In the catering busi­ness, it’s all part of the daily routine: the restau­rant is incred­ibly busy, tables are rammed full, and the buzz of conver­sa­tion fills the air. Waiters rush back and forth, taking orders and serving dishes. To ensure that the food is always as fresh and crunchy as possible when served, it must be kept perfectly chilled.

Refrig­er­ating appli­ances must be able to main­tain internal temper­a­tures, espe­cially when things become stressful and the refrig­er­ator doors in the kitchen are being opened and closed frequently. They are usually in oper­a­tion around the clock, meaning that energy consump­tion is an impor­tant cost factor. Busi­nesses can save signif­i­cant sums of money by using the right fans in their appli­ances.

Tradi­tional and inno­v­a­tive: Refrig­er­a­tion for the gastronomy sector

Swedish refrig­er­a­tion tech­nology manu­fac­turer Haglund Industri has been in busi­ness for more than 150 years. What began with the produc­tion of sheet metal prod­ucts by hand devel­oped into the produc­tion of refrig­er­ating appli­ances for the catering sector in the 1950s.

Their wide product range now encom­passes every­thing from stan­dard refrig­er­a­tors, refrig­er­ated display cases and freezer cabi­nets to blast chillers and customized high-end wine displays. Ever since, Haglund Industri has been char­ac­ter­ized by high quality and inno­v­a­tive solu­tions. The family-run company is now in its fifth gener­a­tion, produces locally in Gäll­stad in Sweden, and employs 150 people.

“We have always tried to push the bound­aries of tech­nology. This is also the reason why we chose ebm-papst as a partner. Like us, they are at the fore­front when it comes to the tech­no­log­ical devel­op­ment of their prod­ucts,” says CEO Johan Haglund.

(Photo | Lasse Olsson)

The Swedish company has been primarily using EC-fans with so-called energy-saving motors (ESM) for several years now. “When we started converting our prod­ucts to the lowest possible energy consump­tion, ESM fans contributed signif­i­cantly,” says Martin Sahlman, Head of Sales and Marketing at Haglund Industri.

Focus on quality – including fans

Since then, Haglund Industri’s focus has been on devel­oping prod­ucts that are both high tech and high quality. “As a German quality brand that is known not only for its dura­bility but also for its good energy effi­ciency, ebm-papst has proven to be a success story for us,” says Sahlman. The two compa­nies have been working together for more than 20 years now and are contin­uing to develop together.

“Thanks to the EC fans, we were able to reduce their energy consump­tion in our refrig­er­a­tors and at the refrig­er­ated coun­ters by 80 percent compared to the previous solu­tion.”

John Haglund, CEO at Haglund Industri

Haglund Industri’s goal is to reduce the energy consump­tion of its prod­ucts even further. “Thanks to the EC fans, we were able to reduce their energy consump­tion in our refrig­er­a­tors and at the refrig­er­ated coun­ters by 80 percent compared to the previous solu­tion, for example,” says Johan Haglund with satis­fac­tion. The company is plan­ning to reduce energy consump­tion by another 35 percent for its next gener­a­tion of prod­ucts.

Cool-down thanks to convec­tion

Refrig­er­a­tors use a closed refrig­erant circuit to dissi­pate heat from the inte­rior, resulting in a lower temper­a­ture in the cooling chamber. With its new BRIS refrig­er­ator range, Haglund Industri uses the phys­ical laws of convec­tion in addi­tion to the ther­mo­dy­namic cooling prin­ciple of a refrig­er­ator with the help of the Monsun-tech­nology it has devel­oped.

The BRIS utilize the fact that cold air is heavier than warm air. They guide the air from the floor through a channel in the back of the cabinet to the condenser. This means that the coldest ambient air is always used. In combi­na­tion with the effi­cient EC fans, this results in optimum energy effi­ciency, a low noise level and less wear and tear compared to conven­tional solu­tions where the warm ceiling air is circu­lated at the top.

Another advan­tage of this tech­nology is that several cabi­nets can be placed next to each other in a confined space without over­heating and still achieve excel­lent cooling perfor­mance. “The reduc­tion in energy consump­tion and the low noise level would not be possible without the fans from ebm-papst,” empha­sizes Johan Haglund.