14 Dec 2009 --- Users of mechanical and cryogenic food freezing systems who are looking for ways to increase production, diversify their product offerings, and expand their distribution reach can benefit from Air Products' Freshline DM tunnel freezer, now available to food processors in North America. This highly flexible cryogenic freezing solution allows manufacturers to process both individually quick frozen (IQF) and flat or trayed products in a single machine. The dual-mode freezer is the latest addition to the company's IQF portfolio of freezing solutions and offers significant capital savings, as well as improved product quality, to processors of seafood, meat, poultry, fruit, vegetables, dairy, pasta, prepared meals and bakery items.

"In today's 'just-in-time' production environment, the Freshline DM tunnel freezer helps processors adapt quickly to changing market demand by allowing them to switch between IQF and non-IQF products without changing equipment," says Marna Schmidt, industry manager for Air Products' North America Food group. "This flexibility helps to maximize uptime and optimize efficiency, which is particularly important in the current economy."

Air Products' Freshline DM tunnel freezer is a two-in-one solution for food manufacturers who want to grow their product lines by processing both IQF and non-IQF products with minimal capital investment. The DM has a compact, modular configuration and a patent-pending innovative design that makes it easy to clean, saving both downtime and labor costs. Coupled with ultra-quick-freezing liquid nitrogen, which provides rapid and consistent cooling, the DM helps preserve product with low dehydration and achieve high quality IQF results.

The Freshline DM tunnel freezer helped IQF Custom Packing, Inc. in Fall River, Mass.-- the first U.S. food processor to use the equipment -- expand its product portfolio and more easily manage seasonal fluctuations. "To be able to change products with the dual-mode freezer really increases and strengthens the growth of our company. It allows us to increase our service offerings and enhance our customized processing so we can handle a greater variety of food products," said Russell Young, President of IQF Custom Packing.

In addition to the quality and flexibility of the DM tunnel, Young has been equally impressed with the technical support and process knowledge of the Air Products team. "Air Products is more than just a gases and equipment supplier, we're a solutions provider," said Schmidt. "We work closely with our customers to understand their processes so we can design and install the optimum solution that will help them lower their costs while improving food quality and increasing output."