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Tag: Thermo King

Sustainable and Efficient Cold Chain Innovation

Posted on by David Priestman

Thermo King®, a leader in transport temperature control solutions and a brand of Trane Technologies, will showcase its latest refrigerated container solutions at Intermodal Europe 2024 in Rotterdam, Netherlands, from November 12th to 14th. The innovations on display at Thermo King’s stand (B20) focus on enhancing efficiency and sustainability in cold chain transport, meeting the needs of shipping lines, intermodal and stationary applications to reduce food loss and carbon emissions.

“Cold chain integrity while minimizing carbon footprint and energy consumption, are key trends shaping the transport and logistics sector,” said Claudio Zanframundo, president Thermo King EMEA Truck, Trailer, Bus and Global Marine, Rail, Air. “We protect temperature-sensitive cargo at every stage of transport, whether by road, rail, or sea. Thermo King is driving the transformation of cold chain logistics by delivering solutions that meet current and future stringent environmental standards, helping our customers achieve sustainability goals without compromising operations. By innovating, we ensure reliable performance, reduce food loss, and support a more sustainable cold chain.”

Thermo King will introduce several key advancements tailored to the needs of marine and intermodal transport:

• MP-5000 Controller
The MP-5000 controller for Thermo King’s Container Fresh and Frozen (CFF) and Magnum Plus reefer units provides an intuitive, logic-driven user interface with Bluetooth connectivity for two-way communication. This system simplifies operator interactions, giving greater control and allowing for remote monitoring. The MP-5000 also includes energy logging as a standard feature, enabling users to track both kWh consumption and CO2 emissions for each voyage. With PT-1000 temperature sensors, the controller delivers best-in-class temperature accuracy, ensuring cargo protection, while also reducing the total cost of ownership.

• TK Active Fresh – Active Controlled Atmosphere
Showcased for the first time at Intermodal 2024, the TK Active Fresh solution is designed to maintain optimal conditions for high-respiration cargo, such as fresh produce, during long-haul transport. Using a nitrogen membrane, the system actively controls oxygen (O2) and carbon dioxide (CO2) levels inside refrigerated containers, ensuring the cargo stays in optimal conditions throughout its journey. The systems features fast oxygen pull-down at 28 liters per minute with nitrogen purity of 95%, effectively slowing down the respiration of fresh produce, improving quality and extending its shelf life.

With superior ventilation rate removing excessive CO2 at 90 liters per minute, exporters can confidently transport their goods over long distances with minimal food loss, ensuring the highest product quality upon arrival.

• E-COOLPAC – Battery Power for Reefer Containers
Thermo King will also showcase the E-COOLPAC, an advanced battery-powered solution designed for refrigerated marine containers when not connected to grid or vessel power. Available in flexible configurations ranging from 35kWh to 105kWh, the E-COOLPAC offers a sustainable alternative to diesel gensets. It can be fitted or retrofitted to marine container chassis, and is compatible with Thermo King CFF and Magnum Plus refrigeration units, as well as other ISO1496-2 reefer units. E-COOLPAC helps transporters reduce emissions, comply with regulations, and reduce reliance on fossil fuels.

Thermo King CFF and Advancer Refrigeration Units

Visitors to the Thermo King stand will also see the proven CFF refrigeration unit offering industry-standard set-point range from -30°C to +30°C. The CFF is culmination of Thermo King’s extensive container refrigeration knowledge acquired from the intermodal use of reefer units on rough roads and seas. The CFF provides optimal COP (Coefficient of Performance), air management and temperature control accuracy of +/- 0.25°C in chilled mode and +/- 1°C in frozen mode. The CFF responds to customer needs to reduce energy cost, increase sustainability, support IMO requirements to log power consumption and achieve low total cost of ownership.

