The ice machine industry has developed in China for a relatively short period of time. From the perspective of the global market, the ice machine industry in developed countries is currently very mature and large in scale, while some African and developing countries are relatively backward. From the perspective of the overall market of the ice machine industry, due to the continuous economic development of my country and the continuous increase of industrial construction sites, the probability of using ice making equipment has also increased. In addition, with the continuous improvement of living standards, domestic residents have begun to have the habit of eating ice. Especially in large cities with relatively developed economies, household consumption began to increase, which also made the market active. In recent years, some high-end hotels and entertainment venues have continuously emerged, and the demand for ice machines has also been rising.
Commercial Ice Makers Suppliers According to industry observations, there are already some private individuals in Shanghai who want to invest in the ice-selling industry, and some large supermarkets such as Metro already sell edible ice in bags. On September 8, 2009, at the Ice Machine Industry Development Forum organized by the Chinese Society of Refrigeration, companies enthusiastically spoke and provided suggestions, and the industry is waiting for a breakthrough change.
Compressors are the key components of ice machines, and the development of the ice machine industry is self-evident to the compressor industry. How to promote the development of the ice machine industry is also the common concern of upstream compressor companies. At present, the scale of refrigeration compressors in the ice machine market is still at a low level. Ice maker manufacturers have shown the following characteristics in terms of compressor brand selection, product application, and procurement channels.
Diversified product types
According to the more traditional classification methods, ice machines can be divided into household ice machines, commercial ice machines and industrial ice machines. Therefore, the compressors for ice machines have also realized different product types and various product specifications and performances. Features. Table 1 describes in more detail the application of compressors on various ice machines.
According to relevant personnel from a well-known ice machine company in Shanghai, the compressors used in ice machines with an ice output of less than 3 tons are basically fully enclosed, and commercial machines with an ice output of 3-5 tons are based on customer requirements. The positioning of the product is fully enclosed or semi-enclosed. Commercial and industrial machines of 5-30 tons usually use semi-enclosed screw compressors. Large ice machines with an ice output of more than 30 tons use open compression. machine.
For example, in hermetic compressors, piston compressors, scroll compressors and semi-hermetic screw compressors have their own characteristics in the application of ice machines. Piston compressors, Meiyoule and scroll Copeland, have their own characteristics. There are advantages and disadvantages. The condensing temperature of Meiyoule is high, but its COP value is low, and the cooling power is not as good as the scroll; the scroll machine has a higher condensing temperature and can work at a higher ambient temperature. This compressor is equipped with The ice machine can be applied to some places with harsh environment, especially some high temperature. Judging from the current types of ice machines, the commercial machine market covers a wide range. According to the company, the commercial machine market Meiyou Le application accounts for 70% of the market share, and the rest is Copeland's scroll machines, which is not difficult to understand. The ice machine, especially the ice machine in the commercial field, has no harsh application environment and few high temperatures, except for some hotel kitchens and other places. In addition, some companies choose Bitzer semi-hermetic screw compressors. Currently, Bitzer refrigerated screw compressors are not produced in China, mainly imported from Germany, the price is relatively expensive, and the application of ice making machines is rare.
In terms of operating conditions for compressors, most ice machine companies adopt economical standards. According to industry insiders, there is currently no domestic standard for dividing the temperature of compressors used. Each ice maker company chooses compressors according to the products they produce. General commercial and industrial ice makers can reach the ice-making temperature: -18 to- In the range of 25 degrees, the working condition of the compressor is not necessarily important. Although the medium and low temperature (low temperature) can reach the standard higher than that of the high temperature, from the perspective of cost and effectiveness, the medium and high temperature series are generally selected.
High brand concentration
Although the product types of compressors for ice machines are rather messy, in this market, brands of different product types show the characteristics of convergence. According to industry online reporters, well-known ice machine manufacturers such as Grant, Scotts and Shanghai Janbot From what we understand, Meiyoule, Copeland, Bitzer, and Hanbell Precision Machinery occupy most of the market share of compressors in this field.
According to industry insiders, the domestic fully-enclosed compressors generally choose brands such as Meiyoule and Copeland. Although there are also brands such as Taikang, KK, Sporlan, Aspara, Huangshi Dongbei, etc., they are compressed. The power of the machine is small, and it is mainly installed on small household ice machines, or only supplied to individual ice machine companies, and has a low market share.
Most manufacturers use semi-hermetic piston compressors for ice machines with an ice output of 3-5 tons. Most of the brands are Bitzer's piston compressors, and some manufacturers use Copeland piston machines. For the compressors used in ice machines with an ice output of 5-30 tons, most manufacturers will choose to use brands such as Hanzhong Precision Machinery and Yantai Ice Wheel.
Because the technology of ice making machines, especially the ice making technology for industrial and commercial use, is mainly monopolized by the Germans, some well-known ice making machine companies in the industry generally do not easily use unnamed compressors in the selection of compressors. As an industrial and commercial ice maker, especially in the application mine, Fujian Snowman, the compressor that is generally used is Bitzer as the first choice.
In addition, the choice of brand is also closely related to the requirements of customers of ice machines. Some customers will designate ice machine companies to select compressors of specific brands. As one of the leading companies in commercial compressors, Sanyo compressors, in addition to some household and commercial machine applications, also use Sanyo compressors in industrial ice machines. The ice produced by the ice maker equipped with Sanyo compressors is mainly used for mixing concrete. It is said that this alone makes Sanyo compressors an annual revenue of 6 billion yuan. It should be said that Sanyo compressors have a relatively stable position in the industrial ice machine market.
The procurement channels are mainly agents
The ice machine industry has been developing in China for many years. Due to economic conditions, consumption habits and other factors, the current market size is still limited. From the perspective of application fields, it is mainly in the industrial and commercial fields and export markets, with fewer household applications. Small ice machines are expensive for ordinary domestic consumers. A commercial machine with a daily output of tens of kilograms of ice costs about 2,000 yuan, and the output of one ton of ice is about 20,000 yuan. At present, most people still think The ice machine is not very useful for the family, it is a luxury product, and the household market is small. If the ice machines produced in my country are exported, they are mainly exported to relatively backward regions such as Africa.
According to a rough survey, there are more than 100 ice machine manufacturing companies in China. There are dozens of companies of various sizes in Guangdong alone, and many of them are workshop companies. Manitowa (China) Refrigeration Co., Ltd., as a world-renowned ice machine manufacturer, has also revealed hidden concerns when it comes to its survival status. At present, there are more than a dozen prominent companies in the Chinese ice machine industry. The annual sales volume is only 50,000 units, and the annual sales volume of household ice machines is far smaller than this figure. There are no exact statistics yet due to the small number. The result is a high degree of industry fragmentation, weak research power, and lack of relevant standards, resulting in a weak voice in the entire industry, and companies in the industry are confused.
Although the compressor is a key component of the ice machine, the company does not have much subjective initiative to the market. Due to the stagnation of the ice machine industry, the demand for compressors is only hovering at a low level and the order volume is small. In view of this Under normal circumstances, most ice machine companies will choose to order from local agents, unless the number of orders is large enough, they will consider buying compressors directly from compressor manufacturers.
