News
40 years of keeping it cold
Confederation Freezers of Brampton, Ontario is celebrating 40 years of keeping food cold. Along with ambient, cool and frozen storage capabilities, the firm offers current technologies in inventory control, EDI and customized reporting. The business has also grown from a 1.2-million-cubic-feet facility in Brampton to 20 million cubic feet over four locations in Ontario.
From air to sea
A new study from Seabury, an Amsterdam-based shipping consultancy firm, has found that a shift is taking in place in the industry from air cargo to ocean transport. The study found that about 100,000 TEUs per year are transported by ocean carriers instead of airplane. The shift is more pronounced in certain perishable commodities such as tomatoes, capsicum, fresh fish, lettuce and pineapples.
Diesel-free reefer debuts
The air we breathe was kept a little cleaner recently when a Cryometrix CB-40 transport refrigeration unit (TRU) made history by delivering its first commercial load of frozen foods using a new pollution-free refrigeration technology.
The CB-40 uses a patented liquid nitrogen cooling system to achieve consistent temperature control with almost no moving parts and greater reliability. A closed, self-contained refrigeration system ensures nothing but fresh, cold air enters the trailer or touches the food.
Happy 40th!
In June, the GS1 barcode—formerly known as the UPC code—celebrated its 40th birthday. Now the GS1 barcode is scanned as many as five billion times a day, from warehouse loading docks to small retail shops. The very first product scanned back in 1974 was a 10-pack of Wrigley’s Juicy Fruit gum.
News Briefs
> Crown Equipment Corporation has bought JH Ryder Machinery Ltd.
> Toronto-based AC Simmonds and Sons Inc has acquired Brampton, Ontario-based Direct Reefer Services Inc (DRS). DRS operates a refrigeration- and temperature-controlled fleet of 18 53-ft trailers and 15 power units.
> In May, the Fair Rail for Grain Farmers Act (Bill C-30) came into force. The Act identifies clear and achievable measures to get Canada’s agricultural products and other commodities to market in a predictable and timely way.
> Toronto-based Food Freshly North America Inc has expanded into the Mexican marketplace with AERSA as its distributor.
> Walmart Canada has approved PECO Pallet Inc as a pallet participant, giving vendors the option to use PECO’s wooden block pallets when shipping into Walmart Canada locations.
New Products
Efficient storage
Carrier Transicold of Athens, Georgia has launched the engineless Vector 8100 all-electric trailer refrigeration unit. The unit consumes less electricity and is designed for supermarkets, produce warehouses, food distribution centres and other businesses that use refrigerated trailers. The Vector 8100 achieves 15 to 25 percent more BTUs of cooling per kilowatt consumed at typical rating conditions than previous designs.
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