Thermo King will also showcase the Advancer Intermodal refrigeration unit, tailored for rail, road, and short-sea shipments. This unit offers market-leading performance in terms of fuel efficiency, temperature control, and connectivity. Thermo King’s telematics systems enable remote monitoring, and two-way communication, allowing customers to benefit from the ThermoKare 24/7 Fleet Monitoring service. This central monitoring solution from Thermo King combines real-time monitoring of the refrigerated fleet, remote-diagnosis and proactive support performed around the clock by Thermo King experts.

Additionally, the Advancer is compatible with alternative power sources, including the Thermo King AxlePower smart energy recovery system, which harvests energy from the chassis’ axle to power the refrigeration unit.

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Trailer Refrigeration Taken to Next Level with Advancer, Claims Thermo King

 

Collaboration to Transform Cold Chain Transport

Posted on by David Priestman

Trane Technologies, parent company of Thermo King, reinforced the essential need to decarbonize and transform the commercial transport industry and cold chain and called for quick action and greater collaboration at the GCCA European Cold Chain Conference in Brussels to ensure widespread adoption of technologies that reduce carbon emissions and improve efficiency.

“We believe that our industry can make a significant impact on global greenhouse gas emissions, particularly in the areas of heating and cooling and food loss,” said Claudio Zanframundo (pictured), president, Thermo King EMEA, Trane Technologies. “Decarbonization and transformation of the commercial transport industry and cold chain is possible, and it requires all of us to act together, to adopt the new technologies, including electrification and energy recovery solutions, to radically reduce emissions for a better planet for future generations.”

Trane Technologies’ Thermo King® brand is one of the leading providers of connected active temperature-controlled transport solutions in the cold chain industry. With a focus on precision cooling and digital advancements, Thermo King® is driving the shift toward electric refrigeration and energy recovery solutions in commercial transport. In November 2023, the company announced it fulfilled its August 2021 commitment to deliver fully electric, zero direct emission refrigeration solutions for every segment of the cold chain in the Europe, Middle East and Africa (EMEA) region by 2023.

Examples of these solutions include the E-Series, an innovative and future-proof electric refrigeration unit designed for sustainable operations in urban and inner-city areas. The E-Series is connected and powered directly by the vehicle’s battery, delivering optimal temperature-control performance with reduced energy consumption.

Another example is AxlePower, a revolutionary fully electric trailer refrigeration and energy recovery solution that eliminates the need for fuel consumption and increases uptime. The AxlePower energy recovery solution operates by harnessing the kinetic energy from the vehicle’s movement, such as braking and coasting, and stores it in a high-voltage battery. It can be used with both fully electric and hybrid vehicles and has been extensively tested and adopted by customers worldwide, with successful implementations from Belgium to South Africa.

Thermo King® recognizes the need to keep investing in innovation for the cold chain because of the potential to reduce emissions, but also because it plays a critical role in feeding society. Roughly 30% of the food produced worldwide is lost every year, before reaching consumers, largely due to uncontrolled environments and disruptions in the cold chain. Partnering with retailers, non-profits and the European Commission to reduce food waste, we recently co-developed a roundtable at the European Parliament to help accelerate progress and get more people taking action. The session was aligned to the EU’s commitment of meeting SDG 12.3 of halving per capita global food loss and waste by 2030.

Through bold, industry-leading action, Trane Technologies is advancing its 2030 Sustainability Commitments, including the Gigaton Challenge – a pledge to reduce customer greenhouse gas emissions by 1 billion metric tons (or, one gigaton) – and its pledge to be net-zero by 2050. In 2014, the company set its first science-based 2020 Climate Commitments – accelerating innovation to achieve them two years ahead of schedule. The company is first in its industry with near and long-term emissions reduction targets externally validated by the Science Based Targets Initiative (SBTi).

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New Telematics System Offered to Food Sector Cold Chain Operators

 

Digital Transformation of Operations Reshape Worker Experience

Posted on by David Priestman

Today, at its Beyond conference, Samsara Inc. (NYSE:IOT), announced product innovations designed to reshape the worker experience for organizations managing complex physical operations. The conference, which runs June 21-23rd in Austin, Texas, is one of the largest gatherings of leaders and innovators across physical operations, a wide range of industries all powered by frontline workforces who are vital to keeping the global economy running.

