r2i forum

Here is good news for shipping companies, congestion-hit container freight stations (CFSs), box terminals and the end users.

Mr Rene Giesbers, a heating-systems engineer from the Netherlands, has invented a collapsible plastic shipping container, which he has named Cargoshell.

Made of a fibreglass composite, it weighs only three-quarters of a standard container but, more importantly, when it is empty, it can be folded down to a quarter of its size.

[ATTACH]2200[/ATTACH]

[ATTACH]2201[/ATTACH]

[ATTACH]2202[/ATTACH]

[ATTACH]2203[/ATTACH]

The composite is more resistant to corrosion than the steel it replaces, is easier to clean and floats. It is also greener to manufacture.

And, importantly, manufacturing one of these containers results in just a quarter of the carbon dioxide that would be generated by the manufacture of its steel counterpart.

A collapsible shipping container has its uses. The pattern of movement of cargo along trade lanes is such that ships, trains and trucks inevitably carry some empty containers. If these were to be folded, there would be more room for full containers and some vessels would be liberated to ply different routes.
If collapsed containers were bundled together in groups of four, ships could be loaded far more quickly, cutting the time spent in ports.

They would also take up less space on land, allowing depots to operate more efficiently.
According to Mr Giesbers, Cargoshell can be collapsed or opened in 30 seconds by a single person using a forklift truck.

It is now reportedly undergoing tests to see whether it is strong enough to meet the requirements set by the International Organisation for Standardisation (ISO).

Mr Giesbers has the ambitious aim of having a million Cargoshells plying the seas, rails and roads by 2020, equivalent to 4 per cent of the market.