Thermal Container Liners: A Guide
Protecting your cargo is a top priority with container shipping — especially if you’re shipping sensitive goods.
Extreme heat is one of the biggest threats to your precious cargo. From food and beverages to medication and other temperature-sensitive goods, exposure to extreme heat can cause damage that harms your bottom line.
Thermal liners for containers are one of the most effective ways to protect your cargo against extreme heat during global shipping. Check out this guide to learn more about thermal container liners and protecting against extreme temperatures.
What Are Thermal Liners for Containers?
Thermal liners for containers are liners that are designed to line the inside of a shipping container to create an insulative barrier. This barrier blocks out some of the heat to maintain stable temperatures inside your shipping container.
Some container liners are designed to prevent contamination or protect against moisture. By contrast, thermal liners for containers feature a highly protective five-layer design for reflectivity and insulation.
Heat and Cargo: A Constant Battle
Three things cause a significant portion of cargo damage: heat, moisture, and contamination.
Heat is a particularly big problem with global shipping. Many global shipping routes travel through vastly different climates, so exposing cargo to extreme heat is often unavoidable. This problem is compounded during the warmer months.
When shipping containers are exposed to extreme heat, that heat begins to transfer through the metal and into the shipping container. This can lead to massive temperature swings, which can be a serious problem if you’re shipping sensitive cargo.
Can Freezing Damage Cargo?
Heat isn’t the only concern when it comes to extreme temperatures — freezing can cause damage too.
Liquids
Liquids are the biggest concern when it comes to freezing, especially large containers of water. Because water expands when it freezes, freezing can cause cracks in containers that eventually lead to leaks. Fortunately, most other liquids don’t expand when frozen.
Electronics
Electronics might not be the first thing that comes to mind when you think of cold sensitivity, but they’re surprisingly sensitive. Most electronics are made of several smaller metal components, and extreme cold can cause these parts to contract. The stress caused by these contractions can damage key components that are expensive to replace.
Batteries are also sensitive to extreme cold — and they’re used in most of the electronics we buy today. According to RELiON, cold weather can even reduce the life of lithium batteries.
How Does Heat Damage Cargo?
You might be wondering what exactly you have to worry about when it comes to extreme heat and cargo. Depending on what you’re shipping, you may not experience any problems.
Perishable and consumable goods are real issues with extreme heat exposure. Let’s say you’re shipping a container filled with fruits and vegetables. Typically, you want to keep most fruits and vegetables below 70 degrees F. When your container travels through a warmer climate, the inside of your shipping container could be as hot as 135 degrees F. This leads to spoiling which hurts your bottom line.
Even non-perishable, non-consumable goods can be damaged by heat. Certain types of chemicals and medications can react to heat exposure, causing dangerous reactions or making medication less effective.
Food and beverages
Food and beverages are a huge concern when it comes to maintaining stable temperatures during global shipping. Fruits, vegetables, and other perishable foods can quickly spoil when exposed to extreme temperatures. Even foods that typically last longer can lose some of their quality or become stale.
A wide range of beverages are affected by extreme heat. From wine and fresh fruit juices to milk and craft beer, lots of beverages can spoil when exposed to too much heat. Thermal liners for containers help maintain stable temperatures inside your shipping container, protecting these sensitive goods.
Medical products
If you’re shipping medical products or pharmaceuticals, preventing extreme heat exposure is extremely important. Many medical products are very expensive, which means you stand to lose a lot more with these shipments than shipments of food or water.
In some cases, exposure to extreme heat can make expensive medication worthless. Some medications become less effective when exposed to extreme heat or cold.
Other medical products that are affected by extreme temperature swings include:
- Blood products
- Insulin and other injectables
- Vaccines
Chemicals
Just because we don’t consume most chemicals doesn’t mean they’re not affected by extreme heat. Chemicals don’t spoil, but extreme heat can cause reactions that can lead to countless shipping problems.
The best-case scenario is that a chemical reaction simply renders a chemical shipment worthless. Like medication, some chemicals become less effective as a result of heat exposure. However, that still means you’re out a lot of money.
In some cases, chemical reactions can lead to leaks and spills that can damage other cargo. Some chemicals can cause significant damage to cargo, which can cost you a fortune.
The worst-case scenario is a chemical that has an extreme reaction to heat. In some cases, chemical fires and other serious incidents are potential side effects of extreme heat exposure.
If you’re shipping chemicals, make sure you understand how they react to heat and use thermal liners for containers for added protection.
How Do Temcore Liners Work?
At Eurolog Packing Group, we put a lot of time and energy into developing a simple and effective temperature stabilization solution: Temcore Liners.
Temcore Liners feature a highly protective five-layer design for total reflectivity and insulation. Layers of insulation are covered by a reflective layer that reflects heat to help stabilize shipping container temperatures.
While Temcore Liners are designed to protect against extreme temperatures, there’s an added benefit: they create a fully sealed environment within your shipping container. This fully sealed environment also helps protect against contamination.