The digital-first tools showcased by Samsara today – from Virtual Coach, a new coaching aid that reaches drivers when and where they need it, to Mobile Experience Management, a lifeline for workers in the field to get help from the back office – empower employees with personalized, connected, and integrated experiences to help them operate more safely and efficiently.

“We have had tremendous momentum as our AI-powered platform drives real business impact for our customers,” said Sanjit Biswas, CEO and co-founder of Samsara. “Our customers’ frontline workers keep the world running – from the construction crews and field service technicians, to loading dock workers and truck drivers. With ongoing labour shortages and the next generation of the workforce demanding digital tools, we are helping make these jobs easier, safer, and more efficient. The next wave of digital transformation is happening now.”

Empowering workers with personalized, connected, and integrated experiences Serving tens of thousands of organizations across North America and Europe, Samsara’s customer base crosses a diverse set of industries and includes many of the world’s biggest construction, transportation, waste management, and wholesale and retail companies. Samsara’s Connected Operations™ Cloud is already contributing dramatic improvements to workers in these industries – using AI to prevent over 120,000 crashes in 2022 alone, and digitizing more than 23 million documents to save thousands of hours of paperwork. Today, Samsara has announced new innovations that continue reshaping the worker experience and driving results, which include:
● Mobile Experience Management (MEM): Workers doing demanding jobs in the field need mobile devices to be a lifeline, not a distraction. MEM is a software solution that simplifies mobile management at scale so workers stay safe, connected, and productive. With MEM, employees can get customized support – like remote training and live troubleshooting – through their mobile devices, all while keeping them safe by reducing unnecessary digital distractions.
● Virtual Coach: Improving road safety requires timely insights to inform the coaching of risky driving behaviour. Instead of drivers having to wait for in-person feedback, Virtual Coach empowers them to self-coach directly from the Samsara Driver App anywhere, anytime. This
makes it easy for managers to personalize coaching experiences at scale, improving both road safety as well as driver engagement and retention.
● Smart Trailer and Asset Tracking solutions: Powerful insights from trailers and assets – such as utilization, temperature, and location – are hard to act upon when they live in siloed systems. With next-generation Asset Gateways, Samsara can connect and extend this visibility to drive better outcomes. The new Find My Asset feature allows managers to quickly find lost or stolen high-value unpowered assets – saving substantial time and money. In addition, a new two-way cloud integration with Thermo King’s TracKing® Telematics makes it possible for customers to not only monitor, but remotely control, their Thermo King reefers from the Samsara dashboard.
● Data Connectors: Driving better business outcomes is challenging when your data lives in separate, third-party platforms that aren’t able to work together. With new data connectors including Fivetran, Kafka, and Power BI, Samsara data is easily streamed to power business
applications and workflows. This holistic visibility empowers everyone within your organization to make data-driven decisions and improve the bottom line.

“We know that data is essential in today’s environment to drive better business outcomes – whether that’s lowering emissions, preventing accidents, or automating workflows. Empowering the people within your organization with the right digital tools is critical to achieving these outcomes,” explained Jeff Hausman, Chief Product Officer at Samsara. “All of our announcements made today are reshaping this worker
experience for customers and enabling them to achieve meaningful digital transformation of physical operations, now.”

Mobile Experience Management is now available for purchase in early access for customers across the U.S. and Canada. Virtual Coach is now available in beta for global customers.

Also at Beyond ‘23, Biswas announced Samsara Ventures – a new investment fund to support visionary companies building innovative solutions throughout the connected operations ecosystem. Samsara Ventures focuses on portfolio companies that are aligned with Samsara’s mission to increase the safety, efficiency, and sustainability of the operations that power the global economy. Along with monetary
investments, Samsara Ventures will provide mentorship from Samsara’s leadership team, access to Samsara’s community of customers and ecosystem partners, and the unique opportunity to build and scale solutions in connection with Samsara’s Connected Operations Cloud.

