Published 2022-05-11
Damn, what a simple solution to monitor the ice cream warehouse
Kronobergs Kylteknik sees great potential for Celsicom Easy Connect in the food industry. It is a very affordable extra security for many different food companies, says refrigeration technician Marcus Danielsson. One of them is Lohilo, which has two smart meter boxes monitoring its 1,200 square meter main freezer warehouse of protein ice cream, including the best-selling Damn.
– “When we heard about the Celsicom system, it seemed almost too simple to be true,” says Caroline Andersson, Supply Chain Manager at Lohilo.
According to Marcus Danielsson, it is precisely the simplicity of installing and commissioning the measuring boxes and the ease of use that makes Celsicom Easy Connect an attractive solution for many in the food industry. This is a target group that he and his colleagues at Kronobergs Kylteknik know well. Almost half of their refrigeration jobs are with food customers.
– The Celsciom Easy Connect is perfect for small and medium-sized food businesses that have up to 10-15 items that they need to get indications of if temperatures skyrocket. For example, a restaurant can quickly and easily get surveillance of cold storage rooms where their high value items are located.
– For restaurants, self-monitoring is also facilitated, which means that once a day they have to check and record the temperature in each cold store. With Celsicom Easy Connect, they only need to go in and check the logging history.
You get a lot for your money!
Caroline at Lohilo appreciates being able to see both the
history and live temperatures of the cold store.
Caroline Andersson
Supply Chain Manager at Lohilo
Extra security with SMS alarms
The fact that the meter boxes are, as mentioned, easy to install is something Marcus points out several times during the conversation. Since the boxes transmit all the data themselves, there is no need to access the customer’s WiFi network, which is an advantage as more and more companies are becoming restrictive about letting external players into their networks.
One or more measurement boxes can also be added to an existing control system as an additional security measure and send automatic SMS alarms if specified limits are exceeded. Moreover, and more importantly, Celsicom Easy Connect is a very cost-effective solution,” emphasizes Marcus Danielsson.
– What’s more, you get a lot for your money. For, say, two Celsicom Easy Connect boxes, you’ll pay just under 40 SEK per month. Alternative monitoring solutions on the market cost significantly more.
It was the low price combined with simplicity that caught Lohilo’s interest. The company, whose headquarters and warehouse are located in the Nylanda logistics area just outside Växjö, Sweden, markets protein ice cream that has attracted great interest both in Sweden and in countries such as Finland, the UK and China. The ice cream is produced by external producers and then stored in Lohilo’s own large freezer, which consists of a deep storage area with 1 200-1 400 pallet spaces and a picking area with about 100 pallets.
– It is extremely important for us to have good control of our temperatures, says Caroline Andersson, Supply Chain Manager at Lohilo.
Caroline explains that Lohilo previously had a monitoring system with a credit card solution, but found this a bit cumbersome and decided to look for a more flexible solution. Lohilo contacted Kronobergs Kylteknik, who presented several systems that were quite costly to install and were therefore not relevant.
– Then they proposed Celsicom Easy Connect, which was a very simple solution and at the same time did not involve any major costs for us. We get a good overview with everything in one place with access to both history and live temperatures.
Celsicom Easy Connect is particularly valuable right now for Lohilo as they are getting certified to meet the criteria of the BRC Storage and Distribution standard where, yes, continuous temperature control is a key point.
What is the optimal temperature for storing ice cream?
– The temperature in the ice cream store should ideally be at minus 23 degrees. This is when the ice cream is at its best and retains all its properties. It is said that ice cream melts at minus 18. It doesn’t really go bad, but if the temperature stays there for a while and if it even gets a little warmer, ice crystals can form and the quality of the ice cream will deteriorate.
Lohilo has set the alarm limit at minus 18 degrees. If the temperature reaches this value, Celsicom Easy Connect sends an alarm directly to both Caroline and Kronobergs Kylteknik, so that the error can be quickly corrected to prevent the warmer temperature from affecting the ice cream.
What is the trend for your ice creams?
– We have had very steady and high growth for our protein ice creams. Especially when it comes to our bestseller Damn, which is a vanilla ice cream with caramel balls and a coating of chocolate,” says Caroline.
She says that the demand for Damn is so great that the ice cream barely has time to reach the freezer before it goes out again for delivery to stores across the country. As well as being vanishingly tasty, more and more people are attracted by its healthiness and high protein content.
– Damn and our other ice creams are sold in smaller packages. The idea is that, in principle, you should be able to eat an ice cream a day without feeling that you have eaten something unhealthy. In addition, our ice creams also contain nutrients such as collagen, a substance that is good for the skin and hair. Ice cream that’s good for both the inside and the outside – the recipe for success for Lohilo.
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Contact persons
CUSTOMER SERVICE AND SALES
Thomas Ottosson
Area of responsibility: Industrial and stationary
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thomas.ottosson@nordtec.se
031-704 10 87
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Jens Åkervall
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031-704 10 80
031-704 10 70