Proper handling prolongs shelf life

The company Borgarplast specialises in the production of insulated containers for the food industry. The containers are used for the storage and transport of fresh fish, meat, and poultry, where maintaining the product at or below a certain temperature is critical for food safety and shelf life.

An Icelandic company with a history that dates back over half a century Borgarplast has been one of the pioneers of the insulated bulk container industry. Iceland has been successfully exporting high quality sh for decades, a trade partly enabled by the proper handling of this highly perishable product. Fish quality is at its peak as it leaves the water, from then on it starts to deteriorate, a process that can be retarded with proper handling. Insulated containers that maintain the sh at the right temperature play an important role in achieving this.

Tailoring containers to meet customer needs

Today, with the expansion of the land-based salmon industry, the company is developing solutions that are tailored for this sector, says Kristján Benediktsson, the sales manager, to try and steer them away from using EPS boxes.

e company’s polyethylene (PE) and polyurethane (PUR) plastic containers o er a sustainable solution as they can be cleaned and reused over and over again. Moreover, enough sh can be placed in a container without the sh in the lowest layer suffering any damage. is means the container cannot be too deep but must have a large volume. To create a container with the right dimensions the company is currently in discussions with the salmon industry to better understand its needs. While the dimensions of the container being considered will be customised for the salmon sector, other features, such as the concave base which eliminates the need for a third supporting skid under the box, will remain the same as in the rest of Borgarplast’s insulated containers. A solution to the third skid was needed because it accumulated dirt from the ground which could contaminate the contents of the lower container, when two or more containers were stacked together. e skid, however, provided strength and stability to the container base so removing it called for some kind of compensatory mechanism to maintain stability. e answer was a container designed with a concave base, so that the weight of the product in the container was distributed to the four corners rendering the middle skid superuous. e new container under consideration for the salmon industry will also feature the rounded corners and smooth walls of all the company’s containers. ese facilitate the thorough cleaning of the container as pathogens and contaminants cannot stick easily to smooth surfaces, which is very important considering its use in the food industry. Essentially, Mr Benediktsson says, if we customise a container for a certain industry, we will always base it on our tried and tested designs. Existing products are designed with grooves on the sides so that they can be stacked securely and the lids too have grooves so that covered containers can also be stacked without compromising safety.

PE and PUR each have their benefits and their costs e containers are insulated with two di erent materials, polyurethane, which has better insulation qualities than the other, polyethylene. On the other hand, containers using PE have stronger walls as the inner and outer surfaces and the layer of insulation in the middle are all made with PE. Apart from greater strength these containers are completely recyclable. In a container, where PUR is the insulating material, the presence of two materials, inner and outer PE walls and a middle layer of PUR insulation, make it more di cult to recycle. e two types of tubs are also made in di erent ways. PUR is pumped in between the outer and inner walls of the tub where it expands after which the tub is pressed. A PE tub is removed from the oven, the PE inserted and the tub put back in the over to allow the PE to expand. e lifetime of the containers is 15-20 years, but the tubs insulated with PUR are 9 kg lighter than comparable tubs insulated with PE. Some Icelandic vessels carry 600 tubs on board so the di erence in weight is an important factor to consider. Not only do PUR tubs reduce the vessel’s fuel consumption, but because PUR o ers better insulating properties, more sh can be transported with less ice. On the other hand, tubs made with PE have more solid walls which allow more to be stacked one above the other. So, companies must carefully weigh the advantages and disadvantages of the two types of containers.

Borgarplast also manufactures other products such as septic tanks, hot tubs, and large dimension pipes in its factory. Cut o plastic material from the tubs is pulverised, mixed with virgin material and used to create some of these products. e recycled material cannot, however, go into the tubs as it would compromise their food grade quality rating. Mr Benediktsson recounts that the company made cold tubs from recycled hot tub material and sold them to private customers in Iceland who installed them outside, lled them with icy water, and bathed in them. is illustrates an innovative way of using a sidestream from one production line to create a new product, something that the EU is also trying to foster with its strategies for sustainability. Insulated tubs are the company’s main line of business—the other products are a side line—and they are usually produced to order rather than being kept in stock. Companies often want the tubs customised with a certain colour or their logo, which is easy to do before the actual manufacturing. e other products are usually made when there is an opening in the production line. Big products such as large volume insulated containers, septic tanks, hot and cold tubs are made in the larger of the two ovens in the factory, while the smaller one is used for the smaller insulated tubs. e big oven takes two products at a time, for example a large insulated tub and a hot tub. e hot tub will be placed in stock and the sh tub delivered to the customer.

Fishing industry feedback goes into the design of insulated tubs

Tests have revealed the using 10 recycled material in a septic tank or a hot tub does not a ect the quality. is combination is also used in oil separators that the company makes for the car hire industry among others. When the car is washed down the oil in the wastewater is removed in an oil separator. Although insulated sh tubs are its core business, Borgarplast hedges its bets by producing EPS boxes at another factory. But we are looking at the future, maintains Mr Benediktsson, and gradually moving away from EPS, but there is no denying it is lightweight with very good insulating properties and is highly suited to transporting sh between countries. But an EPS box is a single use product, while the insulated containers can be reused. ey have also evolved over the years as comments and suggestions from the shing industry are incorporated into the design. e insulated containers produced today are the result of an ongoing dialogue between the company and the users of its tubs. Customers come not only from northern Europe but also from countries further a eld like Saudi Arabia, Turkey, Uganda, and the Maldives. e company is looking to expand exports of its tubs to more countries, while keeping production in Iceland. Both PE and PUR tubs have been subjected to all kinds of stress tests, including being dropped from a height or rammed with a forklift, and passed with ying colours. We stand by the product quality and design, and we want to disseminate the message that Borgarplast tubs are an investment in equipment with a lifespan of 10-15 years, says Mr Benediktsson.

Borgarplast ehf.

Völuteigur 31

270 Mosfellsbær

Iceland

Tel.: +354-561-2211 borgarplast@borgarplast.is www.borgarplast.is

Sales manager: Kristján Benediktsson

Products: Double walled insulated tubs for the food industry; septic tanks, hot/cold tubs, oil/fat separators

Types: Tubs insulated with polyethylene or polyurethane

Production: In Iceland

Markets: Iceland, rest of Europe, Africa, Asia

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