“Physical operations industries are the backbone of our economy, and Samsara has been innovating from the start to help these organizations succeed,” said Biswas. “We’re excited to extend our commitment to the connected operations ecosystem with Samsara Ventures. Beyond investing in industry-wide innovation, we also recognize how valuable these advancements can be for our customers, who are often looking for solutions to many of the challenges these companies are solving for.”

Telematics Connectivity for Vehicle-Powered Units

Posted on by David Priestman

Thermo King®, a leader in transport temperature control solutions and a brand of Trane Technologies, has announced its new BlueBox Lite telematics device designed to enhance the connectivity of the vehicle-powered refrigeration units.

With the BlueBox Lite device the customers now get a more cost-efficient way to obtain not only the temperature and position data, but also critical information from the vehicle-powered refrigeration units’ control system like setpoints, alarms or hours of operation. BlueBox Lite features 4G connectivity allowing customers to easily access the data through the Thermo King TracKing™ web portal, TK Reefer or integrate it with a third-party platform or back-end system.

“Connectivity is something not to be missed for companies looking to improve the efficiency of their cold chain operations,” said Mike McEnnis, Portfolio Leader Product Management. “By introducing the BlueBox Lite telematics device for our V-Series, VX-Series and B-Series range we want to make it easier for our customers to take advantage of the data and make their operations smarter. The BlueBox Lite is a plug-and-play, 4G solution that gives them a cost-efficient and easy way to receive real time intelligence on the operation of their refrigerated vehicle.”

Other key features of the Thermo King BlueBox Lite device include:

– Near real-time data access thanks to the five-minute logging interval availability for improved response times
– Plug-and-play solution reducing the installation time, with no requirement for a separate DataLogger to get the temperature data. Unlike other telematics solutions with temperature probes, the BlueBox Lite is easily installed and connected directly to the refrigeration units’ controller
– EN12830 compatible solution if combined with the optional TouchLog datalogger
– 2-way command for SetPoint change to allow remote control of the load temperature

Thermo King – by Trane Technologies (NYSE: TT), a global climate innovator – is a worldwide leader in sustainable transport temperature control solutions. Thermo King has been providing transport temperature control solutions for a variety of applications, including trailers, truck bodies, buses, air, shipboard containers and railway cars since 1938.

New Diesel-Electric Reefer Developed

Posted on by David Priestman

Rotterdam-based Unit45, which works exclusively on the development, construction, financing and delivery of 45ft pallet-wide containers, has developed a new diesel-electric reefer in collaboration with their client, the Belgian logistics solutions’ provider H.Essers.

H.Essers provides personalised and integrated solutions for sustainable transport and logistics across Europe. Essers aims to be a reliable, long-term supply chain partner for clients in various industries. This newly developed diesel electric reefer is highly reliable and was designed with a 900 litre tank, making it 100 litres larger in capacity than the previous version.

The reefer, which features a motor manufactured by Thermo King, has a low fuel consumption and is maintenance friendly. Its high cooling capacity and the possibility to easily control the temperature make it suitable for transporting pharmaceutical products, perishable goods and appliances also for long-distance journeys, for instance as part of the New Silk route.

This unit can remain 18 to 28 days self-supporting, so you do not have to refuel during the travel at all. This is extremely important because in some countries the diesel just does not have the correct quality.

Unit45’s managing director Jan Koolen explains, “Refuelling in Kazakhstan for example can be a challenge, you simply risk the wrong diesel in the tank. Often the diesel is thinned with water. When this freezes the engine will stall.”

Diesel-Electric Reefer

It is intended for use in multimodal operations where rail is featured as, while the cost of moving temperature-controlled cargoes over long distances by road is ever rising, very few rail operators can provide a reliable power supply for all-electric reefers.

