Norway's national skating rink

During the European Championship Allround Skøyter January 2005 our refrigeration system stopped. We were devastated; first of all because we were in the middle of a championship and secondly because Vikingskipet, Hamar is Norway's national skating rink.

The damage was identified, and having contacted a company in Norway we chose, at their recommendation, B Cool Consult AS as general contractor. The price of a complete renovation of the damage was approx. 6,5 mill. But as the system was about 15 years old we decided to upgrade the refrigeration system in order to meet future requirements, improve operational safety and also to save energy. On the upgrade of the system we have spent an additional amount of approx. 6,5 mill, so the total cost of the project is around 13,0 mill.

Although a few repairs/adjustments have been made after completion of the project, our conclusion is quite clear: After almost one operating season it seems that we have a highly reliable refrigeration system. We have no comparative figures yet but the trend also shows lower energy consumption per day. We have also been able to test the "new system"  during a championship. We hosted the World Cup Sprint in January this year and we managed to provide such super conditions that Vikingskipet was ranked as the world's fastest lowland rink and even with a refrigeration system running at about 75 % capacity.

So far we are very pleased with the renovation of our refrigeration system, indeed to such an extend that at a lecture during the annual skating rink seminar I recommended B Cool Consult A/S to others: both for new systems, for renovations and to secure and upgrade existing systems.

Jon Andersen
Driftssjef / Operation Manager
www.hoa.no

Hamar, 12.02.07