Safe and efficient-the installation is simple and easy to understand, and the structure is stable. You only need to lift the container to its extended height with a forklift and then arrange personnel to enter the box and push the front and rear end plates outwards to fix it. One-shot molding, quick check-in, saving time and effort.
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Strong airtightness-the box folding place adopts the buckle groove design for seamless splicing, and the all-around sealed top corner drainage system ensures that the roof does not leak or accumulate water.
Convenient transportation-when the box is folded, it can be compressed to 55 cm, breaking the limitations of the traditional container fixed structure in the past, thereby increasing the number of the product when transported, which not only saving more than 80% transportation costs but also ensuring that the same batch of goods is delivered to the clients on time.
Strong flexibility-In addition to the fixed steel frame, other accessories such as walls, floors, doors, and windows can be customized and modified. The internal wires are hidden in the structure, only the power socket and lighting are exposed, which ensures the simplicity of the internal space.
Low-carbon and environmental protection-the box can be folded and used repeatedly many times, it’s rust-resistant, and it won’t cause damage to the surroundings, which greatly reduces the generation of construction waste.
The 20ft foldable container has a wide range of uses. It can be used in offices, hotel accommodations, cafes, restaurants, and shops. What’s more, according to the customers’specific requirements, it is designed with various interior furniture to create an indoor atmosphere. At the same time, several boxes can be overlapped and spliced to form a larger space and create different types of design styles.
Fundamentally, it is the design of the folding mechanisms and associated systems that differentiates the various producers of folding containers.
Units designed by Delft-based Holland Container Innovations (HCI), which pioneered the concept, fold horizontally with a CHE machine lifting the roof of the container, the sides then being folded inwards and the roof lowered to rest on the folded sides. Four folded units are then placed on top of one another to form a standard container size
New Jersey-based Staxxon’s collapsible containers are based on a vertical folding mechanism that the company has referred to as an ‘accordion style’ system. The container is collapsed from side to side to form a vertical and much flatter unit, with Staxxon claiming that “between two and five units can be folded and stacked in such a way as to form a regular container unit for transport and/or storage purposes”.
Danderline explained: “You do not need to wait for a specific number of boxes – as required by collapsibles – to move the bundled empties. If only two empties are available to fold, they can be folded to half the width and joined with the safety beams provided. The same goes for three, four or five boxes and the bundles measure exactly to CSC standards.”
The Zbox, developed by Navlandis and partly funded through grants from the European Union’s Blue Economy programme in late 2020 (€2.2M), also allows five containers to be bundled in the space of one and for the box to have the same external dimensions and stacking capabilities as a single standard dry freight unit of the same size. Zbox is also certified to carry liquids in flexibags of up to 24,000-litre capacity
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Navalón was keen to stress that his company’s Zbox could be folded and unfolded by all of the main types of terminal handling equipment, including reach stackers, forklifts and empty handlers, but that in situations where the number of folding containers in service was large, the process could be automated through the use of a specially designed folding station.
The executive also remarked on the company’s ‘Beyond the Box’ proposition. “Our Zbox is equipped with IoT technology so its position, condition, such as temperature, status, including whether the doors are open or closed and the unit folded or unfolded, can be registered and monitored through a web platform,” explained Navalón.
Moreover, the company has adopted a very different business model for Zbox. “We understand the reluctance of customers to invest in new [types of] container and have developed our ‘Pay as you Save’ plan,” said Navalón. “It is a win-win situation that always generates savings for our customers and ensures payments to us, and it means they do not have to make any initial capital outlays on the equipment.”
Commenting on foldable/collapsible containers’ durability, Staxxon’s Danderline said: “From the outset, we have engineered durability into our design. We have not only invented the solid vertical wall, but have focused on reducing the ‘out of service time’ resulting from the top failure modes of the current box – ease of door replacement in the field by changing out the flimsy J-Post, and ease of sill and header replacement in the field. Meanwhile, our hinges are located to the side of the four corner posts where no forces of compression or tension during stacking and lifting ever affect the hingeing of the roof and floor.”
While Staxxon’s containers can be folded and unfolded using a forklift and two labourers, the company is working with Konecranes on a high-volume folding and nesting machine that would be able to complete the process for a single unit in less than three minutes.
As to the trading life of a Staxxon folding container, Danderline anticipated that it would meet and probably exceed that of a standard container as its modular design allows for large assemblies to be replaced when required.
To date, very few foldable containers exist in the fleet despite HCI and Staxxon commencing their research and design work for such units in the early 2010s. While HCI secured certification from the International Organization for Standardization and Convention for Safe Containers for its 4FOLD unit – a 40ft collapsible container – in 2013, certification for Staxxon’s 20ft unit was only forthcoming in 2020. However, the company has com pleted design work on its 40ft standard and 40ft HC units and anticipates certification for these containers to be approved in early 2023.
Staxxon is moving ahead with its commercial production plans. To date, the company has conducted some tests of its equipment on the road, “transporting bundled sets of containers on standard chassis”, according to Danderline.
“With all the world’s ports experiencing unprecedented congestion over the past two years, Staxxon has had no opportunity to conduct third-party trials beyond those on the road,” he said. “We understand the need for meaningful trials and plan on using our first production sets of folding containers for trials in 2023 in conjunction with our terminal, carrier, and BCOinterested parties.”
Nonetheless, Staxxon has been actively promoting its containers. In late 2021, it started a scheme whereby customers could deposit US$100 and secure access to the first containers off the production line. “This programme generated significant ‘indications of interest’ and resulted in a robust sales funnel of nearly 40,000 boxes, mostly from BCOs rather than traditional owners, such as ocean carriers and leasing companies,” said Danderline.
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