Choosing the Right Temcore Liner
Choosing the right thermal liners for containers is a key part of protecting your cargo. Our Temcore Liners are available in different sizes, and we can develop custom solutions if we don’t offer anything that fits your needs.
Temcore Liners are available in two sizes: 20 ft and 40 ft. The 20 ft liner is designed for 20 ft shipping containers and the 40 ft liner is designed for 40 ft containers.
The design of the Temcore Liner ensures a snug fit that fully protects your shipping container contents. As long as you choose the right container liner size, you’re good to go.
How to Install Temcore Liners
Efficiency is key when it comes to global shipping, and that means you can’t spend an eternity loading and unloading shipping containers. Fortunately, Temcore Liners are designed for simplicity and ease of use.
Temcore Liners feature a convenient click-on-top hanging system that makes them easy to install. Shipping containers have metal rings where the walls meet the ceiling on the inside. Simply click each fastener onto a metal ring to make sure your Temcore Liner fits snugly on the inside of your shipping container.
When it’s time to unload your shipping container, Temcore Liners can be removed in a matter of minutes. This easy installation process saves you time and money.
Are Thermal Liners for Containers Reusable?
If you’re considering investing in thermal liners for containers, you may be wondering if they’re a cost-effective solution in the long term. The good news is our Temcore Liners are reusable, so they’re an environmentally friendly and cost-effective temperature stabilization solution.
Installing and uninstalling Temcore Liners only takes a few minutes. When a shipment has been unloaded, you can remove the hooks that hold the Temcore Liner in place and store it somewhere safe. Next time you’re loading up temperature-sensitive cargo, simply install your Temcore Liner and you’re good to go.
Other Temperature Stabilization Solutions
Thermal liners for containers are one of the many temperature stabilization solutions available. Some cargo may require even more temperature stabilization, or you may be able to save with a more cost-effective solution. Let’s take a look at some other temperature stabilization solutions for global shipping.
Reefer containers
Reefer containers are one of the most commonly used temperature stabilization solutions. These containers use a refrigeration unit connected to the ship’s power supply to maintain stable temperatures throughout varying climates.
Reefer containers are ideal when you need to ship cargo that has to be frozen or refrigerated. Fruits, vegetables, and bottled water can be stored at moderate temperatures without major issues. When it comes to medication, fresh meat, and other highly sensitive goods, reefer containers are the best solution.
If you’re shipping a container full of cargo but only some of it is temperature sensitive, pallet covers may be a more cost-effective alternative to thermal liners for containers. Pallet covers fit right over the top of palletized goods, so you can protect your temperature-sensitive cargo and nothing else.
Our Temcore Covers are available in two styles: the Temcore Cover and the Temcore Max Cover. The Temcore Cover is ideal if you need moderate protection against extreme temperatures. When you need maximum protection for palletized goods, the Temcore Max Cover keeps temperatures to within 1 degree per hour.
Thermal blankets
Thermal blankets are another potentially cost-effective solution if you’re only shipping some sensitive cargo. Like pallet covers, thermal blankets are designed to protect some of your cargo without having to invest in and install a Temcore Liner.
Our Temcore Blanket is designed to reflect up to 97% of radiant heat, keeping your cargo cool in any climate. Installation is easy — simply drape the Temcore Blanket over your cargo and you’re good to go.
Temcore Blankets can be used on their own, but you can also combine a Temcore Liner with Temcore Blankets or Covers to provide extra protection against extreme temperatures.
Temperature monitoring
While it’s not a temperature stabilization solution on its own, temperature monitoring plays a key role in maintaining stable temperatures. Remote temperature monitoring allows you to look at shipping container temperatures in real time, so you can react quickly if you need to take action to protect your cargo.
Temperature monitoring also helps you understand whether a shipment may have spoiled due to exposure to extreme temperatures.
Beat the Heat With Temcore Liners
In the global shipping world, cargo damage is one of the biggest obstacles. Whether you’re shipping food and beverages, medical products, or chemicals, extreme temperatures can cost you a lot of time and money. Fortunately, there’s a solution.
Temcore Liners protect your cargo from extreme heat, helping maintain stable temperatures inside your shipping container. These thermal liners for containers are a cost-effective way to keep your cargo cool. We even offer custom solutions for temperature stabilization, including Temcore Air Cover.
Contact Eurolog Packing Group or request a quote to learn more.
Sandra Malouf is the President of Eurolog Packing Group and has spent her career focused on Industrial Packaging. With a proven track record of helping businesses avoid supply chain disruptions, Sandra’s visionary leadership elevates the industry. She’s committed to developing sustainable practices and continues to shape the future of industrial packaging by listening to the customer and offering unique solutions applicable to various industries across the world. The company’s main focus is temperature stabilization and moisture damage prevention in exports affected by extreme variations in global temperatures.
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