Nova Scotia-based Trans Industrial Packaging's Thermafresh container allows live lobster to be shipped in eco-friendlier way; container gaining popularity with fish suppliers and major grocery chains because more than 90% of box is recyclable

Sandy Yang

LOS ANGELES , March 8, 2012 (Industry Intelligence) – Trans Industrial Packaging Ltd.'s Thermafresh container allows live lobster to be shipped in a more environmentally sustainable way, The Chronicle Herald reported March 7.

The container was launched in 2010. The honeycombed paper boxes use radiant barrier technology as well as thin, metalized membranes that reflect cold energy back to the ice in which the fish are packed. That, in turn, keeps the fish frozen longer.

The container has gained popularity with fish suppliers and major grocery chains because more than 90% of the box is recyclable, thus helping them meet sustainable landfill reduction targets, said Gary Humpries, president and CEO of Trans Industrial.

Humphries said the containers have been adapted to ship lobster, which required identification coding that previously couldn’t be printed on the boxes.

Clearwater Seafoods chairman Colin MacDonald, whose company has been sent a sample box for assessment, said the box hasn’t been fully tested, but he supported the concept of environmentally sensitive seafood packaging.

Humphries is attending this year’s International Boston Seafood Show, which began on March 11, to launch the new lobster boxes and market the company’s products worldwide. The company has manufacturing facilities in Burnside Park, Nova Scotia, and licensing agreements with manufacturers in Quebec and in Tacoma, Washington.

Trans Industrial has plans to extend that manufacturing network, currently negotiating for licensees in Chile, Costa Rica, Scotland and Iceland, Humphries said.

The primary source of this article is The Chronicle Herald, Halifax, Nova Scotia, on March 7, 2012.

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