Shipping food articles and maintaining its character of being fresh from farm is no easy task. The evolution of the strategy is went through numerous research processes that required the logistics to be time and temperature sensitive.
History of Cold Storage Vehicles
The first commercial version of such vehicles was introduced around 1930. The initial model was not equipped with many facilities but has the design variations to the existing automobiles with no separate Refrigerated Trucks.
The breakthrough in refrigerated transport vehicles emerged in 1939 with the invention of Thermo King that began revolutionising the concept. This technically involved the process of attaching a cooling unit behind the trailer that was about 38-40 feet in height to cool the contents kept within. The reefers found today are anywhere between 45-55 metres in height.
Over a period with improved roads and infrastructure, the Refrigerated Trucks industry experienced substantial boost and led to increased manufacture of Cold Storage trucks on the roads.
It may be surprising to many to note that logistic chain of 21st Century for the cold items did not start with trucks at all. Some 75 years ago, the rails or reefer units used to carry more than 90% of the food items that were served from farm gates to dinner plates.
Technology is Important
Technology with its all-pervasive nature embraces every industry and this industry is no exception. The crux of using technology in this industry is dependent on maintaining the integrity of temperatures throughput the supply-chain processes. This becomes all the more important in circumstances where the food being transported is prone to bacterial growth when there is a change in temperature during transportation, leading to fungal contamination/ medical supplies, medications and food require the temperature to be maintained at optimum level so as to maintain the integrity of the item till it reaches the hands of end customer.
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