HARD WORK PAYS OFF FOR

NORWAY'S, MR ICEMAN

Work 15 to 18 hours a day, seven days a week and you can understand how Mr Iceman, Jack Stensland has propelled his company to become the number one packaged ice manufacturer in Norway.

Jack and his one full-time employee, Magnus Lunberg who is sales manager also look after all operations in the plant with occasional help from part-time staff. Even so, they have set a stiff pace for themselves as far as sales objectives are concerned.

Mr Iceman operates a 10 ton capacity Vogt ice maker and is also developing a small but growing market for crushed ice. 'Specialty drinks are popular in Norway', says Jack. 'We are actively promoting crushed ice and we can see some positive results', he exclaimed.

'We are also promoting ice sculptures aggressively', says Jack, 'and our efforts are paying off. The market in Norway for both packaged ice and sculptures is not developed as it is in North America but I can see we are moving forward', he explains.

'We have to keep a lot of balls in the air at the same time', says Jack, 'but everything is going well. 'Our packaged ice business is showing a 30% growth every year and crushed ice sales are making a significant contribution'.

'Sculptures are not new to Norway but like so many countries, the industry is in the hands of a small number of individuals who operate on a local basis. I hope to be able to change all that', says Jack.

'Packaged ice has helped me break into the event market and I can see a big opportunity to expand sculpture sales in this area. The big ice cube project at the Teknisk Museum shows we can do the job', he adds. 'And the publicity we are getting, especially as the Prime Minister opened the Climate X display during the week of the Nobel Peace Prize Awards, won't hurt us, either. We certainly won't go unnoticed'.

Mr Iceman's plant is located in a modern warehouse facility on the outskirts of Oslo and the equipment is all relatively new.

A big capacity freezer and automated production which incorporates the Vogt ice cube maker, a dryer, crusher and palletizer are part of the reason, Mr Iceman operates successfully with just two people.

A new area is being created especially for new Clinebell block makers, a band saw with ample space for sculptures to be created and finished.

Despite a crowded work schedule, Jack finds the time to attend key industry meetings and he recently attended the International Packaged Ice Association (IPIA) meeting in Washington DC and made a side trip to Las Vegas where he linked up with Ice Occasions to expand his knowledge of the ice sculpture market.

'I use www.adviceinice.com a lot and is one way I can keep abreast of industry developments.  Modern technology has helped, too, and e-mail and cell phone are essential in our business.  We are a small company and unless we make full use of information resources such as the www.adviceinice.com web site, we can quickly become outdated', he stresses.