From India to Dubai, today we sit down with Fabian Van Damme, Director of Dohmeyer, to find out what’s been ‘cool’ in the cryogenic freezing industry this year, as he prepares to take the stage at gasworld’s Middle East and North Africa (MENA) conference.
Dohmeyer is a leading global manufacturer of cryogenic refrigeration systems for the food processing, pharmaceutical, aeronautic, plastics and steel industries.
For more than a decade, the company has continued to develop innovative chilling and freezing solutions with its own team of dedicated engineers specialising in cabinet, in-line tunnel, immersion and spiral freezers.
Each freezer system is custom designed to its customer’s specific requirements using ISO quality standards and, when required, EHEDG hygiene design guidelines.
Gasworld (GW): What has Dohmeyer been up to in 2019? Tell us about your year and any highlights.
Fabian Van Damme (FVD): Dohmeyer has been incredibly busy throughout 2019, expanding and improving our product range and significantly increasing our presence in new regions.
Dohmeyer also finalised the plans, and purchased the land, to build our brand new, much enlarged, factory.
GW: What’s been hot in the cryogenic freezing industry this year?
FVD: Flexibility, but mainly capacity. Dohmeyer is increasingly being asked for machines with added capacity and we are regularly discussing projects for multiple products with a requirement to achieve a through put of up to three tonnes per hour.
Dohmeyer has built and installed an unprecedented number of these large multi pass freezing tunnel systems in 2019.
GW: What do you see the hot topics as being next year?
FVD: Recent large rises in gas prices from the major suppliers may have an effect where users delay or reassess new projects. The market for cooling and chilling lower value products will be heavily affected by this.
For pharmaceutical product and living cells, the impact of the price of the gas will be far less important. As result, we will be focussing more on these industries.
Source: Dohmeyer
GW: What industry events is Dohmeyer looking forward to next year?
FVD: There are many exciting industry exhibitions and conferences in 2020 where, because of our expansive portfolio of products and expertise, Dohmeyer will attending or exhibiting.
We will be at IPPE in the US, FOODEX in the UK, Heat Treatment Expo in Poland, European Society of Human Reproduction and Embryology (ESHRE) in Denmark.
Some of our experienced engineers are popular guest speakers at many industry conferences throughout the year and we will announce where we will be presenting on our social media platforms, LinkedIn and Facebook.
GW: Can you tell us about an interesting product or application Dohmeyer has planned for next year?
FVD: Dohmeyer will be launching the Comfort CloseTM system on our range of freezing cabinets in 2020. This gives our customers a novel and ergonomic approach to door sealing and holding closed. No more struggling with heavy doors to slam shut or pull open.
There will be a refreshed design for our innovative CryoRoll where product inlet and outlet will be at the same level, giving increased efficiency and gas containment.
There will be a new cryogenic seal launched next year – no more foil covered knitmesh – and for the pharma, life science industry, a new control rate freezer with a batch capacity of more than 40,000 vials or ampules, and 50,000 semen straws.
Source: Dohmeyer
The 2019 in Review Series continues tomorrow with Pierre-Etienne Franc, Vice-President of Air Liquide’s Hydrogen Energy World Business Unit.