Reliable ‘plug and play’ solution helps Sonoco to thrive
by Josefine Falch
American multinational Sonoco is arguably the world’s best-known packaging company. When they needed a partner to help with the launch of their new thermal packaging service, TITAN Containers had the solutions they needed.
The challenge
Driven by a growing concern over packaging waste, 125-year-old American company Sonoco recently developed a new parcel rental packaging programme.
Entitled Orion, it is a fantastic example of how a circular economy works. The thermal packaging involved in the programme is reused many times, reducing a significant amount of landfill space and C02 impact – important outcomes for any pharmaceutical company that considers sustainability paramount.
To make their packaging ready for use, Sonoco ThermoSafe developed a series of highly controlled quality assurance processes, including cooling down the refrigerant bottles that keep products chilled in transit. They needed a partner who could help them achieve this in two steps: first freezing down to -20°C, followed by a +1°C “tempering”.
The solution
Sonoco recognised that this entire process could take place inside TITAN’s world-famous ArcticStore containers, which are capable of maintaining temperatures between -40°C and +45°C.
They turned to us because of our long track record in containerised cold storage solutions and knew we could help them scale as demand for the programme grew.
After a consultation with the senior team at Sonoco’s Putnam plant in Connecticut, TITAN scheduled the delivery of ArcticStores to the depot. More have since been added at other locations, bringing the total number on hire to 49.
The delivery
Sonoco had earmarked two full days for the installation of their cold storage containers at the Putnam plant. However, Reid Chamberlin, Sonoco’s Putnam Plant Manager, managed to reduce the installation to one (admittedly long) day – assisted by his skilled team and an accomplished rigger.
A few finishing touches were provided by an experienced local electrical contractor and everything was ready for use within no time.
The results
“TITAN Containers are an effective plug and play solution when refrigeration and temperature control equipment is needed,” said Andrew Heholt, Orion Product Manager, Sonoco ThermoSafe.
“The modularity allows Sonoco to scale up or down with market demand. The refrigeration control is precise and repeatable for Sonoco’s pharma cold chain JIT (Just in Time) packaging systems.”
Our ArcticStores are modular, too, meaning that Sonoco can easily and rapidly create a large, open-plan cold storage warehouse if the need arises.
Our phenomenal ArcticStore containers in detail
TITAN’s ArcticStore containers are highly prized by clients across the business landscape, from retail to pharmaceuticals and catering.
Featuring superior levels of insulation and the latest eco-friendly cooling technology, they can also be controlled 100% remotely using our SmartArctic platform, which can be securely accessed 24/7 from anywhere in the world.
How can we help you?
If you’d like to find out how our cold storage solutions could work for your business, please contact our friendly team – or fill in an online quote form.
We can quickly bring you up to speed on the capabilities of all six temperature-controlled models in our collection, including the ArcticBlast, a powerful blast freezer and the Arctic UltraFreezer, which is capable of temperatures as low as -75°C.
