During the Fruit Logistica 2018, CMA CGM presented the Reeflex, a flexitank that can be placed in 40’ Reefer containers and and can carry up to 24,000 liters of fruit juices, milk or other liquids. Mauricio Bonilla, CMA CGM: “Orange juice has always been transported from Brazil to Europe by big tankers. The Reeflex is an alternative to this.”
Mauricio Bonilla with a model of the Reeflex
The Reeflex is a monoblock flexitank. It is equipped with several wave breakers which stop the liquids from sliding all the way to one side. It was developed in partnership with Teconja and Liqua. Mauricio: “CMA CGM is a leading shipping company and together with Teconja and Liqua we created the best offer in the market.”
The Reeflex is only used once. Still, it is as eco-friendly as possible. Mauricio: “The Reeflex can be fully recycled and the single use bag principle prevents contamination. You can roll and wring out the Reeflex to empty it completely and for this reason there is very little residue.” Mauricio also speaks of a reduction of man power. “The Reeflex can be filled with 24,000 litres within 30-40 minutes.”
The climatic conditions of the container are extremely important. Mauricio: “You have to keep the airflow going so that the Reeflex unbends completely. This way, the Reeflex does not touch the sides of the container and will not be damaged.” Normally frozen concentrate is transported in blocks of -20℃ up to -25℃. Mauricio: “We made a movement from frozen to flex. Orange juice can be kept at -7℃ up to -5℃ during transport. At this temperature the juice is still liquid. The texture can be compared to the texture of a slushy or a smoothie. This means our clients save money, because it requires fewer steps to turn the beverage into a marketable product.” The temperature of the Reeflex can vary from -35℃ to +35℃, depending on the product.
CMA CGM is the second largest Reefer carrier in the world and has 369,000 TEUS Reefer containers and 275,500 Reefer plugs.
Have a look at this movie to see how the Reeflex works:
For more information:
CMA CGM