IceWrap Packaging Product
http://www.globalfoodcollaborative.com/articles/147/1/IceWrap-Packaging-Product-/Page1.html
Collaborative INSIGHTS
By Collaborative INSIGHTS
Published on 17 June 2008
Suppliers of perishable products are always looking for a better packaging solution. Ideally, they are looking for a low cost, low weight, no carbon print, food safe, temperature controlled package with the strength and integrity to travel unscathed through the many hands of the supply chain. So far it has not been found it its entirety.
However, we do come across new and innovative parts to that puzzle every so often and found this one in Bergen, Norway at a seafood tradeshow. IceWrap are thin, light sheets that are hydrated when it is time for shipments, replacing the conventional need for heavier gel packs. We were excited about the product and asked the National Sales Manager, Tom Gautreaux to give us a few examples of the value proposition of the IceWrap product from the customers point of view.
CI: How long has this product been on the market?
Tom: It has been available commercially for nearly 10 years.
CI: Who uses it?
Tom: We have primary and secondary seafood processors, including live lobster companies that have use the product with great success and now we are seeing some growth in demand from those who harvest and supply mussels.
CI: Why does a customer choose this over a conventional gel pack?
Tom: It impacts directly the bottom line in product yield by keeping the temperature consistent and cold within the perishable product package. You see the wrap is flexible and sized to fit the entire top of a package. We know that cold temperatures sink and this allows the intended product(s) to be consistently chilled. There are no hot or cold spots. Therefore there is less product weight loss and a more consistent quality of the entire shipment. While a cold pack is heavy and may hit and bruise a product and has corners that may be a bit projectile, our customers see our wrap as an overall better chilling packaging solution. For products like live lobsters or those that require extra care, it has been a perfect match for what the industry needed to keep their product in a superior state.
CI: What about the costs?
Tom: Obviously there are a lot of costs to consider. The bulk cost of the wrap versus equivalent gel packs is considerably less expensive. It is also much lighter to transport since it comes in sheets and rolls that consist of a porous synthetic product - basically a gel pack without the water. You can get 15 times as much chilling packaging product (IceWrap) on a pallet as conventional gel packs.
CI: What are other possible considerations by your customers?
Tom: Our sheets do require hydrating, which means that you do have to have a source of fresh water (not sea water) to hydrate the sheets. Our customers take the number of sheets they will need to use and during the day place them in water and put them on trays to place in the freezer. It takes 5 minutes to thoroughly hydrate and our customers haven't found this to be any sort of challenge, instead - they kind of like the idea of having a simple project for their plant workers when things slow down in the processing line.
CI: Is it safe?
Tom: Our IceWrap is made for food. Our company is all about food packaging, so that is one area we can offer the greatest assurances. IceWrap is more favored by carriers, exactly because it is safe and keeps the product colder longer and release no fluids when thawed.
CI: Is it reusable?
Tom: Yes, it can be, but I don't see many of our clients doing so unless they refresh the wrap by re:freezing it at a distribution location and then re-wrapping the same products for a final destination. It can be reused as long as it does not get contaminated.
CI: Anything else you'd like to tell us about Maxwell Chase or the IceWrap product?
Tom: I would love to see the product more broadly introduced in Alaska and curious to learn about the possible applications where it could reduce costs (shipping) and increase the value of the shipped product. My contact information is below and I would encourage readers who are interested in our product to contact me directly so that we might discuss possible applications.
Icewrap has uses beyond seafood to any perishable product including fresh and live seafood, fresh meat and poultry, fresh-cut fruits and vegetables and fresh cut flowers and can also be used for medical, lab and therapeutic applications such as sports injuries.
Other Maxwell Chase Products beyond IceWrap
Maxwell Chase
Tom Gautreaux
National Sales Director
125 Westlake Parkway, Suite 100
Atlanta, Georgia 30336
Phone: (404) 344-0796
Suppliers of perishable products are always looking for a better packaging solution. Ideally, they are looking for a low cost, low weight, no carbon print, food safe, temperature controlled package with the strength and integrity to travel unscathed through the many hands of the supply chain. So far it has not been found it its entirety. However, we do come across new and innovative parts to that puzzle every so often and found this one in Bergen, Norway at a seafood tradeshow. IceWrap are thin, light sheets that are hydrated when it is time for shipments, replacing the conventional need for heavier gel packs. We were excited about the product and asked the National Sales Manager, Tom Gautreaux to give us a few examples of the value proposition of the IceWrap product from the customers point of view.
CI: How long has this product been on the market?
Tom: It has been available commercially for nearly 10 years.
CI: Who uses it?
Tom: We have primary and secondary seafood processors, including live lobster companies that have use the product with great success and now we are seeing some growth in demand from those who harvest and supply mussels.
CI: Why does a customer choose this over a conventional gel pack?
Tom: It impacts directly the bottom line in product yield by keeping the temperature consistent and cold within the perishable product package. You see the wrap is flexible and sized to fit the entire top of a package. We know that cold temperatures sink and this allows the intended product(s) to be consistently chilled. There are no hot or cold spots. Therefore there is less product weight loss and a more consistent quality of the entire shipment. While a cold pack is heavy and may hit and bruise a product and has corners that may be a bit projectile, our customers see our wrap as an overall better chilling packaging solution. For products like live lobsters or those that require extra care, it has been a perfect match for what the industry needed to keep their product in a superior state.
CI: What about the costs?
Tom: Obviously there are a lot of costs to consider. The bulk cost of the wrap versus equivalent gel packs is considerably less expensive. It is also much lighter to transport since it comes in sheets and rolls that consist of a porous synthetic product - basically a gel pack without the water. You can get 15 times as much chilling packaging product (IceWrap) on a pallet as conventional gel packs.
CI: What are other possible considerations by your customers?
Tom: Our sheets do require hydrating, which means that you do have to have a source of fresh water (not sea water) to hydrate the sheets. Our customers take the number of sheets they will need to use and during the day place them in water and put them on trays to place in the freezer. It takes 5 minutes to thoroughly hydrate and our customers haven't found this to be any sort of challenge, instead - they kind of like the idea of having a simple project for their plant workers when things slow down in the processing line.
CI: Is it safe?
Tom: Our IceWrap is made for food. Our company is all about food packaging, so that is one area we can offer the greatest assurances. IceWrap is more favored by carriers, exactly because it is safe and keeps the product colder longer and release no fluids when thawed.
CI: Is it reusable?
Tom: Yes, it can be, but I don't see many of our clients doing so unless they refresh the wrap by re:freezing it at a distribution location and then re-wrapping the same products for a final destination. It can be reused as long as it does not get contaminated.
CI: Anything else you'd like to tell us about Maxwell Chase or the IceWrap product?
Tom: I would love to see the product more broadly introduced in Alaska and curious to learn about the possible applications where it could reduce costs (shipping) and increase the value of the shipped product. My contact information is below and I would encourage readers who are interested in our product to contact me directly so that we might discuss possible applications.
Icewrap has uses beyond seafood to any perishable product including fresh and live seafood, fresh meat and poultry, fresh-cut fruits and vegetables and fresh cut flowers and can also be used for medical, lab and therapeutic applications such as sports injuries.
Other Maxwell Chase Products beyond IceWrap
- Absorbent Pouches
- Absorbent Trays
- Absorbent Pads and Retail Containers
- MCT Tomato Slicing Equipment
Maxwell Chase
Tom Gautreaux
National Sales Director
125 Westlake Parkway, Suite 100
Atlanta, Georgia 30336
Phone: (404) 344-0796