Humboldt Specialty Manufacturing Company (HSMC) has launched its new product, Kool Shield, a retractable thermal barrier designed to keep refrigerated air in and heat/humidity out while a truck’s doors are open at a terminal, warehouse, or a consignee facility.
Every year, refrigerated trucking companies lose a national average of between 0.5% and 1% of their gross earnings to claims totaling billions of dollars industrywide.
Drivers for these companies are required to back into docks, open their doors, and wait to be loaded or unloaded—whether it takes 20 minutes or three hours. With refrigeration units running, the cold air is pushed out of the back of the trailer and hot, humid air is imported. Humid air freezes on the coils and will shut down the reefer unit. Refrigerated trucking firms are required to keep their goods at precise temperatures or the pallet/load is rejected, resulting in a claim.
Kool Shield operates like a big window shade. Once installed, it can be tapped or jerked, and the spring mechanism will retract the thermal barrier in the blink of an eye. Kool Shield is normally kept extended in place by lock brackets on either side of the trailer. Its heavy material design will maintain temperatures on the inside of the trailer for three hours, which saves fuel and wear and tear on the reefer unit.
This product was the brainchild of Allen Lee, a truck driver with Kool Pak of Portland OR, after he lost a pallet of cheesecakes in Houston TX. Lee took his idea to Steve Ness, the chielf executive officer of Kool Pak, who embraced the concept. Kool Pak hammered out the design over a three-year period. HSMC acquired the rights for production and now offers Kool Shield to the entire refrigerated trucking industry.
Kool Shield is designed to eliminate temperature-based claims. It will add value to a fleet because a Kool Shield-equipped trailer can guarantee compliance with the new Food Safety Modernization Act (FSMA), upcoming legislation that tightens regulations on load temperatures and how loads will be considered “rejectable.” Kool Shield has been tested to withstand eight years of use and is guaranteed against defects for one year. HMSC has a full line of replacement parts should any part break.
“Between savings for fuel and reduced maintenance on the reefer units, we showed an return on investment of two years, without any claims that you would mitigate,” said Wade Palmer, chief financial officer for Kool Pak. “Kool Shield would pay for itself in 20 minutes by saving one claim.”
Access www.kool-shield.com/ to learn more.
