Munich, Germany: IFCO, the world’s leading provider of Reusable Plastic Containers (RPCs) for fresh food packaging, today announces the launch of its Banana Lift Lock crates that are specially designed for a secure transportation of bananas throughout the entire supply chain – from the grower to the point of sale. The Banana Lift Lock offers various advantages for the transportation of bananas on their often long overseas journeys, like a superior ventilation for faster cooling and optimal ripening, an increased strength for ultimate protection and an even better design to increase sustainability throughout the entire supply chain. The Banana Lift Lock is also compatible with the other IFCO Lift Lock family RPCs.
“At IFCO we have many years of experience in designing dedicated packaging for the transportation of bananas since the Caja Oro crate has been launched in the US about 15 years ago. With the Banana Lift Lock, we build on all this experience to introduce a crate that offers additional benefits for the transportation of fresh bananas from the plantation to the point of sale that is often thousands of kilometers away. This specially designed crate not only improves the sustainability throughout the entire supply chain even further, it also increases efficiency through its compatibility with all other IFCO RPCs. The improved design ensures an easier handling and benefits all growers, supply chain workers and employees at the point of sale”, says Michael Pooley, CEO at IFCO.
Designed for sustainability and automation
The various advantages the Banana Lift Lock offers compared to single-use cardboards help to save packaging and reduce food waste, promoting sustainability and automation in the banana supply chain. The IFCO banana RPCs cool bananas to the ideal temperature 33% faster than single-use packaging — and holds the temperature 41% more consistently. Targeted ventilation gaps ensure the optimal temperature is maintained within the banana crates even throughout overseas journeys. The ventilation is specially designed to ensure better airflow and greater, more efficient, control of the ripening process. The bananas can ripen uniformly to the desired level, improving both shelf life and visual appeal at the point of sale. IFCO has already successfully conducted trials for its Banana Lift Lock with a selection of retailers.
In addition to the specially designed ventilation, the unique weight-bearing design of the Banana Lift Lock protects bananas from damage and thereby helps to reduce food waste and increase shelf life. Like all IFCO RPCs, the Banana Lift Lock has a standardized footprint that enables secure stacking for more stable pallets and guarantees compatibility with other IFCO Lift Lock RPCs. This improves supply chain efficiency and allows the automation of logistics processes like the handling in warehouses. The Banana Lift Lock has a footprint of 600 x 400 mm and a total height of 211 mm when unfolded – folded the height is reduced to only 28 mm.
Circular economy for a better planet
The robust, durable and easy to handle Banana Lift Locks are integrated into the IFCO SmartCycleTM, a model of circular economy that is based on the principals of sustainability and reusability. This model focuses on eliminating waste on all levels and reducing the carbon footprint of producers, distributors, ripening specialists and retailers. Integrated into the IFCO SmartCycleTM pooling system, the IFCO Banana Lift Lock strengthens the company’s long-standing commitment to meet the demands of modern-day responsible farming and supports the significant reduction of C02 emissions across the supply chain. In addition to that, the Banana Lift Lock is part of IFCO’s engagement in making the fresh grocery supply chain more sustainable.
About IFCO
IFCO is the leading global provider of reusable packaging solutions for fresh foods, serving customers in 50+ countries. IFCO operates a pool of over 314 million Reusable Plastic Containers (RPCs) globally, which are used for over 1.7 billion shipments of fresh fruits and vegetables, meat, poultry, seafood, eggs, bread, and other items from suppliers to grocery retailers every year. IFCO RPCs ensure a better fresh food supply chain by protecting freshness and quality and lowering costs, food waste and environmental impact compared to single-use packaging. More: www.ifco.com. Follow us on LinkedIn @IFCO SYSTEMS and Twitter @IFCOSystems.
