Carrier Transicold Celebrates 50 Years of Container Refrigeration Innovation

In 2018, Carrier Transicold is marking the 50th anniversary of its ground-breaking refrigeration system design that helped transform the global transport of perishable and frozen goods via shipping container.

The system, which incorporates a pioneering front-wall container refrigeration unit design, expanded trade in refrigerated commodities, helping to feed a growing global population and enabling the consumption of agricultural goods virtually everywhere, at any time. The innovative self-contained system, which bolts onto the front end of an insulated shipping box, defined the shape of subsequent marine refrigeration systems.

Before 1968, refrigerated cargo primarily required dedicated vessels with refrigerated holds below deck. However, by enabling the refrigeration of containers, Carrier added versatility to the shipping process, allowing uniformly sized refrigerated containers to be quickly loaded and unloaded, thereby eliminating the need for extra handling of pallets.

Nearly $4 trillion worth of perishable goods are now transported by container ship annually, 80% of which is in refrigerated containers. To date, Carrier Transicold has sold more than 1.2 million of its front-wall container refrigeration units.