On October 1, 2014, Mitsubishi Plastics, Inc. (Head Office: Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo; President Takumi Ubagai) is going to launch sales of ASKOC^TM-S18, a container with an heat-insulating performance that can be multiply stacked, for use in product transportation by chain stores.

So-called “chilled delivery” has become the mainstream type of physical distribution for perishables sold at convenience stores, supermarkets, and other chain stores. In chilled delivery, the products are kept at temperatures close to freezing (generally in the range of 0–5°C). Although chilled delivery is suitable for perishables, the temperatures are too low for shipment of articles such as rice balls and prepared lunches, and have an adverse effect on the texture and flavor of rice. For this reason, these articles are generally shipped by covering the inner walls of a cart-like dolly with insulating sheet and then stacking ordinary shipment containers inside it.
With the newly developed stackable heat-insulated container ASKOC^TM-S18, the bottom and top containers of the stack merely serve as insulation layers (referred to as “insulation top and bottom”), and an insulation layer is placed only on the sides of the insulated containers, i.e., the containers for shipment of products. Because the container itself has an heat-insulating capability, it can preserve the temperature of the contents by blocking air from the outside. In addition, it eliminates the need for using insulating sheet. As such it facilitates handling.

Mitsubishi Plastics is going to market ASKOC^TM-S18, the stackable container that delivers an heat-insulating performance, in a wide range of industries, including restaurants, retailers & distributors, and food product manufacturers. It is aiming for sales of about 200 million yen in fiscal 2015.

 

 

The stackable heat-insulated container ASKOC-S18

1. Features
(1) A special-purpose stackable container based on rational placement of heat-insulating materials
(2) Can be used with standard chain store crates*1
(3) The heat-insulated containers, insulation tops, and insulation bottoms can be cleaned with an automatic washer.
(4) The container enables end-to-end transport using a dolly*2.
(5) RFID compatibility (IC tags can be built in)

*1 “Crate” has the same meaning as “container.”
*2 A dolly is a flat-bed cart enabling movement of container stacks by pushing.

2. Composition

                      

               Heat-insulated container                                                 Heat-insulation top and bottom
(Placement of insulation materials only on the sides)               (Placement of insulation materials all over)

 

                

                Example of shipping  *1                                      Cross-section diagram of 
                                                                                                stacked containers
   *1 Composition in the case of stacking of insulated containers between the insulation top and bottom.

 

3. Specifications (unit: mm)
● Outer measurements: 556 x 458 x 124 H      outer measurements of standard containers 557 x 459
● Effective inner measurements: 470 x 367 x 102 H
 * Same outer measurements for insulated containers and insulation tops and bottoms
● Materials: Outer layer: PP  Inner layer: EPS

 

 

 

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