Thermo King recently partnered with Brightec, a European provider of air curtains for temperature-controlled trailers, box trucks, and vans, for the exclusive distribution of its BlueSeal air curtains in the United States and Canada.
Air curtains are designed to create an invisible climate barrier during door openings, which helps to maintain temperature control and prevent the infiltration of dust, insects, and outside air from reaching sensitive cargo, such as food or pharmaceuticals, the companies said. Brightec distributes its BlueSeal products to over 33 countries worldwide to provide some of the largest names in temperature-controlled distribution with solutions for cargo climate control.
As part of the collaboration, Thermo King will leverage its well-established North American presence and industry expertise to distribute these units to a new market, and expand its product portfolio to offer new energy-efficient air curtain technology for effectively managing cargo temperature.
“We are delighted to partner with Thermo King, who has shown tremendous support not only in distributing BlueSeal throughout the U.S. and Canada but promoting the product to their vast network of dealerships,” Hans Opdam, Brightec founder and inventor of BlueSeal air curtains, said in a news release.
“Thermo King has a strong reputation for their commitment to sustainable solutions and we are excited to be part of their offering.”
BlueSeal air curtains have achieved high satisfaction ratings from drivers in Europe as they do not cause any obstruction to the driver and provide a consistent, uninterrupted climate barrier to goods being transported, Brightec said. Through independent tests by Brunel University London and its Centre for Sustainable Energy Use in Food Chains (CSEF), BlueSeal air curtains demonstrated a substantial savings of 30% of energy in a small box truck and 45% of energy to recover cargo temperature in an 18 tonne refrigerated truck model.
“The addition of BlueSeal air curtains to our product lineup seamlessly integrates with our existing transport refrigeration technology, offering Thermo King customers yet another energy-efficient cold chain solution to support their sustainability goals,” said Catherine Walsh, Thermo King aftermarket product manager.
“Our collaboration with Brightec represents another stride forward in our commitment to delivering elevated customer value, and we are pleased to make BlueSeal air curtains accessible exclusively through our extensive dealer network.”