Summer 2009 News

Champion of champions leads the way with the “Rolls Royce” of ice cream machines

Equi’s of Hamilton, Ice Cream Alliance Champion of Champions 2008, has just taken delivery of the first Valmar Snowy 27 Quick horizontal batch freezer to be supplied in the UK by RSS Hereford. With a maximum load capacity of 28kg, it is capable of producing over eight Napoli pans per cycle in approx. 8.5 minutes. David Fyfe, production manager, said “I’m absolutely delighted! I’m now making three Napolis more per cycle with two freezers than I was previously with three machines”. David Equi, Managing Director, is equally pleased: “this will mean a saving in power and water costs as the total running time and power consumption will be lower now we have one less batch freezer but we’ve gained a higher production capacity”.

Additional features include an intermittent freeze option during extraction to ensure that the last Napoli out is as cold as the first. Amazingly enough, this huge machine is also capable of freezing a minimum 4kg batch with minimal residue left in the barrel after extraction. The machine has four programmes available for freezing control by temperature, time, viscosity and automatic to allow the user ultimate flexibility and control of the final product.

Valmar, who have been selling quality ice cream equipment in Europe for over 30 years, believe that the quicker the ice cream is frozen and the better the scraping the better the product. The result is a firm, creamy ice cream that is ideal for displaying as “mountains” and a structure that resists collapse.

RSS now a tourist attraction!

If you’re visiting London over the summer holidays and you happen to visit the Victoria & Albert Museum, the Natural History Museum or the British Film Institute, then watch out for our new, RSS-installed, Sevel ice cream display and servery counters. Supplied to Benugo Foods of London, along with Corema ice cream production equipment, freshly made gelato is now available in some of the most prestigious attractions in the Capitol. The Benugo management team visited RSS for a beginner’s guide “How to make Artisan ice cream” demo and were hooked. Within 6 weeks the equipment was installed and the production cogs started turning. Let us know what you think of any flavours that you try, or call us now on 01432 276777 to book your own place on our free introductory demonstration day.

RSS avoids service calls wherever possible

One statistic customers of RSS will be pleased to hear is that from March to July this year, Paul Lewis our Technical Services Manager was able to resolve over 58% of breakdown calls over the telephone. With Paul’s experience of the products and a willing partner on the other end of the phone, equipment was back up and running without the need to pay for an engineer to visit site. We all know that it is inevitable that equipment will break down but our aim is to get you back up and running with as little downtime and cost as possible.

Summer is here!

Hurrah! – hot weather – just what every ice cream manufacturer or retailer wants – or is it? Can you and your equipment cope with the extra demands the heat brings with it? If not, call us now! If your manufacturing equipment can’t cope with demand then you are losing money – paying extra wages and working more hours than necessary. A new machine doesn’t need to break the bank and finance options can help soften the blow. If your display cabinet can’t take the heat then make sure that you’ve cleaned all the condensers – yes, every week if necessary – and defrosted it regularly as directed by the manufacturer, and if this still fails then I’m afraid it’s time to invest in a new one. We’ve stocked up on batch manufacturing equipment and display cabinets for when the Italians go on holiday so we’ll hopefully be able to help you out. Call 01432 276777 and see what we’ve got available.

RSS investing in our workforce

First of all I would like to welcome Kirk Davies to the company as a Design and Sales Consultant for the South East of the country. Kirk joined us in June and has previously worked in catering and refrigeration sales. For those of you in the South East territory we hope that you will look forward to meeting Kirk in the near future.

We’ve also expanded to the North and West with the addition of John Hayes to cover Scotland and Ireland (North and South). John has spent many years in the world of coffee and coffee machines so knows a bit about what works well in coffee shops and has been known to make a good cappuccino in his time. I’m sure he’ll be more than willing to share his knowledge and skills with you as well as his new love of ice cream.

Lisa Baynham our Operations Manager and Paul Lewis Technical Services Manager both successfully completed their NVQ Level 3 in management last year and are looking forward to continuing up the levels in the future. Karren Davies in our finance office was recently awarded top marks in her first aider class – good news for the rest of us! We are also pleased to report that Russell Wells, our installation engineer has gained his Level 2 Food Hygiene Certificate. Well done to all!

Learn to be a master in artisan ice cream

We, at RSS, are always encouraging our customers to develop their skills and knowledge. We would like to invite any past customers to attend a Masterclass to be held week commencing September 21st 2009, at the Corema factory in Piacenza, Nr Milan in Italy. Participants will gain a better understanding of what makes a good ice cream and learn how to balance a recipe, create their own pastes/flavours, variegato sauces and other artisan products. The cost would be around £700 including air fare, hotel, meals and training. Please contact Alison on 01432 377041 if you would like further information.

Stella products from Italy

As you know our fully equipped demonstration laboratory is available to all our colleagues in the ice cream market. We will be hosting an ice cream demonstration by Stella Products, an Italian ingredients supplier, on Tuesday September 22nd for all experienced ice cream makers and on Wednesday September 23rd for any novice or “wannabe” ice cream makers. Please let us know if you’d like to book a place on either of the days, telephone 01432 276777. For more information on the products available, visit www.prodottistella.it.