MINNEAPOLIS — Thermo King, a manufacturer of transport refrigeration systems and a brand of Ingersoll Rand, announced that it will begin to offer North American customers new options for trailer and self-powered truck products using lower global warming potential (GWP) refrigerants, pending approval by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) under the Significant New Alternatives Policy (SNAP) program.

The company said these new trailer and self-powered truck products are safe, energy efficient, and reliable, and use a next generation refrigerant that reduces GWP by around half compared to refrigerants currently being used for these applications. Thermo King, in close partnership with refrigerant manufacturer, Chemours, selected Opteon™ XP44 (R-452A) for this alternative offering of transport refrigeration products. Thermo King will continue to offer its transport customers its current line of transport refrigeration products, and ensure that optimum levels of service are offered throughout the products’ lifecycle until customers are ready to transition.

“Our intent has always been to offer operators a choice of how and when to lower their GHG [greenhouse gas] footprint without compromising the product performance they expect from Thermo King,” said Ray Pittard, president of Thermo King. “We made this new line of trailer and self-powered truck units available to customers in Europe, the Middle East, and Africa earlier this year and have sold more than 500 units in the first three months of the product’s release. We are delighted to offer North American customers the same choices.”

These Thermo King trailer and self-powered truck units are part of the Ingersoll Rand EcoWise™ portfolio of products that are designed to lower environmental impact with next generation, low-GWP refrigerants and high-efficiency operation.

“Since its inception by Thermo King in 1938, the transport refrigeration industry has been using class A1 refrigerants that are safe, non-flammable, and have the lowest toxicity,” Pittard said. “R-452A, when used in our products, is the safest, most environmentally responsible, and technically and commercially viable solution for R-404A applications ranging from transport refrigeration to mobile air conditioning. Plus, it has around half the GWP of refrigerants currently used today.”

For more information, visit www.thermoking.com.

Publication date: 8/4/2015

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