Amcor developed its Hydro-Armour carton as a replacement for polystyrene foam boxes. The carton is submersible, allowing a faster way for suppliers to hydro-cool produce for sale to wholesalebuyers.
Replacing styrofoam boxes with the carton also saves on stacking space and logistics through lower freight costs, Amcor claims.
The carton uses a new water resistant paper and film laminate technology developed for the market by Amcor. The laminate withstands the high-moisture chilling environment needed for thehydro-cooling process.
Most fresh fruits and vegetables require cooling immediately after harvest so as to extend shelf life. Most wholesale buyers, such as food processors, now require that fresh produce items beproperly and thoroughly cooled before they are shipped to market.
Hydrocooling is an especially fast and effective way to cool produce using chilled water. Unlike air cooling, no water is removed from the produce.
Amcor has released a carton for beans as the first in a series of packages it plans to produce using the new laminate.
"The new Hydro-Armour Bean Box provides significant advantages over polystyrene containers and returnable plastic crates," stated Craig Madden, Amcor's regional sales manager inQueensland, Australia. "The new laminate technology on solid fibre board offers all the advantages of cartons, plus the additional feature of water resistance. Importantly, they are availablewhen and where you need them, machine erected and ready to use."