MEDIA RELEASE: VinLiner ensures all wine shipments receive top quality care
Wednesday, 19 November, 2008
Image Line Communications
To ensure wines and spirits arrive at their final destination in optimum condition, JF Hillebrand launched its new VinLiner product. Developed entirely by the JF Hillebrand Group, VinLiner is a protective liner foil which is placed in dry containers to protect wine against thermal shocks, bad smells and humidity infiltration that might occur during transport.
Designed specifically for the beverage industry and used across the entire JF Hillebrand global network, VinLiner offers the most advanced cargo protection available on the market.
"Wine and spirits are highly perishable products, sensitive to changes in temperature," said Pierre Corvisier, JF Hillebrand's Director of New Services. "Different climates and unpredictable weather conditions around the world can lead to wines being exposed to unforeseen extremes of humidity and temperature - adversely affecting quality, and damaging the product. VinLiner provides the solution."
In transit, wine shipped in general purpose containers can be exposed to temperatures of up to 55°c. With global container volumes on the rise, we are seeing increased port congestion, bigger ships and more ports of relay - all of which mean containers often spend longer on the quay and in transit.
VinLiner provides a cost effective solution: dramatically reducing the impact of temperature shifts during day and night, and protecting wines from radiation and thermal forces that occur on the ship and on the port terminals. As a result, VinLiner dramatically reduces the consequences of exposure to temperature extremes - namely deterioration in quality or taste of the product, leakage, overheating and freezing, and the production of Ethyl Carbamate.
VinLiner also protects cargo from condensation and moisture within the container which can damage labels, caps, closers and cartons. It also protects against other irritants within the container - from water spills, to bad smells and contamination.
There are also environmental advantages. Weighing only 14kg per 20ft container, VinLiner's impact on the carbon footprint of a container shipment is negligible, especially when compared to shipping in a heavier, less efficient and less cost effective temperature controlled or 'reefer' container. In markets where reefer containers are unavailable or too expensive, VinLiner provides a cost effective and functional solution. With fitting stations located in every major wine producing area, VinLiner is user friendly and easy to install.
VinLiner is supported by VinRoute, JF Hillebrand's internal database of temperature and shipping data, which can predict the temperature conditions that shipments will face as they travel from origin to destination. Using VinRoute, importers are able to make informed judgements about how best to ensure their product arrives on the shelf in optimum condition.