Contract cleaner utilizes flexible and mobile dry ice blasting machine for extensive cleaning applications

THE SITUATION

Cold Bull Enterprises is a young, growing company that provides a wide range of cleaning options for its customers. The company offers an innovative and flexible cleaning solution tailored to the needs of its customers, fulfilling high quality cleaning requirements in Germany. The services offered by Cold Bull range from many forms of industrial cleaning, building and graffiti cleaning to car cleaning.

THE PROBLEM

Due to the high number of different cleaning tasks and the materials to be cleaned, it is necessary to work with a flexible cleaning system which can be adapted to the various tasks. The devices should also be transportable since the cleaning is usually carried out at different locations.

Industrial cleaning requires a solution that removes contaminants without being abrasive and is easy to use for employees. In addition, during industrial cleaning, the production process must be interrupted as little as possible, such as the case with companies using printing machines, industrial robots, injection molds and control cabinets. When cleaning historic buildings and buildings with partly wooden surfaces, the surface has to be cleaned gently to avoid damage and a rapid re-contamination.

Therefore the cleaning of the historic facade of the town hall of Grötzingen (Karlsruhe, Germany) took place with the Cold Jet i3 MicroClean. At first, the city of Karlsruhe rejected the use of dry ice cleaning, as a result of a poor experience in the past, but the architect, who was commissioned with the restoration, knew the Cold Jet cleaning equipment and suggested that five cleaning companies should test their cleaning methods. Four companies were unsuccessful in trying to clean a test area with high-pressure cleaners – COLD BULL was the only company that achieved the desired result with the dry ice blasting machine from Cold Jet – and got the order. In this test case, it was important to ensure that the original appearance was restored without damaging the wood and the carvings contained therein. The city of Karlsruhe was so convinced of the cleaning result that they started to train their own employees on the handling of the dry ice blasting machines.

THE SOLUTION

COLD BULL has been using Cold Jet dry ice blasting machines since the company’s inception in 2014.

Cold Jet’s dry ice cleaning system uses non-abrasive media in the form of recycled CO2 pellets that will not damage surfaces or equipment. The combination of dry ice cleaning’s kinetic energy and thermal effect break the connection between the dirt and surface, lifting away contaminants. Unlike blasting with other media, dry ice cleaning does not leave any secondary waste, because the dry ice particles sublimate upon impact – converting from solid to gas. Dry ice cleaning is safe and non-toxic, does not create downstream contamination and reduces or eliminates employee exposure to dangerous chemical cleaning agents.

“At the foundation of the company, we informed ourselves about various cleaning options,” said Frank Fuchs, founder and CEO of COLD BULL. “An employee of a company selling steam jet devices made us aware of Cold Jet as the market leader in dry ice cleaning. Through the internet and especially the available video sequences on Cold Jet’s Vimeo page, we were able to get a first impression of Cold Jet cleaning equipment. These videos immediately convinced us.”

COLD BULL currently has two SDI Select 60s, an i3 MicroClean and an Aero 40FP. Their procedure usually is to test with the i3 MicroClean device to determine whether a pellet or ice block cleans better, and whether the cleaning performance of the MicroClean is aggressive enough. Otherwise they choose to use an Aero 40FP or the SDI Select 60. Thus, the whole range of the cleaning devices can be deployed.

THE RESULTS

The quality of the cleaning with the Cold Jet machines speaks for itself. The cleaning systems offer a great result, which meets all requirements for COLD BULL. No matter which surface needs to be cleaned, even if it is a larger or a delicate surface, the desired cleaning result can be achieved. Cold Jet’s well-designed nozzles play a major role, especially the MERN-nozzles, which features the ability to control aggression.

“We are more flexible and faster using the Cold Jet cleaning equipment in all cleaning applications. This results in an even higher cleaning performance and the results are very satisfying for our customers,” said Fuchs. “Cold Jet also offers excellent customer service, therefore we can guarantee a continuous work process.”

Cold Jet also scores points for the financial aspect. “The efficiency of the devices means that the costs are paid back faster than with comparable competing products,” said Fuchs.

COLD BULL Enterprises is planning to expand its staff to be able to react even quicker to the requirements of the market by purchasing a Cold Jet dry ice pelletizer and other Cold Jet cleaning equipment.