Create a free Manufacturing.net account to continue

Getting the Most Out of Your Coolers & Freezers with Retrofit Options

Food and beverage manufacturers rely on walk-in coolers and freezers for safe and efficient storage of perishable fresh and frozen food. Over the years, they have evolved to satisfy many needs of the food manufacturing industry from warehousing ingredients to serving as temperature control and holding stations for ready-to-ship product.

Food and beverage manufacturers rely on walk-in coolers and freezers for safe and efficient storage of perishable fresh and frozen food. Over the years, they have evolved to satisfy many needs of the food manufacturing industry from warehousing ingredients to serving as temperature control and holding stations for ready-to-ship product. As the uses for walk-in coolers have grown, so has their design and technology.

Walk-ins can be designed to fit into any food manufacturing environment with modular panel sizes and heights, and can be placed indoors or outdoors. From a 36 square foot size to the more elaborate 10,000 square foot warehouse, walk-ins can be customized to provide the right amount of temperature-controlled space, with many refrigeration options.

When it comes to convenience and reliability, walk-ins are a vital part of a food manufacturer's success. But just like a car, walk-ins can become less efficient, and over time components can show wear and tear and may break down. In an effort to save money on replacing an entire walk-in, there are other ways to improve efficiency, safety and appearance by replacing worn out doors and refrigeration systems to extend the life of any walk-in.

Restore your door

The most critical component of a walk-in's overall success is its door. The door must be built to withstand the numerous openings and closings of a typical business day without losing structural integrity. It also has to form a solid barricade between perishable items inside and warmer temperatures outside in order to hold its cold. Over time, frequent openings and closings, dents and scrapes can reduce the performance of a door and place stored items at risk.

Now doors can be replaced on any walk-in to help owners restore their walk-in's ability to hold the cold and keep their perishable items fresh. Through retrofit programs that replace doors on any unit, walk-in coolers can have a long life and food manufacturers can save money.

Well-used or damaged doors can be replaced to provide better insulation and aesthetics. Manufacturers use unique field adjustable hinge backing plates on walk-in cooler and freezer doors to ensure a proper fit of the door during installation and retrofitting.

Rev up your refrigeration

Increase the efficiency and performance of old refrigeration systems with new components or a whole new system. Replacement parts like compressors and evaporator coils are available, or manufacturers can provide a complete remote or packaged system.

Fix up your floor

Is your floor delaminating? Is mildew or food spillage between floor seams causing a health hazard? Want to avoid slip-and-fall accidents? If walk-in floors have buckled or curved under the weight of shelving or pallet jacks, manufacturers can provide a new floor overlaminate without replacing the entire floor. Some aftermarket finishes provide added traction with a raised surface pattern and reduce the potential of slip-and-fall accidents, even in wet conditions.

Through a retrofit program, food manufacturers no longer have to buy a brand new walk-in cooler when the door is worn out. They are able to replace smaller parts at a lower price in order to keep their unit looking and performing as needed. Since walk-in coolers do have so many strong benefits, it is vital to keep them efficient and safe to extend their lifetime.

For more information on retrofit solutions for any manufacturers' walk-in cooler, visit www.master-bilt.com.

More