 Iceculture is all about a hobby gone mad. From a single machine the size of a domestic dish washer which could turn out two ice punch bowls a week, Julian and Ann Bayley have taken Iceculture to a company that produces 100 crystal clear ice blocks a day - all in the space of 17 years.
Iceculture is recognized as a world leader in the hospitality ice business and has been responsible for many of the technical innovations that the industry has experienced in recent years. The company has become the largest organization of its kind in the world.
Iceculture is also an information resource hub and developed and operates a popular web site www.adviceinice.com which is visited by ice carvers all over the world. The Hensall facility is a frequent stop-off for people in the business and is also a popular destination for tour groups.
There have been more changes in the ice carving industry in the last three years than in the centuries before. And Iceculture has pioneered many of them.
Iceculture is a private, family-owned company with a staff of 50 and four divisions. The manufacturing plant produces 25,000 blocks a year which are shipped all over the US and Canada and are exported to Britain, Europe, South Africa, Australia and Japan. Recently, ice has been shipped to Iceland and Norway !
The carving services division headed by General Manager, Heidi Bayley comprises designers, CNC technicians and talented carvers, and undertakes projects that have company personnel traveling all over North America. Her sister, Christine Rose leads a North America-wide sales team and also looks after major corporate accounts.
The list of unusual assignments and special events is as long as it is varied. Examples would be the Pontiac Ice Maze that was created for General Motors at the Canadian Auto Show in 2005. This project consumed 2000 blocks and claims its position in the Guinness Book of Work Records; the original ice curtain design which is being featured at many high profile venues; and the Wachovia Ice Bridge at the Rockefeller Center, New York City.
Iceculture has worked closely with NASA and produced ice projectiles which were used in tests for the shuttle return-to-flight program.
The equipment division designs and develops specialized equipment for the industry such as CNC machines, ice lathes and many different hand power tools and accessories.
It represents a new departure in the hospitality ice industry and opens up many marketing opportunities. The sculptures are extremely high quality in terms of design and detail and each sculpture is supplied in protective, foam-in-place packaging.
The company is still growing and there are a number of exciting new developments on the horizon which will undoubtedly keep Iceculture in the forefront of an industry that has only recently stepped into the 21st century.
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