Market Analysis

Target Customers: The target customers for ice plant can be divided into two categories: y Domestic users, such as people living in rural areas & suburbs of cities, where access to refrigerators is difficult due to lower purchasing power. y Second category is institutional buyers, who buy in bulk, such as government organizations, factories, hotels, restaurants, bakeries, fish sellers, dairy plants etc. Description of Market: Institutional buyers sell the bulk of the ice block production, in institutions related to food industry. Business sectors, which utilize ice in the country, include the following: For the protection of fish, Meat and also for Dairy Plants. Other potential institutional buyers of ice are bakeries, confectioners, hotels which buy ice blocks in bulk. There are approximately 70 different leading chain bakeries in different cities of Pakistan, while approximately 145 fish retail outlets are operating in different major cities of Pakistan, while more than 520 motels and hotels are operating in different areas of Pakistan Timing: The ice plant should be started up when the season begins in mid April and closed when it end up in September. The peak season is of four months i.e. from mid April to mid August. The rest of the period i.e. two months is moderate season. The best time to enter into this business is in the month of April. Raw Material Requirement: The basic raw material required for producing ice blocks is water, common salt. These raw materials are readily available in the local market. Replenishments needed during maintenance are ammonia gas and compressor oil. Machinery Requirements: The main equipment required for running the ice plant is compressor, capacitor, condenser, and electric motors, WAPDA connection power transformer etc Technical Analysis: Block ice is the most popular type of ice sold for a variety of reasons. It melts more slowly than other types of ice and thus lasts longer. It can be placed in open truck with only a tarpaulin to protect it from the elements and shipped to a location of four hours away. Its rectangular shape makes it easy to stack of up to 15 meters and store large amounts. Block ice has merits of easy to transport and separate as well. Other types of ice have the tendency to freeze into a solid mass, making it difficult to work with.

Manufacturing Process:
Production Process Flow CLEANING OF STEEL ICE CONTAINERS

PLACING OF CONTAINERS IN WATER TANK CONTAINING NACL

FILLING OF SHEET STEEL ICE CONTAINERS WITH WATER WHILE VERTICALLY

Temp Reduced to 17C to 20C EXTRACTING OF ICE BLOCKS FROM SHEET STEEL CONTAINERS

MOVEMENT OF ICE BLOCKS BY HOOKS

DELIVERY OF ICE BLOCKS

Technology involved:
Technology/Process Options The machinery used for the ice plant is mostly local. It includes compressor, condenser, water tank suitable for 250-300 ice cans, brine agitator, accumulator for parallel supply of ammonia, crane and trolley, oil separator, ice cans of size 11 x 22 x 48, electric motor 75 HP etc. Merits & demerits of a particular technology The local machinery is readily available in the market at a very reasonable price. One of the Benefits of using locally manufactured machinery is availability of spare parts and its easier to Find operators to operate these machines. Machine Maintenance The maintenance process starts after mid of October. Normally, it takes one month for the overhauling of plant, during which the plant is closed for one month.

SWOT Analysis:

Strengths: 01. Efficient Labor available 02. Offering less prices than market price to facilitate their customers 03. Location of ice factory in near to populated area 04. New machinery which will provide effective results Weaknesses: 01. Possess no any generator to support machinery during load shading from PEPCO. 02. Demand is high and supply is short. 03. Quality of water used for ice blocks 04. ICE Block cans are moisturized moisture Opportunities: 01. Demand is high; most of areas of Pakistan have long duration of summer due to which demand for ice is high for more than six months of the year. 02. Purchasing power is less for refrigerator: as Pakistan is a developing country and large portion of the population cannot afford refrigerators for domestic use. 03. Growing Food Industry, Another growing market for ice plants are industries linked to food products i.e. fish, dairy, bakeries, restaurants etc. Threats: 01. Competitive Structure of the market, The market of the ice plant is highly competitive; therefore if the entrepreneur is not well responsive and fulfilling the demand of the consumer. 02. Selection of the wrong venue may be the threat; it may be a major hurdle in achieving the desired business objectives. 03. The clientele taste should be properly tracked. 04. Govt. policies 05. Short fall of electricity 06. No control on price of electricity ( Increasing prices of electricity day by day)