What's on Tap for IQPC's Cold Chain Event in Chicago

In speaking with show management and a handful of exhibitors this week, it’s clear that the demand for transporting medical and pharmaceutical products is exploding. So too are the challenges associated with moving time and temperature sensitive cargo in a manner that keeps the cold chain intact, and ensures documented quality of delivery.

Pharmaceutical companies and shippers of perishable commodities need same-day service to move their wares around the country. Yet most of the active air transport containers (with compressors and active monitoring devices) are limited to wide-body aircraft, which are almost exclusively used today for international routes. So what’s a company to do when it comes to moving temperature-sensitive cargo across the US in a timely manner?

This week, attendees at IQPC will see a variety of solutions that address this problem. Cold Chain Technologies is showcasing a new reusable packaging system that combines vacuum insulated panels, refrigerant materials, and embedded RFID temperature (tags from Intelleflex Corporation) that can maintain a 2°-8°C internal temperature for up to 120 hours.

This type of packaging, when combined with a flight schedule such as Southwest Airlines Cargo’s 3,300 daily nonstop flights, gives shippers a number of options for moving temperature sensitive cargo anywhere in the United States in a matter of hours.

The addition of Southwest’s Cargo Companion asset tracking provides additional peace-of-mind, in that shippers receive proactive e-mail notifications when their cargo crosses pre-defined milestones, arrives at its destination, or if any issues arise during transport. "It’s the combination of passive packaging technology, wireless asset tracking, and a flexible next-flight-out schedule that gives shippers the options they need," says Southwest Airlines Cargo’s Wally Devereaux.

Cold Chain Technologies, Intelleflex and Southwest validated the solution last month with a pharmaceutical test package that traveled between Dallas, Austin, Los Angeles, and San Jose. The time of the journey was six hours and 20 minutes, including time spent in the cargo holds and on the tarmac moving from plane to plane. The external temperature ranged from 78° F to 89° F, yet the internal temperature of the package (which was read repeatedly) remained between 2° and 4° C.

The test showed how shipments that need to be maintained between 2°-8°C can be easily shipped with proper temperature management via Southwest Airlines. These products can be seen first-hand on the show floor this week, and additional details are available at: www.intelleflex.com, www.coldchaintech.com, or www.swacargo.com.