Promens Dalvik ehf has recently put a new generation of Sæplast 400 litre tubs for the fishing industry on the market. The company describes the tubs as a breakthrough compared to the previous generations of Sæplast tubs.
During the comprehensive product development process, goals such as increased cubic volume, reduced weight, increased stability and increased security in handling of raw material were reached.
The prototype was first introduced at the Seafood Processing Europe exhibition in Brussels in the spring of 2006 and attracted enormous interest, and since then has been in the final stage of product development. Mass production has begun in the Promens factory in Dalvik, Iceland and Sæplast customers around the world have shown tremendous interest in this new product.
Daði Valdimarsson, managing director of Promens Dalvik ehf says that the product development stage has taken a long time. “After careful planning within the company and interviews with our loyal customers we set ourselves the goal to develop a tub that could improve the handling of the raw material; increase the cubic usage; reduce the weight of the tub; could be used with fork lifts and automatic dumping devices; and is stackable onto the previous versions of Sæplast tubs. One of the most important improvements is the increase in relative capacity of the new tub that is significant issue when the tubs are being used on board fishing vessels and during container transport.”
Changing the appearance
When the new generation of tubs is compared with the traditional design it is notable that the slots for forklift forks have been moved to the side of the tub, instead of the conventional place. This has changed the appearance of the tub considerably and has made it possible to design it in such way that when stacked the upper tub seals the tub below, thereby preventing dirt and other impurities from dropping into the tubs. In addition, the insulating factor of the tub has increased tremendously and less oxygen surrounds the ingredients. The design also lowers the centre of gravity, which has improved stacking.
If compared to the 460 litre Sæplast tub of a previous design, the new tub is 13% lighter, the outer cubic volume is 25% lower, but the inner cubic volume is only 14% less. These figures show that a container loaded with the new tubs holds more material in transport. The cubic usage and weight of the tubs themselves are a smaller percentage of the total weight of the container – a very important factor when considering precious transport space onboard fishing vessels or container transporters. Additionally, the tub is equipped with a computer chip, making it possible to record the content description electronically and by doing so follow the ingredients through transport and production.
Exceeding expectations
“We have definitely found that our customers are very interested in our new product. Their opinion is that the design of the tub has exceeded their expectations for innovation and we feel that this tub will not only spark an interest in our customers in the fishing industry, but also among customers in general food production. The rules that apply to the fishing industry such as usability, economics and secure handling of raw material are applicable everywhere,” says Hilmar Guðmundsson, marketing and sales manager of Sæplast Dalvík ehf.
For over 20 years, Promens Dalvik ehf has produced insulated plastic tubs of all kinds. It formerly operated under the trademark of Sæplast, but at the beginning of 2007 the name was changed to Promens, the mother company and one of the largest plastic production companies in the world. Promens continues to produce tubs under the brand name, Sæplast, and continues to place a high emphasis on production and innovative development for the fishing industry.
