Yes, it can. An insulated container does not produce cold; the eutectic plates inside absorb heat until they melt and hold the temperature of food that was frozen beforehand. GEBHARDT's plate technical paper describes this passive arrangement. The warehouse freezer takes over the job of the refrigeration unit, so the food goes into the container at transport temperature; warm or partly thawed food will not refreeze inside it.
The product class sets the target. ATP carries ice cream at -20 °C, quick-frozen foods and frozen fish at -18 °C, other frozen foods at -12 °C and butter at -10 °C. Türkiye has been a party to the agreement since 2012; the UAB ATP overview explains that international carriage looks at product conditions and equipment together, so on a cross-border trip the equipment's certification is checked separately.
Preparation in the warehouse
- The freezer runs at least 5 °C below the plate's melting point: about -26 °C for a -21 °C plate.
- The plates freeze in racks that let air circulate, taking 15-21 hours; GEBHARDT gives 19 hours for a -21 °C plate to freeze through at -26 °C. Cooling capacity is there only once the plate is frozen solid.
- For deep-frozen goods the container is pre-cooled at -21 to -25 °C for 12-20 hours.
- The food is loaded at transport temperature, the plates go into the rails at the top of the container, and the lid is opened as little as possible on the road.
The same arrangement works for mixed loads. Frozen and fresh food travel on one vehicle in separate containers, each carrying its own regime inside. In a reefer truck the body can run at 3-8 °C instead of -21 °C while the containers hold the deep-frozen regime; GEBHARDT links the fuel saving to that difference. In a dry body with no unit there is no refrigeration or unit maintenance cost at all.
In a deep-frozen regime half the job ends in the warehouse: the plates freeze there, and insulated containers protect them on the road.
The holding time on the road is calculated. Product type, fill level, pre-cooling, route length, summer heat and lid openings all change it. When you send product, volume, route and waiting data to Aris Makina with the Isotec TBX needs-analysis form, GEBHARDT's thermal specialists calculate the plate count and the achievable duration, and we pass the result on. On the first trip the product temperature is logged; if the record does not cover the route, more plates are added or that route stays with a reefer truck.
