Evaporative Cooling Towers for an Artificial Snow Plant in Japan

1. Installation context

The Sufag engineering firm has international experience in the field: it has two main offices in France and Sweden and 8 distribution branches around the world. The company’s 50,000 snow cannons have been installed worldwide. The company’s approach, as made explicit on site, is based on maximum production even at marginal temperatures, ease of maintenance of systems, and sustainability of solutions designed to last.

A number of structural features have also been adapted to the context of Gunma (a prefecture known in Japan not only for its thermal plants but also for winter tourism).

2. Proposed solution

MITA, in agreement with Sufag, selected two open-circuit cooling towers PME 4103 E Container CW Snow, suitable for snowmaking. The capacity of the installed tower is 120 m3/h: these are cooled and sent to the cannons of the ski facility.

Maintainability of all MITA cooling towers is enabled by the large side doors (for easy access to all internal parts for maintenance). Finally, durability is ensured by the extensive use of fiberglass: a material that does not corrode.

The Container version of the PME-E open-circuit tower is suitable for being transported long distances inside containers: in fact, its width is less than the standard 220 cm. The choice of machinery was made by Sufag, which was responsible for the engineering and snow production part of the installation.

3. The key to success

Performance, maintainability and durability are requirements that have met the PME-E cooling tower offering.

A final factor that characterizes both MITA Cooling Technologies and Sufag. Both companies aim for a consultative approach to their customers, listening to needs to deliver a tailored system.