What’s the best freezer option for a start-up? Cost-effective and compact are two words that would spring to mind, but also efficiency and Return on Investment. JBT’s Frigoscandia GYRoCOMPACT® 40 (GC40) self-stacking spiral freezer is the most compact, hygienic and efficient spiral freezer ever made, and crucially it’s a system that comes with all the same winning JBT features of a larger machine.
Of course when it comes to the initial investment, cryogenic freezing may at first appear tempting, but soaring energy prices have affected the production of liquid nitrogen worldwide, meaning an apparently cheaper option could turn out to be significantly more expensive. Perhaps this is one of the reasons the GC40 experienced a substantial sales increase in the second half of 2021 as customers sought more cost-effective alternatives.
Complete package
But what is it that makes the GC40 special? Well, although small – as the name suggests – the GC40 is capable of freezing capacities of up to 1,000 kg/hour; a substantial amount for its size, explains JBT’s Director of Value Stream & Global Product Line for Spiral Freezers, Torbjörn Persson. “The GC40 is aimed at start-ups or companies moving from using cryogenics for freezing,” he says. “Energy has crept up in most parts of the world, and liquid nitrogen is now really expensive to produce and use.”
This is where the GC40 fits in: for smaller companies or companies converting from cryogenics, the GC40 is packaged in one piece, it’s relatively simple to set-up and has all the latest hygienic features expected from JBT. Extremely compact at only 6.5 meters long and 2.4 metres wide, the GC40 freezer can also be as low as 2.9 metres high (depending on required capacity).
“The GC40 is compact, very efficient and built to the latest standards, and even though it’s small, you still have the same features you would have on a larger machine, including Clean-In-Place (CIP),” continues Persson.
Higher capacity
So what are some of the built-in benefits of the GC40? As well as unrivalled energy efficiency and freezer power consumption, the machine features the unique FRIGoBELT® Nova self-stacking belt that forms a closed freezing zone to eliminate the risk of products moving by horizontal airflow. Meanwhile the FRIGoDRIVE® system removes the need for a center drum with no supports or rails to cause jamming. Hygiene-by-design also takes priority in the GC40 with an open profile design to minimize dirt traps and the removal of stationary parts in the belt stack to enable simpler cleaning.
Crucially, the CG40 also features 35%-40% higher capacity than any similar competitor model. Small wonder then that the freezer saw a surge of sales in late 2021. “The GC40 was built to serve smaller processors, some who are just starting up and others who are converting from liquid hydrogen,” Persson adds. “We’ve seen some customers skipping the liquid nitrogen and going straight to mechanical.”