AFIM Air Doors
Strong air flow minimises loss of cool air
Trading company MJ Pronk has been at the new location at ABC Westland for a week and a half now. The new location has been fitted with air doors by Air in Motion. The ‘invisible’ doors keep climate zoned separated through a very strong flow of air.
MJ Pronk’s new location at ABC Westland, The Netherlands
New location
“We are right where it’s all happening,” says Bernhard Slot of MJ Pronk as he walks through the company’s new location, right at the centre of the ABC Westland. “There are a lot of supplier near here and the trade is close. “Last week the company permanently moved from Bleiswijk. They have had cooling cells installed in the new, larger location. They have been fitted with air doors by Air in Motion. “The biggest advantage for us was not having to maintain them. You don’t have to bother about it,” explains Slot.
Kris van de Rijt and Bernhard Slot beneath one of the air doors
High pressure
The AFIM air doors by Air in Motion contain a high pressure ventilator. This causes air to be pushed through an extra small vent (<0.8 cm) under high pressure. A strong air current from the top to the bottom of the frame is created. This is different from conventional installations, in which there is a wide vent (up to 15 centimetres). “In a weaker, wider air current, a lot of air is lost before it even reaches the floor,” clarifies Kris van de Rit of Air in Motion. “We are improving this with our high pressure door.” The AFIM air door works with unheated air: the stream of air is sufficient to divide the climates. This saves energy and the system is also free of moving parts and a filter. This means they don’t have to be maintained or replaced. “All you have to do is occasionally clean out the system and that’s all the maintenance done,” confirms Van de Rijt. The system can separate climates between +2°C to +12°C. “You can’t see it, but you can walk straight through ten degrees of temperature difference,” he demonstrates in the cell.
A strong air current comes from the small vent
A lot of transport
Air in Motion designed the air door in 2007 and had it tested by TNO. Since then they have regularly installed the system in the fruit and vegetable branch. The turnarounds in the sector are short and there is a lot of transport. This could cause delays in the work and loss of cool air. Both are minimised by the power flow of air. The air door is set to the conditions of the building once and after that can switch between a few degrees, for instance in the summer and winter, without needing to be changed.
IGLO® Technology
Besides the AFIM Air door the company has also developed a solution for the more extreme differences in temperature: the AFIM IGLO. This module, which works with multiple air current, takes into account the air density and is therefore also suitable for freezing cells.
Source: https://www.freshplaza.com/article/117532/New-MJ-Pronk-location-fitted-with-Air-in-Motion-air-doors