SIC 2097 Manufactured Ice

Contenidos

• NAICS CODE(S).
• FURTHER READING.

SIC 2097

This category covers ice plants operated by public utilities and establishments manufacturing artificial ice for sale in the form of blocks or cubes; it excludes makers of dry ice, which are categorized in SIC 2813: Industrial Gases.

NAICS CODE(S)

312113

Ice Manufacturing

Technological advances freed consumers from their long dependence on the harvest of local, naturally occurring sources of ice by permitting first its export and then its manufacture. Whether by private companies or by public utilities, product was based on developments that also heralded the era of domestic refrigeration, and the ice trays found in most American kitchens became the major rival of commercial ice manufacturers. In terms of volume, however, domestic refrigerators could not compete with ice plants, and manufactured ice has sold well in outlets where goods for parties, receptions, and other events are routinely purchased.

In the early 2000s ice manufacturers' products ranged from bags of ice cubes in varying quantities to blocks of ice in weights of 10 to 300 pounds. The larger blocks were particularly popular for ice carvings at outdoor festivals and banquet buffets.

Much of the industry's annual revenues depend on the weather. The warmer the temperature, the more consumers purchase ice. Logically, sales of manufactured ice are highest during the summer months of June, July, and August. Due to the ever-increasing efficiency of ice-making machinery and delivery, the wholesale price of ice has increased by only 5 cents since the late 1970s, to between 45 cents and 50 cents per pound in the early 2000s.

Purity is a primary issue among ice suppliers. Many ice suppliers have learned to enhance the purity of their product by creating a hole in the center of each cube and then flushing it, using water to rinse away the sulfur, iron, and other impurities that had concentrated there during the formation of the cube. Such purity concerned not only consumers but also businesses that required large quantities of ice to keep food cool and fresh. While those businesses could count on convenience and cheaper costs of ice produced in-house, ice-manufacturing specialists had the potential to create a product with greater purity.

Since the late 1980s, legislation at various levels of government led to tightened controls on sanitation and an improved standard of quality in the ice industry. Mandated drug testing of truck...