AMSCI)', and a £380,000 loan from AMSCI. The rest has come from private equity.
Adande will license the Aircell technology to retail display manufacturers, such as The Bond Group and Manor Concepts, who will sell the complete solution to retailers. The business turns over more than £5 million today, and expects that Aircell will contribute to growth to between £20 million and £30 million by 2018.
Adande has taken on more staff for new engineering, technical, sales, management and administrative roles. The development should boost jobs with its partners and sub-contractors too.
Adande will license the Aircell technology to retail display manufacturers, such as The Bond Group and Manor Concepts, who will sell the complete solution to retailers. The business turns over more than £5 million today, and expects that Aircell will contribute to growth to between £20 million and £30 million by 2018.
Adande has taken on more staff for new engineering, technical, sales, management and administrative roles. The development should boost jobs with its partners and sub-contractors too.
The laboratory
The new laboratory has three environmental chambers for testing to BS EN ISO 23953, the standard for testing refrigerated displays. The site is kitted out to meet future test standards too. The team onsite can regulate the humidity, fan speed and temperature in the chambers. In addition, Adande has a computational fluid dynamics and CAD suite to simulate scenarios.
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