We are living in an era where transport of temperature sensitive products has been very essential. To support smooth transport of the temperature sensitive goods, need of efficient reefer trucks is growing rapidly. Lot of innovations are happening in this area – based on the emerging needs of the nature of the products.
Unlike older times, today reefer trucks are being used for carrying many other materials beside food & beverage products, pharmaceutical products, temperature sensitive chemicals etc. In fact, at places, these trucks are deployed for carrying radioactive substances and medical wastes too.
Reefer trucks maintain an environment of a particular temperature inside it. To be more specific, contrary to the common idea, they can even support transport of hot commodities. But mostly they are used to transport temperature sensitive cold commodities.
According to the International Market Analysis Research and Consulting Group (IMARC Group), the global refrigerated trucks market size reached US$ 9.8 Billion in 2023. It is expected to reach US$ 15.4 Billion by 2032, exhibiting a growth rate (CAGR) of 5.13% during 2024-2032.
In the recent past, globally, many initiatives – like manufacturing, collaboration or M&A to design and develop modern reefer trucks – have been taken up. Today, I will present glimpses of a few such steps.
Trane Technologies Acquires Klinge Corporation
Global climate innovator Trane Technologies and its industry-leading Thermo King brand, a leader in sustainable transport temperature control solutions, have completed the acquisition of Klinge Corporation on August 1, 2024. Klinge provides superior transport container solutions for various industries and is one of the world’s leading providers of specialized ISO refrigerated containers.
The addition of Klinge complements Thermo King’s suite of cutting-edge, sustainable solutions, which includes container refrigeration units renowned for their ability to transport extremely temperature-sensitive goods for government and other vertical industries.
Commenting on the acquisition, Adam Wittwer, President of Thermo King Americas, said, “We are pleased to officially welcome the Klinge team. For more than 85 years, Thermo King has provided innovative solutions to protect our customers’ valuable assets as they move around the globe. Klinge is a natural extension of our strategy, and they share a passion for improving lives through innovative, ultra-reliable temperature control solutions. We look forward to working together with the talented Klinge team to accelerate growth, create new value for our respective customers, and, above all, ensure communities around the world receive important goods safely and efficiently.”
refrigeration units…
Thermo King’s Collaboration with Range Energy
In May this year, Thermo King also made a strategic collaboration with Range Energy (Range), a hardware company bringing powered trailers to the commercial trucking market.
With a shared pursuit to make commercial trucking cleaner, safer and more efficient, this collaboration has enabled the companies to align on an electric trailer technology system, including integrating Range’s electric trailer platform with Thermo King’s hybrid Trailer Refrigeration Units (TRUs) and electric TRUs.
Describing their view, Ali Javidan, CEO and founder, Range, said, “Accelerating the commercial adoption of electric trailers is essential to helping fleet owners and operators meet emerging emissions reduction goals and mandates. Working with Thermo King to advance electric refrigerated trailers marks significant progress in the electrification of commercial trucking, providing a near-term and pragmatic solution for fleets of today and tomorrow.”
Drawing attention on their idea behind the collaboration, Chris Tanaka, Vice President Product Management, Thermo King Americas, said, “Thermo King’s commitment to sustainability and decarbonization is only matched by our drive to provide customers with the solutions they need. With that comes integrating innovative technologies, like Range’s electric trailer platform, that can help us deliver more efficient and reliable transportation solutions while keeping transported food and perishables safe and fresh. Range is an early mover in trailer electrification, and we believe this partnership has the potential to contribute significantly to the acceleration of our industry’s decarbonization efforts.”
All-Electric Refrigerated Medium-Duty Truck from GreenPower
Vancouver (Canada)-based GreenPower Motor Company began its operations in 2010 with the vision to advance the adoption of Electric Vehicles (EVs) by making battery-electric buses and trucks affordable, durable, and easy to deploy. The company offers commercial vehicles for delivery, public transit, schools, vanpools, micro-transit, shuttles and more. As per the company, their battery electric buses can perform almost any route their fossil fuel burning competitors are able to, but with a much quieter and more efficient ride.
Recently, GreenPower has launched a new all-electric refrigerated medium-duty delivery truck – EV Star REEFERX.
Built on GreenPower’s EV Star Cab & Chassis platform, the EV Star REEFERX is purpose-built and fully customizable with a lighter body to allow for increased payload. Designed to serve mid to last-mile refrigerated delivery and catering applications, the truck moves goods that need to be temperature controlled, such as fresh and frozen foods, flowers and pharmaceuticals, among other applications. The vehicle body features a one interior wall structure to allow for seamless sanitation, consistent insulation throughout and a longer life.
Focusing on their perspective, Brendan Riley, President of GreenPower, said, “The EV Star REEFERX offers customers a unique, modern and versatile all-electric commercial vehicle that boasts a higher payload capacity. Through this offering, we are able to provide fleet owners a reliable way to deliver refrigerated and frozen goods on daily routes. Combining exceptional performance and efficiency, the EV Star REEFERX is purpose-built to be an electric refrigerated vehicle, making it a superior product for a wide-use of applications requiring multi-temperature zones, without the sticker shock.”
Renault Trucks Continues its R&D Work with ‘Oxygen’
As per the available information from Renault Trucks, the company is continuing its research and development work with its laboratory truck, Oxygen. After an initial test phase still ongoing in Lyon and Paris, the manufacturer is entering a new stage with a second version of this electric truck dedicated to urban logistics. Thus, a version equipped with a refrigerated box, designed in partnership with supermarket chain Jumbo, SVZ, and the support of Renault Trucks Dutch subsidiary will start testing in October 2024 in Amsterdam.
zones and a lighter body that allows for an increased payload capacity of up to 5,500 lbs. for various industries and
applications…
Jumbo, the second largest retailer in the Netherlands, has over 700 points of sale in the Netherlands and Belgium. One of the company’s priorities is to offer its customers a pleasant local shopping experience. Transport partner SVZ ensures the supply of fresh products to Jumbo’s outlets in the Netherlands.
Renault Trucks and its partners, mindful of limiting their environmental impact, have combined their expertise to translate the needs of urban logistics and develop a new 26-ton experimental urban electric truck capable of operating in Dutch zero-emission zones. From the 1st of January 2025, Dutch municipalities may designate zero-emission zones, in which you can only enter with a zero-emission vehicle, in order to reduce CO2 in urban areas. Unlike the first experiment carried out with Geodis for dry distribution, it will enable refrigerated deliveries to be made silently, without polluting emissions and in complete safety for other road users, from warehouse to Jumbo supermarket in the heart of Amsterdam during the 6-month experimentation period.
Highlighting their viewpoint, Jerome Berthelet, Managing Director at Renault Trucks in The Netherlands, said, “The successful partnership with Jumbo and SVZ on this innovative project highlights the power of collaboration in achieving sustainability goals. We were aligned on the same desire to create a low-carbon urban solution. Carrying out the pilot project in Amsterdam, a pioneering city in terms of environmental management, adds considerable value to our mission.”
By P. K. Chatterjee (PK)
