Food
Optimising food transport:
innovative solutions from va-Q-tec
Food requires special attention during transport in order to maintain its freshness and quality. Food transport, especially over the last mile, is therefore a challenge in logistics. At va-Q-tec, we offer you customised solutions for efficient and reliable cold chain logistics – whether for chilled or frozen goods. This allows you to ensure that your products always arrive at their destination under optimum conditions.
Temperature-controlled high-tech transport solutions for the food industry: A safe and uninterrupted cold chain is of the utmost importance when transporting food, as various standards and legal regulations must be adhered to during shipping and safe consumption must be guaranteed at all times.
With our innovative thermo solutions, a wide variety of foods, such as dough pieces, fruit and vegetables or meat and fish, can be shipped at constant temperatures – without the need for an external power supply.
Efficient solutions for food transportation
The logistics sector is confronted with increasing food law requirements in the area of food transportation. For grocery delivery and home delivery in particular, it is important that the products reach the end customer in perfect condition. The same applies to bakeries, which have to deliver their dough pieces, snacks and baked goods to their branches fresh and without any loss of quality.
Our solutions focus on optimizing passive transport processes to meet your requirements. With our innovative thermo solutions, a wide variety of food products, such as dough pieces, fruit and vegetables or meat and fish, can be dispatched at the required constant temperatures.
Our solutions are specially adapted to the requirements of the food industry. This means that they not only keep food optimally fresh, but are also easy to clean, stackable and, of course, food-safe. We implement individualized packaging solutions for our customers according to their requirements – including customized external and internal dimensions, as well as adapted temperature holding times and load capacity.
Our technology makes the use of dry ice superfluous, enabling our customers to use our solutions to make their last mile even safer, more profitable and more sustainable.
Products
Efficient food shipping
In today’s world of e-commerce, online food shipping has long been a central component of retail. It is always crucial to deliver products quickly, safely and, above all, as freshly as possible. va-Q-tec offers solutions that have been specially developed to meet these challenges of modern food transport. Our intelligent packaging solutions protect your products and minimise spoilage and loss due to temperature fluctuations.
The va-Q-boxes are characterised by very high insulation performance. Special vacuum insulation panels as all-round inner panelling, which have already proven their worth in the aerospace industry, offer ten times greater insulation performance than conventional insulation materials.
The va-Q-trays are specially designed for the transport of very sensitive foodstuffs. Thanks to their standardised dimensions, these highly efficient flat insulated boxes can be easily integrated into existing logistics processes. Here too, high-tech vacuum insulation panels ensure maximum insulation performance – without any additional energy supply.
The Thermo Trolley is characterized by extreme thermal stability and robust engineering. Developed with Wanzl, it features 10x superior vacuum insulation for a passive cold chain up to 24 hours—without dry ice or refrigerated trucks. This maintenance-free solution reduces process costs and CO2 emissions while integrating seamlessly into existing logistics.
In addition to the packaging itself, we also offer comprehensive logistics advice. This allows you to optimise your existing processes with the help of our expertise.
Advantages
Seamless cold chain all the way to the customer
When transporting food, a safe and, above all, uninterrupted cold chain is of the utmost importance. Various standards and legal regulations must be complied with when shipping all types of food, but especially fresh food. Only in this way can safe consumption be guaranteed at all times.
The cold chain is therefore a critical factor in food shipping. It includes all steps from the production site to the consumer, during which the ideal temperature must be kept constant.
The va-Q-tec range of cold chain solutions for foodstuffs ensures that your products not only remain fresh throughout the entire transport process, but also retain their quality.
Cooling boxes are ideal for transporting perishable foodstuffs.
Temperature monitoring systems provide constantly updated temperature monitoring data during transport.
Insulated packaging protects against extreme temperatures and ensures the quality of your goods.
Active vs. passive transport of foodstuffs
There are two main transport methods in food logistics: active transport and passive transport. Both have their specific advantages, which can be utilised depending on the requirements of the products. Active transport uses active cooling techniques with energy consumption to ensure precise temperature control.
Passive transport uses insulating materials to keep the products cool during transport. External energy sources are not used. va-Q-tec relies on this sustainable variant in its logistics products for food transport. High-tech insulation technology now makes it possible to transport even very sensitive foodstuffs in compliance with food regulations.
Sustainability and innovative strength at va-Q-tec
Our cold chain logistics solutions are not only designed for efficiency, but also for sustainability. With innovative technologies and environmentally friendly materials, we help to reduce the ecological footprint of food transport and thus of your company.
Yes. Our systems cover a wide temperature range from -25 °C to +75 °C. This means that frozen, chilled, fresh and warm foodstuffs such as dough pieces, fruit, vegetables, meat or fish can be stored or transported at the ideal temperature.
Yes. Our solutions are made from food-grade materials and comply with all relevant safety standards. Smooth surfaces, rounded corners and a hygienic design minimise the build-up of dirt, facilitate thorough cleaning and are suitable for use in car washes.
That depends on the specific system. The va-Q-trays can maintain the temperature independently for 3 to 6 hours. Larger units, such as va-Q-boxes or the Thermo Trolley, can maintain the temperature for 12 to 48 hours.
Depending on the application, va-Q-tec solutions can significantly reduce various cost factors. These include, in particular, a reduction in or complete elimination of dry ice, lower energy and operating costs thanks to passive cooling, and reduced handling requirements during the process. This leads to a noticeable reduction in operating costs (OPEX) and a significant improvement in the cost-effectiveness of logistics processes.
In many cases, yes. As the packaging solution provides its own cooling, food can often be transported in standard vehicles. This reduces reliance on active refrigeration systems, lowers energy consumption and can reduce investment and operating costs across the fleet.
The carbon footprint can be significantly reduced depending on the application. The key factors are the elimination of dry ice, lower energy consumption and the use of reusable systems. Significant savings have already been achieved in specific projects, with some applications yielding savings in the thousands of tonnes per year.
The system is based on the interaction between vacuum insulation panels (VIPs) and phase change materials (PCM). VIPs offer up to ten times better insulation performance than conventional insulation materials, whilst PCM stores thermal energy and releases it in a controlled manner. This keeps the desired temperature stable over a defined period – without the need for electricity or dry ice.
Other business areas of va-Q-tec
In addition to the food industry, va-Q-tec offers comprehensive solutions for various business areas. Our portfolio includes pharmaceutical logistics in the last-mile pharma sector, where we provide special packaging for temperature-sensitive medicines. For the automotive sector, we develop innovative solutions for transport logistics in the automotive industry. We also offer protection and transportation of chemicals under controlled conditions in the chemicals sector.
Find out more about our services and discover how we can master your logistical challenges.