Newest cold chain packaging highlights control, tracking, sustainability

Shipping cold chain pharmaceuticals requires temperature control and tracking, which are continually being improved through new technologies. Many companies now also prioritize sustainability. The LogiPharma 2023 conference last week in Boston featured dozens of companies presenting solutions for each link in the supply chain. Here are some of the standouts: Gobi Technologies [caption id="attachment_57138643" align="alignright" width="254"] Gobi Technologies Chief Executive Morgan Fowler displays the Altai self-cooling parcel shipper. (Photo/Yael Katzwer)[/caption] Kirkland, Wash.-based Gobi Technologies launched its Altai self-cooling parcel shipper a few months ago. The box can keep contents cold for 96 hours and has options for shipments of 12 liters and 14 liters, though the company is working on a 28-liter option, according to Gobi Chief Executive Morgan Fowler . The Altai does not require cold rooms, plugs or batteries. “No infrastructure is needed,” Fowler told Air Cargo Next at the conference. “Just press the button to activate the evaporative cooling system.” Unlike some other temperature-controlled boxes, the Altai can be turned off and used for multiple shipments. If, for instance, a shipper has three cold chain shipments, each taking about 30 hours, over the course of a couple of weeks, the same Altai box can be used on all three shipments, Fowler said. The box is reusable and uses up to 90% less energy than conventional phase-change materials (PCM) shipping, according to Fowler. CSafe [caption id="attachment_57138641" align="alignright" width="260"] Showing through the lid of CSafe's reusable container is a data logger. (Photo/Yael Katzwer)[/caption] Temperature-controlled shipping solutions provider CSafe offers a reusable box that can maintain temperature control for 120 hours and has a sensor to track temperature. “We launched our own brand of data loggers and a platform to track that data,” Alfredo Ratmiroff , senior director for passive sales-Americas at CSafe, told Air Cargo Next at the conference. While the Connect platform was designed for CSafe’s data loggers, it can accommodate data from other loggers, Ratmiroff said. The box can carry shipments from 5 liters to 56 liters. CSafe also expanded its active bulk air cargo container portfolio this summer to integrate a new -20 C temperature setpoint for its RKN container . The container will be available with the new frozen setpoint on the control panel early next year. The RKN uses a temperature management system in conjunction with integrated sensor technology that gives clients access to predictive and real-time models via the CSafe Connect platform, according to a company release. Zebra Technologies [caption id="attachment_57138647" align="alignright" width="300"] Zebra Technologies offers multiple color-changing cards and stickers to monitor a shipment's temperature. (Photo/Yael Katzwer)[/caption] Lincolnshire, Ill.-based mobile computing company Zebra Technologies offers smart data capture by manufacturing and selling marking, tracking and computer printing technologies. Zebra prints and reads radio frequency identification (RFID) barcodes and uses machine vision to track shipments as they enter a plane or truck, senior sales manager Jonathan Parr told Air Cargo Next at the conference. Machine vision involves a computer using cameras and processing power to “see” an item. Once the shipment is packed and barcoded, Zebra offers solutions to ensure it stays at the proper temperature. “We have visual and electronic sensors for real-time visibility,” Ashley Barey , director of strategic development and environmental sensors at Zebra, told Air Cargo Next at the conference. The data logger is 100% recyclable and Zebra uses a third party to certify that the logger has been properly recycled, Barey said. In addition to producing smart temperature tags, Zebra manufactures labels that change color in the event of a temperature excursion. The labels are accurate within less than 1 degree, Barey said. DoKaSch Temperature Solutions [caption id="attachment_57138642" align="alignright" width="300"] The DoKaSch Opticooler features an easy-to-use touchscreen. (Photo/Yael Katzwer)[/caption] Unit load device (ULD) provider DoKaSch Temperature Solutions offers two Opticooler ULD sizes: the large RAP that uses four compressors and can carry five pallets and the smaller RKN that uses two compressors and can carry one pallet. The Opticooler ULDs are easy to operate with touchscreens, according to DoKaSch Chief Commercial Officer Edwin Visser . “With a very simple touchscreen, it covers a wide range of ambient temperatures,” Visser told Air Cargo Next at the conference. The touchscreen has three temperature buttons: two pre-set temperature ranges and one for customizable temperature. “You don’t have to scroll through pages of menus,” Visser said. The ULDs also offer two charge ports. “This builds in some redundancy in case one isn’t working,” Visser said. “Also, you can plug both in at once and charge the container in under two hours.” The Opticooler RAP “has the highest internal height in the market,” Visser said, attributing this to space added to the internal compartment by removing forklift pockets. AeroSafe Global [caption id="attachment_57138638" align="alignright" width="300"] AeroSafe Global's containers are returned to the company to be recycled. (Photo/AeroSafe)[/caption] Rochester, N.Y.