STAR AND STARFROST AT SUSTAINABLE FOOD FACTORY 2026

Star Refrigeration and Starfrost exhibited at Sustainable Food Factory 2026 on 16 June at the Derby Arena, joining food and beverage manufacturers from across the UK to discuss practical strategies for reducing energy consumption, lowering carbon emissions and improving operational efficiency.

The event brings together manufacturers, sustainability professionals, engineers and operational leaders responsible for decarbonising food and beverage production and supply chains. With topics ranging from industrial heat and refrigeration to AI, water stewardship, electrification and asset management, the conference reflects the growing need for integrated solutions that can deliver both environmental and commercial benefits.

As the UK’s leading industrial refrigeration engineering company, Star Refrigeration were available throughout the event to discuss how food manufacturers can reduce operating costs and carbon emissions through energy-efficient refrigeration, industrial heat pumps, waste heat recovery and AI-enabled performance optimisation.

The company’s specialists shared insights into how manufacturers can capture waste heat generated during cooling and refrigeration processes and reuse it for hot water, process heating and other applications. This approach can significantly reduce reliance on gas boilers while helping businesses move towards net zero objectives.

Visitors were also able to learn more about Ethos, Star’s AI-enabled performance optimisation platform, which uses operational data and digital twin technology to identify inefficiencies, improve performance and support ongoing energy reduction programmes.

Joining Star Refrigeration was sister company Starfrost, a specialist provider of freezing and chilling equipment for the global food processing industry. Since 1984, Starfrost has supplied food manufacturers in more than 60 countries with solutions designed to improve productivity, product quality and energy efficiency.

At Sustainable Food Factory 2026, Starfrost showcased technologies including IQF systems, spiral freezers, tunnel freezers and chilling equipment, helping manufacturers explore opportunities to modernise production processes, increase throughput and reduce energy consumption. Many food processors are looking to upgrade ageing equipment, improve freezing performance or expand production capacity, and the event provided an opportunity to discuss the latest technologies available and where they can deliver operational benefits.

In addition to supplying new equipment, Starfrost offers project support, installation, commissioning, servicing and lifecycle assistance, helping customers optimise performance and maximise the long-term value of their investments.

The combined presence of Star Refrigeration and Starfrost provided visitors with access to expertise covering the full food manufacturing cooling chain, from processing and freezing equipment through to refrigeration systems, heat recovery, industrial heat pumps, maintenance and long-term energy optimisation.

Dr Rob Lamb, Group Sales & Marketing Director at Star Refrigeration, said:

“Food manufacturers are facing increasing pressure to reduce emissions while remaining competitive in a challenging economic environment. Refrigeration and process heating often represent some of the largest energy users within a facility, which means there is significant potential to reduce both energy costs and carbon emissions through better integration of heating and cooling systems.

“Sustainable Food Factory provided an excellent opportunity to support the industry, catch up with our customers and have practical conversations with manufacturers about the technologies and strategies available today, whether that is improving existing refrigeration systems, recovering waste heat, introducing industrial heat pumps, optimising freezing and chilling processes, or using operational data to identify  inefficiencies.”

Visitors to Sustainable Food Factory 2026 were invited to meet the Star Refrigeration and Starfrost teams to discuss their sustainability goals, energy challenges and opportunities for improving operational performance.