A cool crate targets market for fresh, chilled products

By Ahmed ElAmin

- Last updated on GMT

Related tags Food Shelf life

An insulated polystyrene crate for shipping beverages, meat,
cheese, and vegetables can be adapted for a wide variety of shapes
and sizes.

Great Northern claims its Cool Crate will save processors time and money in shipping low shelf life products, including food and drink, that need to be chilled. The company is targeting processors who want to meet the rising demand for fresh and chilled products. The crate is intended for shipping food and medical products. Cool Crate consists of interlocking polystyrene foam panels that insulate all sides of a palletized load. "Shipping temperature-sensitive products has never been easier," stated a sales manager, Dan Stubing. "The ability to ship a full pallet of product without the need toindividually wrap each box will save time and reduce the amount of overall handling that's required." Users lock bottom and edge panels together, place the product inside crate, fill the empty space with dry ice or insulating material, secure top, then stretch wrap and band the pallet. The crate is suited for shipping foods such as beverages, fish, meat, poultry, cheese, vegetables, desserts and other food items, the company stated in an announcement yesterday. "Not every product is the same shape as the inside of a corrugated carton," the company stated yesterday. "Many products require custom-designed packaging to enhanceprotection, increase strength, unitize multiple parts and prevent load shifting." The crate is sold in parts, leaving it up to the processor to assemble the interlocking panels. The pieces include a top half and bottom half that make up the outside of the crate, and sixpolystyrene panels, a top, bottom and four sides. Great Northern is based in the US. External links to companies or organisations mentioned in this story: Great Northern

Related topics R&D