Industrial refrigeration systems are the hidden backbone of food processing and ice plants in New Zealand.
At the beginning of 2025, our company HACST successfully installed a ZHX-1380 evaporative condenser for a large-scale ice factory.
This case study explains how modern industrial condensers can guarantee stable performance and cost saving.
Background of the Project
Evaporative Condenser for ice-making purpose
New Zealand’s economy strongly depends on seafood, dairy and frozen food export.
Ice factories play a big role in this chain, since crushed and block ice is daily supplied to fisheries and supermarkets.
The client’s old cooling system suffered from:
- Rising energy bills due to low efficiency.
- High maintenance frequency on coils and fan motors.
- Unstable condensing temperature affecting ice output.
Finally, they decided to replace it with ZHX-1380 condenser, which is compact, robust, and designed for maritime climate.
ZHX-1380 Technical Overview
Here are some main specs of the ZHX-1380 model:
- Cooling capacity around 1380 kW, suitable for ammonia or Freon system.
- Axial low-noise fan system designed for airflow efficiency.
- Hot-dip galvanized steel structure – excellent corrosion resistance in coastal areas.
- Easy maintenance: access doors, removable drift eliminators, and nozzle inspection points.
Installation in New Zealand Ice Plant
The site presented several challenges:
- Coastal Air: salty, humid atmosphere could corrode common units fast.
- Space Limits: the ZHX-1380’s compact footprint solved layout restrictions.
- Downtime issue: Ice plant cannot afford long shutdown. Installation finished within 48 hours only.
- Water quality: Side-stream filtration system added to avoid scaling on coils.
Performance After Commissioning
Since the commissioning, the condenser has been running very stable:
- Condensing temperature remains steady even on hot summer days.
- About 12% electricity saving compared with the old system.
- Lower water consumption thanks to advanced drift eliminator design.
- Noise reduced, so it meets local community requirements.
The client noticed better reliability in ice production and reduced repair cost. In short, a win–win situation.
Advantages for Ice Plants
Why ZHX-1380 works so well for ice production?
- High cooling efficiency – designed for heavy duty, continuous work.
- Durable materials resist New Zealand’s coastal weather.
- Modular footprint saves construction cost.
- Easy to service – which means less downtime.
- Lower operation cost due to reduced power and water use.
Relevance for New Zealand Industry
Ice factories are critical to seafood processing and cold storage in NZ.
Without reliable cooling towers and condensers, fisheries, dairy plants, and logistics companies face big risks.
By updating equipment to ZHX series, companies can ensure freshness, safety, and sustainability.
Conclusion
The New Zealand project shows how the ZHX-1380 evaporative condenser helps ice plants reduce cost and increase stability.
HACST Cooling keeps providing advanced cooling technology to support global industries –
from ice factories to seafood processing, dairy, and cold storage facilities.
By the way, if you are looking for industrial refrigeration condenser solutions, our engineering team can design customized systems matching your operation condition.
Feel free to contact us for more details.