SkyCell visited the new Pharma Handling Centre at the Cathay Cargo Terminal at Hong Kong International Airport this summer to show potential air-cargo customers the capabilities of its innovative 1500X hybrid temperature-controlled container.

The Swiss manufacturer is Cathay Cargo’s latest packaging partner in supplying cooltainers for pharma shipments. Cathay Cargo now works with seven suppliers as part of its Cathay Pharma solution for life science shipments.

The SkyCell 1500X containers are suitable for shipping pharmaceuticals that require temperature maintenance within the ranges of +2°C to +8°C (COL). But an extensive temperature range is merely the start of it. These hybrid containers are smart – and not just because of sensors and data loggers that enable customers to check in on shipments using real-time track-and-trace and to monitor shipment temperature. The really intelligent part is in their ‘active hybrid’ design. Once fully conditioned and charged, they offer a run time of 270 hours in 20°C ambient temperatures, and no cables nor dry ice are required.

The containers recharge just by being in a low temperature environment because of the nature of the materials they’re made from, as Emma Wong, Business Development Director APAC at SkyCell AG, explains. ‘Our containers start to recharge automatically once they are placed in a cool room or a reefer truck,’ she says. ‘The hybrid containers work with an innovative phase change material (PCM), and can recharge themselves if there is a negative temperature compared to the PCM.’

There are other benefits to this design too. The containers do not vent heat and so can maximise warehouse storage by being placed up against walls or other containers. They’re lightweight and do not require a separate forklift pallet. The 1500X’s feet, which provide the clearance needed to enable the container to be picked up by forklift trucks, also contribute significantly to shock and vibration absorption, while the double door system protects shipments from humidity when opening. The whole container can be placed into X-ray machines for scanning, again preserving cool chain integrity by reducing the need to open the doors.

An audit of a year’s usage elicited a temperature excursion rate of less than 0.1 per cent, according to EY. It is therefore unsurprising that this innovative container drew a crowd of logistics agents and forwarders when it made its Hong Kong debut at the Cathay Cargo Terminal’s flagship Pharma Handling Centre.

‘Our SkyCell 1500X hybrid container demo in Hong Kong was a huge success,’ says Samantha Yao, Strategic Partnerships Development Manager at SkyCell. ‘We were honoured to showcase the 1500X container for the first time in Hong Kong, and we're grateful to Cathay Cargo and the Cathay Cargo Terminal for their invaluable support and dedication to excellence.’

For Cathay Cargo, it means that there is yet another compelling option to choose for temperature-sensitive shipments when using the Cathay Pharma solution, as Janice Kwan, Cargo Customer Solutions Manager, explains. ‘We’re delighted to offer customers this new and innovative container when customers make a Cathay Pharma booking with us,’ she says. ‘We already offered customers the widest range of cool container options in Asia for pharma shipments, and we’re delighted to add to that with the SkyCell 1500X.’