Tokyo-headquartered electric services company Sumitomo Corporation and Hong Kong-based container carrier Orient Overseas Container Line (OOCL) signed a business alliance agreement, aiming to offer refrigerated ocean transport services utilizing electric field technology, ensuring the preservation of freshness of various commercial products.
According to the announcement, the international transportation of perishable goods, which requires meticulous freshness preservation, often encounters challenges in achieving swift transit times via ocean routes and bears significant cost burdens when opting for air transportation.
To address these challenges and to broaden the supply areas for food products while ensuring a consistent and stable supply, there is a growing demand for the development of services that facilitate extended ocean transportation durations while minimizing quality degradation, utilizing advanced refrigerated storage technologies.
Taking advantage of the advancements made by MARS Company in developing electric field containers (with Sumitomo Corporation holding an 8.53% investment), Sumitomo Corporation has established a procurement system for these containers.
This system operates in collaboration with Daiichi Institution Industry, a company specializing in electric field-related equipment, and OOCL. Furthermore, Sumitomo Corporation has secured patents, including one for a “food transportation method” that enhances freshness retention by lowering the non-freezing temperature of food products and vacuum-packing them in an electric field environment.
The joint aim of Sumitomo Corporation and OOCL is to set a new standard in freshness-preserving logistics through the development of refrigerated ocean transport services. By promoting this service, they intend to enable the ocean transportation of non-freezing chilled products from distant locations, a feat currently unattainable. This initiative seeks to deliver appealing food products in fresh and stable conditions to a broader global audience.
Moreover, by addressing the demands of regions seeking to enhance the export of fresh food products, they aim to contribute to the stable supply of food through diversifying supply sources. Additionally, this service is anticipated to reduce food loss by extending product shelf life, while also cutting down greenhouse gas emissions and transportation costs by facilitating the shift from air to ocean transportation.
In the implementation phase, Sumitomo Corporation and OOCL have conducted a 30-month demonstration experiment with Itoham Yonekyu Holdings, a major player in the meat distribution and processing industry. This collaboration has successfully established a new distribution mechanism and is poised to launch commercial operations for transporting Spanish pork in refrigerated condition.
Furthermore, the two partners plan to collaborate with SC Foods, a trading company specializing in food products within the Sumitomo Corporation Group, and Mowi Japan, a major salmon manufacturer, to realize a novel distribution model for various fresh products.
