Howe Flake Ice—In the Entire Food Service Industry Ecosystem

It is a gift from nature that we are able to produce food. In addition to providing us with sustenance, ecosystems deliver other “services” (such as clean air and drinkable water). These are known as ecosystem services. All ecosystem services are connected to one another, meaning in some cases, when food production is highly emphasized, another ecosystem service could pay the price. For food production to operate at full capacity, the entire ecosystem must function properly. Further, food production is properly balanced with other ecosystem services, the entire system will be more sustainable.

While the food supply is a “provisioning” ecosystem service, other ecosystem services are necessary to ensure delivery of food services and other essential products. These delivery services must be sustainable. One such delivery service is the land; food production will, ideally, be concentrated on the most fertile lands, leading to this high production in a limited area to coincide with nature preservation elsewhere (land sparing).

It’s not totally possible to completely blend natural ecosystems and food production since protected areas are essential to global health. One of the most important “cogs” in the food service industry is cooling or food preservation. Without being able to cool fresh foods, frozen foods, seafood, beef, chicken, and other foods that require cooling, it would be impossible to transport foods across the U.S. and the globe.

Food preservation via cooling is used to reduce the temperature of foods from one processing temperature to another or to a required storage temperature. The objective of cooling and chilling is to vastly reduce the rate of spoilage and of the growth of bacteria. Cooling extends the shelf life of fresh and processed food or can also maintain a specific temperature in a food or drink process—such as the fermentation of beer.

Howe Corporation’s Role in the Food Service Ecosystem

Cooling and chilling are used across most areas of the food industry to preserve perishable foods, to cold-stabilize beer, wine, and spirits, to keep seafood, meats, and produce from deteriorating, and to keep the vast array of frozen foods from thawing and degrading. At Howe Corporation, we are proud to be a part of the food service industry ecosystem. Since 1912, Howe equipment has played an integrated role in food preservation cooling food for meatpackers, grocers, dairies, and fisheries across The Americas.

Many corporations depend on Howe for their growing refrigeration needs. We offer a wide variety of ice flakers and ice storage coolers for every food-serve need. We are committed to customer service for each and every client, as well as to our environment—which is why we have partnered with ENERGYSTAR and have received ENERGY STAR awards 3 years running for this commitment.

Early in the 1900’s Howe was a leader in food preservation and food cooling by manufacturing industrial ammonia compressors; known in those early days as “ice machines” because they were used to provide the refrigeration for block ice plants where the ice blocks were produced and then shaved or ground up to be utilized for cooling and food preservation. Seeing this was an additional step in producing shaved or flake ice for food preservation, Howe in the 1940’s and early 1950’s Howe began manufacturing the Flake ice makers which produced flakes of ice that was used for packing and cooling for transporting fresh proteins such as meats and seafood products this flake ice eliminated the added step of shaving or crushing the blocks of ice. The flake ice provided a much greater surface contact area providing more efficient cooling of the products over any other form of ice.

From their first patent for a “safety head” discharge valve to a pioneering design in multi-cylinder compressor configuration, Howe is committed to being a partner in the food service industry. We offer experience, dedication to quality, and a renewed commitment to superior customer service to each and every client in multiple languages and market expertise. Contact Howe Corporation today!