“Rail transport in shortsea keep on going steady and that is what we do best. This is not a new development but growth of intermodal transport has been going on for a while now,’ explained Koolen.
The reefer also includes an advance track and trace system to control and record the temperature and the position of the container, as well as any door opening with real-time alerts. The power of UNIT45 is not only her innovation skills but also its flexibility,” said Koolen. This flexibility also results in giving UNIT45 the possibility to accept all types of orders. “When a company has a new idea we are always prepared to join in. Our developers are ready to work with our clients’.”

Refrigerated Trailers Operating with TIP Group

Posted on by David Priestman

Thermo King®, a leader in transport temperature control solutions and a brand of Trane Technologies, announced today that three new refrigerated trailers featuring the Advancer AxlePower energy recovery system started operations in the Netherlands. The three trailers are part of the TIP Group’s fleet and are operated by Herbert SAS, Tielbeke Transport B.V. and Wezenberg Transport B.V. delivering for Albert Heijn, the largest supermarket chain in the Netherlands.

Opening the doors to emission-free refrigerated trailers, the project is a result of a collaboration between Thermo King, BPW Bergische Achsen KG, a leader in running gears and mobility services for transport, and equipment service provider TIP Group.

“It is uplifting to work together with the industry leaders and demonstrate capabilities of the technologies that put sustainability front and centre in the transport industry,” said Colm O’Grady, Tra iler Product Leader at Thermo King. “Combining our expertise with BPW and TIP Group we’re putting new technology in the hands of the transport companies that allow them to turn the energy typically lost by a trailer during transit into clean power for the refrigeration units. Our innovation enables change in transport refrigeration and helps fleets achieve sustainable practice goals, move goods in the most environmentally friendly way and meet lower emission requirements from regulators.”

“The sustainability balance of our solution includes both an ecological and an economic dimension: emissions and noise are reduced, and ongoing operational costs drop immediately – an important advantage, especially in current times of high energy prices”, adds Thore Bakker, General Manager Trailer Solutions and Mobility Services at BPW Bergische Achsen KG. “The customer experience tour comes at exactly the right time as pressure on the industry has never been so intense.

“In our mission to create zero-emission temperature-controlled trailers, we are offering different solutions to our customers to meet their specific needs. The battery only solution is already available and this trial, with the energy axle configuration, will take up to about 12 months. The first results are very promising.” explains Rogier Laan, Vice President Sales and Marketing at TIP Group. “We strongly believe that diesel temperature-controlled trailers will quickly fade-out in favour of fully electrical and we are here to drive and support that transition.”

Developed in partnership with BPW, the Advancer AxlePower is a fully integrated, tractor independent system that combines BPW’s ePower axle with Thermo King refrigeration unit and power management technology. The trailers operating for Albert Heijn feature Thermo King Advancer A-500 Whisper-Pro, PIEK certified refrigeration units and BPW ePower axles. The AxlePower’s smart energy generating system delivers the power needed to run the trailer refrigeration unit by converting energy recovered by the trailer’s axle during the vehicle’s routine operation.

The system stores the energy generated while the vehicle is rolling or braking in a high voltage battery and reuses it to power the refrigeration unit – enabling fully electric, low or zero-emission and autonomous trailer refrigeration. The battery pack, being charged while the trailer is moving also powers the unit autonomously while the trailer is stopped. Featuring smart power management that controls the engagement and disengagement of the generators, Advancer AxlePower also minimises the resistance on the tractor and provides the driver and fleet manager with real-time battery charge visibility to avoid ‘charge anxiety’.

The possibility to capture and reuse energy makes the Advancer AxlePower system an ideal solution to future-proof and increase the sustainability of all types of trailer journeys. With silent running and no CO2 emissions from the refrigeration unit when operating from the battery-pack, this technology allows customers to sustainably run long-haul and inner-city deliveries, including in Ultra-low Emission Zones (ULEZs) and low noise urban areas.

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