A new breed of shipping container that allows cargo to be accessed through its roof has been designed with the timber trade in mind.
Timberbox uses its roof as a lifting frame, with long length cargo vertically loaded and underslung from the roof. It has a 88.7m³ capacity with a maximum payload of 27.68 metric tonnes.
It allows timber cargo to be discharged in a fraction of the time from traditional containers and with much less risk of damage, according to Timberbox Ltd, the company behind the innovation.
“Typically timber shippers and receivers have had to tolerate the shortcomings of loading and particularly discharging long length container packs through the confined aperture of a 40ft container rear door,” director Giles Markwell said.
“The Timberbox container enables the whole, for example, 25 tonne container consignment, to be loaded and discharged in a single reachstaker/gantry crane ISO lift.”
Moreover, this has increased the potential to maximise container use in the shipping process by upping the commodities that can be containerised, improving the carbon footprint of shipping by making back loading easier according to Timberbox.
A prototype is currently being trialled at the Port of Ipswich, with Mr Markwell saying Timberbox is “actively seeking a development partner…to take the concept forward”.
