Reefer Manufacturer Gets the Edge with Large Order from Major Container Shipping Line

GERMANY – US – Refrigeration specialist Carrier Transicold will be looking forward to next November’s Intermodal Europe 2014 event in Rotterdam with some relish after their appearance at the Hamburg 2013 version, having announced the news that container shipping line Hamburg Süd has placed an order for 6,500 new reefer boxes equipped with Carrier Transicold’s PrimeLINE® refrigeration unit featuring the new energy efficiency-boosting EDGE technology option.

EDGE, which stands for Enhanced Digital for Greater Efficiency, includes a set of design enhancements that improve on the industry-leading PrimeLINE unit’s track record for energy efficiency. The EDGE option reduces energy consumption for perishable cargoes by 20% compared to a standard PrimeLINE unit in normal operation. Such advances are viewed as essential by companies such as Carrier Transicold which understand the concerns worldwide that leave them subject to scrutiny on two fronts.

Firstly and historically, the concentration on the deleterious effects of certain refrigerants on the ozone layer focused on an industry desperate to improve its public image and secondly with a move to source foodstuffs as close to home as possible the shipment of perishables has to be seen to be essential and as environmentally acceptable as it is possible to be.

We documented the history of the company fairly comprehensively in our October article and Carrier Transicold says it is working ever more extensively to helps improve global transport and shipping of temperature-controlled cargoes with its complete portfolio of equipment for refrigerated trucks, trailers and containers. For the technically minded the latest EDGE technology includes three design enhancements over standard PrimeLINE units.

Digital scroll compressor optimisation provides both digital loading and unloading and other enhancements that reduce energy demand whilst a two-speed condenser motor, enables operation at low speed during lighter load conditions. The evaporator fan geometry has been refined to provide an optimised air flow via an enhanced fan profile and fine-tuned blade pitch. Chiou Fun Sin, President, Global Container Refrigeration at Carrier Transicold says that the large investment by the German line made them eager to work together with his company to extend the boundaries of the existing technology and that the resultant EDGE option delivers energy savings which surpasses the competition by ‘a considerable margin’.

Hamburg Süd also worked with Carrier Transicold on the development of performance optimisation software that provides energy savings beyond that provided by EDGE technology enhancements, while also maintaining narrow temperature-control tolerances for carrying perishable cargo. The software is included with the new Hamburg Süd units, which are being installed on 20 and 40 foot high-cube containers being used for fleet replacement and expansion. Frank Smet, a member of the Executive Board of Hamburg Süd, added:

“Over the past several years, the PrimeLINE unit has made an increasingly important contribution to our sustainability initiatives. The efficiency improvements provided by PrimeLINE with EDGE technology are consistent with our philosophy on stewardship, which compels us to continuously improve our fleet operations for the good of the environment. With the EDGE technology advantage, less fuel consumed for shipboard energy production to operate our refrigeration units will translate into reduced carbon emissions from power generation.”

As a premium option for PrimeLINE units only, EDGE technology will be broadly available in 2014, and can be specified with or without the new performance optimisation software.

Meanwhile, following our article regarding the financial results of another German shipping line, Hapag-Lloyd, just one day later came the news of some changes in the group’s financial arrangements. The carrier has turned to Finacity, which facilitates the financing and administration of receivables (the amounts due from creditors) to the tune of $75 billion globally. The financiers acted with three separate banks to implement a new freight receivables securitisation (using outstanding sales ledger invoices as collateral) to the tune of $350 million, to replace Hapag-Lloyd’s existing North American Facility.