Ex-Cross & Wells and World Flowers man Richard Wildmsith has set up a company offering a complete blast-clean service for produce machinery.
Polar ICS offers a “revolutionary” dry ice cleaning service, using products developed by US firm Ice Tech, that can range from one-off service cleans to regular contract and insurance work, and Wildsmith told FPJ it is exactly what the industry needs.
He exhibited at the National Fruit Show for the first time and reported a positive response. “We have had a couple of positive leads and a lot of people who looked were unaware of the power of the product and what it is capable of,” said Wildsmith. “We will work closely with companies to understand their requirements and offer a full survey and risk assessment, regardless of the size of the job.”
The cleaning system blasts small dry ice pallets through a jet of compressed air, similarly to traditional blasting methods. It is designed to replace high-pressure hosing and other blasting systems that use abrasive agents and often use hazardous chemicals.
“We will then come in, clean the equipment and leave it ready to work again, and there is no need for dismantling - minimising the downtime.
“I wouldn’t have put this business together if I didn’t think there is a market for it. It can make excellent cost savings over traditional systems,” said Wildsmith.
