Hamburg Süd Group recently upgraded its refrigerated fleet with 3,000, 40-foot high-cube integrated containers with Carrier Transicold’s PrimeLINE system.
Seeking to qualify refrigeration units with the lowest cost of ownership, Hamburg Süd turned to Cambridge Refrigeration Technology in Cambridge, England, to conduct operational trials and laboratory tests on all refrigeration units and energy-saving software systems on the market, according to Hamburg Süd’s Martin Schoeler, deputy director, logistics technology.
“Carrier’s PrimeLINE unit proved to be a superior model when it comes to efficiency compared to other manufacturers,” Schoeler said.
While Hamburg Süd is one of the top five reefer container carriers worldwide, its refrigerated service comprises a proportionately larger part of its business than any other container line—15% of its containers are refrigerated. “We are very reefer-driven,” said Schoeler, adding that with so much of its business dependent on refrigerated trade, total cost of ownership of refrigerated containers is especially important.
“When compared to the industry average, these 3,000 PrimeLINE units are expected to save enough energy over their life of operation to avoid approximately 70,000 tons of carbon emissions, equivalent to removing more than 1,000 cars from the road over the same period,” said John Mandyck, Carrier’s vice-president for sustainability and environmental strategies.
The PrimeLINE unit, featuring digital scroll technology, was designed specifically to improve energy efficiency while reducing environmental impact and lifecycle costs for refrigerated containers. Its reduced power requirements also help shipping lines conserve fuel, thereby reducing emissions related to shipboard power generation. It uses environmentally sound R-134a, which has the lowest global warming potential of all contemporary container refrigerants.
The Hamburg Süd Group provides worldwide ocean transportation and individual, one-source logistics systems. With more than 4,700 employees, it operates 146 ships and maintains a global inventory of some 349,000 containers. Hamburg Süd is part of the Oetker Group in Germany.
Carrier Transicold is a unit of Carrier Corp. Headquartered in Farmington CT, Carrier Corp provides heating, air-conditioning, and refrigeration systems, with operations in more than 170 nations. It is part of Hartford CT-based United Technologies Corp. Visit www.carrier.com for more details.