-based AeroSafe Global provides parcel packaging for cold chain shipments. “It’s a solution, not a product,” Matthew Rinaldi , vice president of sales, told Air Cargo Next at the conference. One of AeroSafe’s key selling points, according to Rinaldi, is its devotion to sustainability . Each box is equipped with a return-shipping label that sends it back to the company once used. While the outer cardboard box is recycled, the inner phase-change packaging is reused. The packaging can be reused about 77 times, Rinaldi said. “We currently have a 98.6% return rate on boxes,” he said. AeroSafe also works with iPoint Technologies to record shipping data and provide information on the shipment’s sustainability to the client, he said. Logmore [caption id="attachment_57138649" align="alignright" width="300"] Logmore uses QR codes to supply information about shipments. (Photo/Logmore)[/caption] Helsinki-based Logmore , which aims to provide transparency for sensitive and cold chain shipments, creates QR codes for shipments. “It allows anyone to scan the package,” Elise Breissac , head of strategic partnerships at Logmore, told Air Cargo Next at the conference. “The end recipient can scan the package and know if they should use it or not.” The QR code takes the user to a website that states whether the package ever diverged from required temperatures. The information is stored on the cloud for anyone to access. SkyCell [caption id="attachment_57138645" align="alignright" width="300"] SkyCell offers a hybrid ULD. (Photo/Yael Katzwer)[/caption] ULD provider SkyCell offers a hybrid container that uses passive and active temperature-control methods. “No dry ice is needed, no battery,” SkyCell Director of Business Development Roberto Pinho told Air Cargo Next at the conference. The ULD can keep pallets at required temperatures for 270 hours and uses PCMs to reduce energy waste. “It absorbs the cold in a cold room to recharge and it never expires,” Pinho said. “This is something new, lighter, cheaper and more sustainable.” The ULD, which can be X-rayed, features double doors to maintain temperature. The ULD’s main door can be open for 15 minutes without cold loss and the ULD has had zero temperature excursions since 2012, Pinho said. Sonoco ThermoSafe [caption id="attachment_57138646" align="alignright" width="258"] Sonoco's Pegasus ULD (Photo/Yael Katzwer)[/caption] Sonoco ThermoSafe , a division of container manufacturing company Sonoco , offers the Pegasus ULD, which the company says can operate for 300 hours. “This is the only passive ULD container on the market,” Michael Drexler , commercial director for Pegasus ULD NA, told Air Cargo Next at the conference. “There is no active refrigeration unit.” The ULD maintains temperature through PCMs. “No plugging in, no compressor, no fans,” Drexler said. Microtek Laboratories [caption id="attachment_57138644" align="alignright" width="300"] Microtek Laboratories offers temperature-controlled boxes with sensors. (Photo/Microtek)[/caption] Dayton, Ohio-based Microtek Laboratories , a CAVU Group company, launched the adaptek CRT365 parcel container, designed for controlled room temperature (CRT) products, last week. The parcel offers more than 48 hours of CRT regulation, universal conditioning and 5-liter and 10-liter capacity, and meets International Safe Transit Association 7D and 7E summer and winter profile requirements. The parcel allows for repeat use in a variety of temperature environments. “It is a universal, year-round pack-out,” David E. Haan , director of product management and marketing at CAVU Group, told Air Cargo Next at the conference. “There are no switch-outs.” China International Marine Containers [caption id="attachment_57138639" align="alignright" width="300"] China International Marine Containers offers parcel containers. (Photo/CIMC)[/caption] China International Marine Containers (CIMC) offers five versions of its XV series insulation container, a parcel container for long-distance shipping. XV series medical cooler boxes can be reused and rely on vacuum insulation panels and polyurethane foam integration for temperature control, CIMC Sales Manager Fairy Ho told Air Cargo Next at the conference. The five versions, which range in duration from 96 hours to 150 hours, can carry from 12 liters to 130 liters and from 12 kilograms to 58 kilograms, Ho said.

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