Carrier Transicold’s Container Products Group recently achieved a new milestone: production of its 700,000th container refrigeration unit, the largest number of container refrigeration units produced by a single company since refrigerated container shipping began a half century ago. Carrier Transicold is a part of Carrier Corp., a business unit of United Technologies Corp. (NYSE: UTX).
Since shipping its first container refrigeration unit in 1968, Carrier has provided refrigeration units to virtually every shipping line, container-leasing company and major global produce shipper in the world. The world’s largest shipping company, Maersk Line, was the recipient of the 700,000th unit, which was part of a substantial order of Carrier’s new PrimeLINE units, each equipped with QUEST power-saving mode.
“The PrimeLINE unit scored well in the Total Cost of Ownership model that Maersk Line uses to assess reefer machines,” said Thomas Heller-Njor, Maersk Line’s manager of Strategy and Procurement. “In conjunction with QUEST, it meets Maersk Line’s aspirations for energy reduction and efficiency. This not only has a beneficial effect on costs of operation but assists in reducing emissions in line with Maersk Line's environmental mission.”
Maersk Line plans to have its entire fleet, including its previously acquired Carrier ThinLINE and EliteLINE units, equipped with QUEST mode by the end of 2009. With a fleet numbering more than 470 container vessels and more than 1.9 million containers, of which approximately 180,000 are refrigerated, Maersk Line’s scale means that any environmental initiatives undertaken have potential for a huge impact. Carrier Transicold has provided Maersk with more than 100,000 refrigeration units since 1987.
“We are proud of our 22-year relationship with Maersk and pleased that our 700,000th unit – fittingly a PrimeLINE unit – has joined a fleet that is helping to push the environmental record of marine shipping to the next level,” said Chiou Fun Sin, vice president, Global Container Refrigeration.