Shown is a vintage Carrier trailer refrigeration unit contrasted with a modern high-performance X4 series unit from Carrier Transicold.Carrier Transicold is celebrating a double anniversary this year: 75 years of Carrier road transport refrigeration innovation and the 45th anniversary of the Carrier Transicold business.
“Carrier’s history encompasses more than a century of innovation in air-conditioning and refrigeration, and pioneering achievements in truck and trailer refrigeration have been an integral part of this story,” said David Appel, president, Carrier Transicold & Refrigeration Systems. “Now in our 75th year of providing products for road transport refrigeration, we continue to drive the industry forward with high-performance, environmentally sustainable refrigeration solutions.”
The Carrier Transicold brand was formed in 1970, when Carrier acquired the California-based transport refrigeration equipment maker Transicold Co and combined it with its Special Products Division, which had experience in trucking applications extending back to 1940. The business was responsible for all types of transport refrigeration, including ocean-going container refrigeration that it had pioneered in 1968.
Carrier’s first foray into truck refrigeration in 1940 included the application of its model 7K refrigeration compressors in early systems. Although haulers had experimented with mechanical refrigeration since the 1920s, most transport refrigeration methods by 1940 still used ice/salt or dry-ice/gravity flow refrigeration systems.
Initial success with the 7K compressor led to development of a complete truck refrigeration system for trucks and trailers, Carrier’s Type 68D unit. Available in two sizes, the Type 68D used a four-cylinder gasoline engine coupled to a high-speed compressor. The relatively compact and adjustment-free unit had minimal moving parts, making it durable enough for rough conditions encountered by refrigerated trucks with bodies ranging up to 35 feet long. The logistical improvement eliminated the need for haulers to replenish ice and assured more uniform temperature control over greater distances, helping to pave the way for long-haul refrigerated trucking.
Streamlined designs with minimal moving parts remain hallmarks of Carrier Transicold systems, as demonstrated by Vector trailer units, featuring E-Drive, all-electric refrigeration technology and Carrier’s X4 series of mechanical trailer units. In contrast to those early systems, today’s transport refrigeration units provide cooling power to haul perishable and frozen loads in 53-foot trailers, intermodal containers and railcars ranging up to 72 feet in interior length. Recent innovations from Carrier Transicold, driven by Tier 4 engine emissions regulations, have further improved fuel economy and reduced carbon emissions.
Carrier Transicold’s operations have expanded worldwide, with manufacturing facilities in Athens GA; Rouen, France; Singapore; and Shanghai. The company plays a growing role as a critical link in enhancing efficiency of the cold chain, ensuring that perishables such as food and pharmaceuticals reach consumers in developed and developing nations.
Access www.transicold.carrier.com for more information.
