TINGLEV, Denmark: October 19, 2016. Maersk Container Industry (MCI), part of the A.P. Moller-Maersk Group, has won an order for 4,000 reefers worth US$55 million from Seatrade, the specialist perishables carrier, for delivery by December 2016.

Given the volume of fruit and vegetable exports from South America, some of the new MCI 'Star Cool' boxes will be delivered from the company's new factory in San Antonio, Chile with the balance produced at its plant in Qingdao, China.

MCI said Seatrade live-tested every reefer supplier with chilled banana loads from Ecuador to Germany before deciding on the Star Cool option due to its "higher performance, lower operating costs and CO2 emission levels".

According to Seatrade president and chairman Yntze Buitenwerf, MCI was chosen because it was best able to support the carrier's 'Fast, Direct and Dedicated' service concept.

"Besides timely delivery, our customers need the longest possible shelf life for their produce. In addition, energy efficiency, whole life costs and long-term operational value are critical to our operations," Buitenwerf explained. "To ensure these parameters are met, we carried out extensive field test trials and carefully analyzed performance," he added.

Seatrade will use the Star Cool Integrated version equipped with an Automatic Ventilation (AV+) system and 'StarConomy' software; some boxes will also incorporate MCI's Controlled Atmosphere (CA) technology.

"The results of their thorough testing confirmed that a reefer container is not a commodity. Innovation and cutting-edge technology is key to ensuring optimal cargo care and low energy consumption throughout the operational life of the reefer," said MCI CEO Stig Hoffmeyer.