Issue link: https://www.e-digitaleditions.com/i/1037828
62 FEDA News & Views was one of his fi rst goals. Scotsman Ice soon switched to a consistent manufacturing schedule and began managing the seasonality through inventory rather than production, a change that led to greater satis- faction among customers and its internal sales team. Equipment is now stocked in accordance with the 80/20 rule, with the most popular machines always available. The company was able to make the investments neces- sary to shift away from the seasonal model thanks to the backing of its parent company, Ali Group. "As a company in the Ali Group organization, we have the latitude to take a longer view, in terms of customer support and not react to short-term demands," Clark says. By not having to react to short-term market changes, Scotsman Ice has been able to keep its focus solely on the manufacturing and sale of ice machines and accessories, unlike many competitors, which tend to offer ice machines as just one product in a larger portfolio of kitchen equipment. Clark con- tends that his company's narrower market gives it an edge when it comes to R&D and technical service because its engineers have a more specifi c area of expertise than those at other manufacturers. "I believe it helps us serve the market better," Clark claims. Serving the market better also means being able to react quickly to emerging foodservice trends. As consumer tastes evolve, foodser- vice operators need machines that can keep pace. In recent years, chewable ice nuggets and top-hat- shaped gourmet cubes for upscale bars and fi ne dining have grown in popularity, while slow-melting ice fl akes have become a common ele- ment in serving and food displays. Scotsman Ice has responded by developing ice making machines for those different applications. The large cube trend has been especially prevalent in Europe, Clark says, thanks to the continent- wide craft coffeehouse phenomena. Additionally, Europeans tend to favor a single large ice cube in their drinks to preserve the purity of their beverage and avoid the watered- down taste that occurs as smaller cubes melt. Scotsman Ice has kept up with the expanding European ice market through its sister brand and manufacturing facility in Milan. With larger ice cubes already the norm in Europe, Clark says the trend is growing in the United States alongside rising interest in craft cocktails. However, creating ice that appeals to seasoned scotch drink- ers is more diffi cult domestically because the volume of ice demand confl icts with new U.S. Dept. of Energy conservation standards requiring commercial ice makers to use 10 to 25 percent less energy, which are expected to save the typical operator $200 to $800 over the life of the machine and reduce nationwide electricity consumption by 19 billion kWh over the next 30 years, according to the agency. The regulations were announced in 2015 and went into effect at the beginning of the year. To prepare for the change, Scotsman Ice halted nearly all new product develop- ment and refocused its engineers on adapting its existing line to the stricter standards. With that process now completed, the company has restarted devel- opment on new ice machines. This past spring, the company released two new undercounter machines and it resumed work on a more robust freezer design for produc- ing its chewable nugget ice. This design had already been imple- mented in Scotsman's ice and water dispenser products, prior to the new DOE standard efforts. Clark says other innovations will show up at The NAFEM Show in 2019. "We are looking forward to a pretty robust pipeline of new prod- ucts coming out over the next three to four years as we complete these projects," he adds. ■ the 80/20 rule, with the most popular machines always available. The company was able to make the investments neces- sary to shift away from the seasonal model thanks to the backing of its parent company, Ali Group. "As a company in the Ali Group organization, we have the latitude to take a longer view, in terms of customer support and not react to short-term demands," Clark says. keep its focus solely on the manufacturing and sale of ice machines and accessories, unlike many competitors, which tend to offer ice machines as just one product in a larger portfolio of kitchen equipment. Clark con- tends that his company's narrower market gives it an edge when it comes to R&D and technical service because its engineers have a more specifi c SCOTSMAN'S C0530 ICE MACHINE IMPLEMENTS SEVERAL OF THE COMPANY'S MORE ADVANCED FEATURES, INCLUDING AUTOALERT INDICATOR LIGHTS, THE WATERSENSE ADAPTIVE PURGE CONTROL TO REDUCE SCALE BUILDUP, THE ABILITY TO TRANSMIT OPERATIONAL DATA REMOTELY FOR FAST DIAGNOSIS, AND A VARI-SMART ULTRASONIC ICE-LEVEL CONTROL SENSOR THAT ALLOWS USERS TO PROGRAM ICE LEVELS FOR SEVEN DAYS IN ADVANCE.