03.01.2011
Copeland Scroll® Compressor Technologies Meet Unique Needs of Refrigerated Container Systems for Fruit and Vegetable Producers, Saving Millions in Fuel and Spoilage
ST. LOUIS – Emerson Climate Technologies, Inc., a business of Emerson (NYSE: EMR), celebrated a milestone this month when the 150,000th Copeland Scroll® digital compressor was shipped to the marine container industry. Emerson Climate Technologies shipped its first Copeland Scroll digital compressor for refrigerated seagoing containers in 2002, and now builds the compressors in two facilities worldwide.
“Transport refrigeration and air conditioning applications require a high level of system performance in some of the most demanding environments imaginable. Over the past several years, our compressors have proven to deliver these qualities, in fact many of the top names in transport now count on Copeland Scroll compressors for reliability, precision temperature control and efficiency,” said Keith Browning, Vice President & General Manager of North American Sales at Emerson Climate Technologies. “Ten years ago, less than five percent of the annual refrigerated container shipments included scroll compressors. Now nearly half of the global shipments use Copeland Scroll technology.”
Refrigerated seagoing containers equipped with Emerson’s Copeland Scroll digital compressor technology provide precise temperature and humidity control, which in total, have been shown to maintain box temperatures to within +/- 0.5° F (+/- 0.3° C). This is particularly critical for perishable products – like seafood and fruits and vegetables – which travel in seagoing containers on vessels that encounter harsh weather conditions and require tight climate control to protect quality.
The world’s largest producer and marketer of fresh fruits and fresh vegetables, Dole Food Company, Inc., switched almost exclusively to the use of refrigerated container systems equipped with Copeland Scroll digital compressors in 2005. The company relies on Emerson’s technology to rapidly remove heat from containers that were filled with bananas in the field. The digital scroll compressor quickly “pulls down” the temperature to the ideal level, and enables a more energy efficient method for maintaining temperature control throughout the remainder of the bananas’ journey, ultimately resulting in about half the traditional energy consumption.
Emerson estimates that use of its energy-efficient digital scroll compressors in refrigerated containers can help the banana industry save more than $10 million in fuel costs and reduce shrink and spoilage by $500 million annually, plus reducing carbon emissions related to banana transportation by 15 percent.
In addition to the marine container industry, the Copeland Scroll compressor’s modulation capabilities, and ability to withstand difficult operating conditions, has resulted in the technology being used in a number of additional transport segments such as refrigerated trucks, refrigerated trailers and bus and rail air conditioning.