Thermo King starts its roll-out
Thermo King is making good on its promise to significantly improve its product offering in the reefer container sector
Speaking at Intermodal Europe in Hamburg last year, Jessica Poliner, vice president and general manager, Thermo King Global Marine, Rail and Air, announced an ambitious target for Thermo King to have “the broadest product portfolio offering in the industry”.
In its first move towards that goal, the company has launched a new genset called the SG-5000 for the North American market. In what will be a much more far-reaching move, Poliner confirmed her hints made at Intermodal Europe that Thermo King is planning to offer a reefer machine with a different refrigerant. The company has long stood out for using R-404A in its reefer machinery. In 2015, it introduced R-452A as a drop-in alternative with a lower GWP. But with a GWP of 2,140, R- 452A cannot be considered a ‘low’ GWP option.
Poliner told WorldCargo News that Thermo King plans to “launch a reefer model, leveraging our Magnum+ platform, but with the more common refrigerant (R-134A/R-513A) in H2 2020”.
R-513A is a drop-in replacement for R-134A, and moving in this direction would bring Thermo King into line with Carrier Transicold, Daikin and MCI. Poliner emphasised that Thermo King is not completely replacing its existing platform, and “will continue to offer our Magnum+ with the fastest pull-down and lowest set point on the market” (to -40 degC).
Change is also coming in the area of controlled atmosphere (CA), where Thermo King is planning to launch a new product in Q4 2020. The company has offered its Advanced Fresh Air Management Plus (AFAM+) system since 2001. This helps regulate the internal container environment by adjusting the air vent positioning automatically.
Peter Hansen, senior product manager at Thermo King, noted that AFAM+ replaced an earlier active CA system, and Thermo King “learned good lessons re- lated to the operational cost and reliability of this system. Hence, we decided to focus on fresh air management and a scrubber solution for the CA solution available on the market in Q4 2020”.
Thermo King plans to launch a new reefer machine,
but will continue to offer its Magnum+ system.
The company is keeping details of its new approach to itself at this point, but Hansen did note that there is more to CA than just the refrigeration system. “CA shipments require full attention from the preparation and loading ,throughout the voyage and the unloading,” he said.
“It’s an ecosystem with several stakeholders, each with their responsibility. It starts with a pre- trip inspection of unit and container to document and monitor trends in air-tightness over time. Next is the installation of curtain, and finally the performance of the CA system installed. Not all CA solutions, even sophisticated ones, are appropriate for all commodities.”
Talking telematics
Another area where Thermo King said new developments are coming is in telematics. Here Thermo King is varying its approach for different product lines. For gensets, it will start implementing a standard system on all new units. “The customer can decide to activate the data transmission if interested in getting data, and this can be done even after the purchase of the equipment,” said Poliner.
“With our gensets,” she continued, “Thermo King will provide an important advantage – customers will be able to get data to be fed in to their information system through a cloud- to-cloud API. This means customers that want to keep using their information system will be able to do it and nothing will change or affect their operability. Alternatively, Thermo King will offer its back-end platform with innovative and advanced functionalities that aim to facilitate the complex activity of asset management.”
Thermo King expects telematics will have many benefits for genset owners, including helping to maximise fleet utilisation and decrease fuel consumption.
New possibilities
As well as cargo quality, a lot of the interest in telematics is being driven by the need to measure, understand and reduce energy consumption in the cold chain. Based on conversations with shipping lines and other customers, the top three issues that Thermo King believes need to be addressed to lower the energy consumption of reefer container logistics are:Telematics opens up new possibilities for data-led reefer management and development. Poliner pointed out that Thermo King reefers with MP4000 controllers are already equipped with energy modes – one energy optimised mode and a standard mode. The algorithms in the controllers are based on feedback from thousands of customers, as well as internal data and expertise.Telematics brings in further opportunities for optimisation. It is always about “continuous improvements”, said Poliner.
- Energy logging - monitoring each reefer unit for each voyage.
- Controls optimised for energy versus temperature control
- Component reliability and durability
The one gigaton reduction challenge
Thermo King’s parent company, Trane Technologies, has announced a public commitment to reduce its customer carbon footprint by one gigaton by 2030.This is an ambitious target, and it is not clear how much of the reduction is expected to come from Thermo King’s transport and marine business.
Rather than give such a number, Poliner said Thermo King Global Marine is “well aligned to Trane Technologies’ objective of achieving one gigaton of CO2e reduction by 2030. “We believe that unit design with selection of compressors and motors and having controls that optimise the energy consumption are some of the main areas where we can optimise energy consumption”.
Pictured above is the SG-5000,
Thermo King’s next generation North American genset for marine containers.
Product lifecycle is also an important part of the equation, including manufacturing units to be leak free. “Full lifecycle assessments are mapped for each of Trane Technologies’ products. For our gensets, we make a difference in engine emissions, unit design and weight, and will offer hybrid solutions to power reefer units in the most efficient manner,” she said.
The last comment is another interesting hint at things to come. Hybrid and full battery gensets are being dis- cussed for reefer containers, as well as reefer trucks, and Poliner said these are “certainly aligned” with the 2030 initiative. “We believe that battery-powered and hybrid solutions are on the near horizon as the technology capabilities need to align with greater emissions regulations worldwide.”
Jessica Poliner is the vice president and general manager for the Global Marine, Rail and Air (MRA) divisions of Thermo King, a brand within the Transport Solutions business of Ingersoll Rand. She is based in Brussels, Belgium, and has lived and worked in various countries across the world. She holds a bachelor’s degree from Vanderbilt University and a Juris doctor degree from Marquette University. In addition, Poliner has completed graduate work at University of Buenos Aires and UNC Kenan-Flagler Business School. She is also a published co-author of “[Un]Skirting the Issues: A Guide for the Well-Intentioned Man in Today’s Workplace,” which was released in September 2017, and is an avid speaker on gender parity and unconscious bias.
Source: https://www.worldcargonews.com/news/thermo-king-starts-its-roll-out-64333