Heat and ice

Their innovative initiative has won them an award which was announced by US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton on May 8, 2012 during her visit to New Delhi. "We are the first recipients of the US-Indo research grant for developing a solar-based refrigeration system using thermal energy storage for transport refrigeration,” says Bombay’s Rustom Irani, managing director of Icelings and an MBA from Cornell University. Icelings, a family enterprise, is into the business of ice and industrial refrigeration systems.

(Top) Hillary Clinton shaking hands with Rustom Irani in the presence of union minister for science and technology Vilasrao Deshmukh (center); Rustom Irani displaying certificate flanked by Dr John Holdren (left), science and technology advisor to President Obama and T. Ramasami, secretary of the department of science and technology, India

"This (the Indo-US Science and Technology Endowment Board grant) is an initiative that I was privileged to launch with minister Krishna (S. M. Krishna, minister for external affairs) on my first visit here in 2009 as Secretary. The grant goes to a partnership between an American start-up Promethean Power Systems and India-based Icelings. They have developed a solar-powered system for refrigerated storage to keep fresh fruits and vegetables from spoiling. And this is a huge advance for India because lack of storage causes Indian farmers to lose approximately $10 billion in crops each year,” said Clinton in her speech at the Taj Palace Hotel. "This innovation promises farmers more income while also improving consumers’ access to fresh produce throughout the year. This partnership united different experiences and areas of expertise, and now with a little help from the Endowment Fund, Promethean Power and Icelings are helping solve a practical challenge that will make a real difference to people’s lives and incomes,” Clinton remarked, lauding the venture.
The award was presented to Irani as well as Sorin Grama and Sam White, co-founders of Promethean Power, at the Second US-India Joint Commission Meeting on Science and Technology Cooperation in Washington D.C. in June. "Earlier this year Icelings with its expertise in refrigeration teamed up with Promethean Power, Boston which has expertise in solar refrigeration having already developed a solar-based milk chilling plant for rural India, and submitted our proposal to the Indo-US Science Foundation …out of more than 3,000 applications our proposal was shortlisted in the Top 10 and after due diligence and considering the impact our research would have on the lives of millions of farmers, we were honored to be the first recipients of this award,” Irani narrates.
Icelings is India’s largest manufacturer of packed tube ice and has installed a state of the art 250 ton tube ice plant in New Bombay. Icelings supplies pure edible tube ice throughout Bombay to restaurants, bars, caterers, etc, states their press release. "Icelings is also one of the largest manufacturers of tube ice plants and have installations all over the world… (we) have recently set up one of the world’s largest ice plants for the Harmony Gold Mining Company Limited in South Africa for their thermal energy storage needs for cooling one of the world’s deepest gold mines (their Phakisa mine in Welkom, Free State). Our ice plants are operating in more than 20 countries in industries ranging from chemicals and dyes, seafood and poultry processing, hospitality, ready mix concrete, etc,” Irani observes.
Icelings has also designed and built a slurry ice machine to be installed on fishing boats whereby fishermen can make the ice directly from sea water and preserve the fish in the best possible manner. "We were honored when The Marine Products Export Development Authority, Ministry of Commerce and Industry, approved a 40 percent financial subsidy for the fishermen to install these machines,” Irani relates. "In 2000 we also set up a seafood processing plant and manufacture surimi (fish paste) used to make crab sticks, kamaboko (fish sausage), etc.”

The Irani family (from left): Meher, Rustom, Chista and Perlene

For over 60 years the Irani family has been in the business of ice and refrigeration, ever since Rustom’s father Boman started the family ice business with his two brothers. "My father was the original ‘king of ice,’ as he was always referred to by his peers, since he had single-handedly changed the dynamics of the ice industry during his years in the business,” Rustom says. "Today, the firm is a modern organization led by Rustom,” states their website www.icelings.net The Taj and Oberoi Flight Kitchens, Monginis and McDonalds, Hotel President and Hotel Marine Plaza, ACC (Associated Cement Companies), Godrej Ready Mix, Afcons, Unitech (for concrete cooling), BASF, Colour-chem (dyes and chemicals), etc are among the customers named on their website which also mentions Icelets, a brand of bottled mineral water made by the company.
"Since electricity is one of our main raw materials for the manufacture of ice, we have diversified into wind power and own windmills of 7.5 megawatts,” declares Rustom who is also the president of the Seafood Exporters’ Association of India (Maharashtra region) and the vice president of the Windmill Owners Welfare Association of India. The Cusrow Baug resident is also on the Baug’s managing committee and "in charge of implementing the rainwater harvesting system presently underway in Cusrow Baug which is by far the biggest capital project undertaken by residents of any baug,” he observes.
His wife Perlene (née Daroga) manages corporate sales in Air France and is a qualified lawyer with an LLM degree from the State University of New York in Buffalo. Interested in the family business, "she is very active behind the scenes,” he says. Daughter Meher, who is 18, "has been accepted at Brandeis University, Boston in their pre-med program. She intends to pursue her dream of becoming a gynecologist,” says the father. Chista, who is 16 and a student of the J. B. Petit School, "will be attending The TAFT School in Connecticut, one of the top prep schools in the US, this fall with a scholarship. Chista has also been on the Maharashtra state football team and has participated in soccer tours to Denmark and Sweden,” notes the proud father.