Smartliner update: Now also available for shipping frozen goods!

The Smartliner – an insulating inlay based on recycled PET that can be used to line entire boxes – is one of the ECOCOOL range’s most popular products. Originally developed for shipping fresh products, it is now also suitable for the shipment of frozen goods. “For frozen goods, the Smartliner is covered in a light film that prevents them from sticking to the insulating lining,” explains Dr Florian Siedenburg. It has long since passed through the test phase and is now successfully in use. Among the companies working with the film-covered Smartliner (which is still available without the film) is Deutsche See GmbH, which uses the inlay for its online trade, as a supplement to its own cooling logistics services.

Working in combination with cold packs, the insulating inlay helps keep the target temperature in the shipping carton stable for at least 24 hours. It therefore maintains the quality of temperature-sensitive products such as fish or seafood, even when they are sent by express shipments, ensuring that they arrive at the consumer’s home at the optimum temperature. “We were looking for an effective solution for our online trade, one able to maintain a constant cold chain for at least 24 hours. ECOCOOL, with all its technical expertise, proved itself an accomplished partner from the outset,” explains Ulrich Schulz, business development manager for Deutsche See GmbH’s online shop. For the food specialist, it is of crucial importance that, for a product as highly sensitive as fish, a continuous cold chain be maintained along the entire supply chain. The passively cooled Smartliner guarantees such continuous cooling for express shipments.

In December 2019, Deutsche See began sending its products via uncooled express shipments using parcel delivery providers, thus supplementing its existing cool cargo operations. Such uncooled shipments are made possible thanks to the use of Smartliner boxes passively chilled via cooling elements. The heart of the Smartliner is a synthetic fleece inlay for shipping boxes. The light polyester fibres have virtually no effect on the transport weight. Thanks to its cushioning material properties, Smartliner protects sensitive products and encloses them with a simple, foldable seal. The insulating inlay is made from 80 percent recycled PET bottles and therefore promotes the use of sustainable resources in the production chain.

Shipments with different temperature requirements

Deutsche See uses the insulative fleece for shipments with three different temperature requirements. Frozen goods are shipped with dry ice at minus 18 degrees Celsius; prepared products such as smoked salmon are shipped at a target temperature between two and seven degrees Celsius. “And we will soon also be shipping fresh fish in sealed packaging at a target temperature of between zero and two degrees Celsius,” explains Schulz, going on to explain that, with all three product lines, the results of the fish factory’s tests tallied with those achieved by ECOCOOL in its laboratory tests. In addition to conducting tests in a climatic chamber, Deutsche See used data loggers that displayed the temperature of the goods on their arrival. In all of the deliveries that we checked, the temperatures were all well within the target temperature range,” emphasizes Schulz.

“Indulgence boxes” are also shipped using Smartliners,

which allow the fish specialist to ship products with different temperature requirements in one package. The insulative inlays are also used in the “indulgence boxes” containing products such as tuna fillets as well as dry products such as sushi rice. When shipping multiple products with different temperature requirements, Deutsche See also uses ECOCOOL’s Smartcooler. Like the Smartliner, the Smartcooler envelope features insulating fleece made of recycled material, only that here this fleece is covered in a thin PE envelope and can be sealed with a sticker.

Positive responses

The Smartliner’s excellent performance, ECOCOOL’s ability to develop innovative products that meet the needs of its customers, and the continuous exchange of information between partners were among the main reasons for choosing ECOCOOL as a partner. “We are in regular contact with ECOCOOL, which made it possible to introduce the Smartliner as a standard product after a short test phase of less than four months. The very small number of complaints and almost invariably positive feedback that we receive reflect the quality of our products and services,” says Schulz.