Dehumidifier manufacturer Ebac has agreed to acquire Icetech Freezers following its fall into financial difficulties, in a deal expected to create 100 new jobs.
The multi-million pound deal to preserve the firm’s brands and products will see production of Icetech’s Norfrost domestic chest freezer range moved to Ebac’s North East base.
The deal will also involve additional investment at the Newton Aycliffe, County Durham site, with production expected to begin by the end of 2013 aimed at matching Norfrost’s previous output of 80,000 chest freezers a year.
Ebac has acquired the Norfrost name and the company’s equipment, designs and copyright agreements after production closed at the firm’s factory in Castletown, Caithness, Scotland, at the end of last year.
Pamela Petty, managing director of the Ebac Group, said the company’s 40-years of experience in refrigeration engineering saw them approached by interim liquidators to keep Norfrost alive.
“It is always sad to see a British brand in difficulties, so when the collapse of Comet proved the breaking point for Icetech and the Norfrost brand it was a huge shame,” he said.
“There is a big job to be done in relocating the factory equipment from Castletown, which is as far North as you can get on the British mainland, but once we are up and running, we will be in a position to start filling the gap in supply of a popular British product.”
