Tampa, Fla.-based IFCO Systems US LLC has been providing the produce industry with reusable packaging containers since 1992, said Rick Overholt, vice president of grower sales.
“IFCO is an active member of the fresh produce industry and stays close to customer needs,” he said. “We are constantly evolving to help solve the challenges being faced by those in the fresh grocery supply chain.”
The company’s most popular line of products for fresh produce in North America is its Black Lift Lock series of RPCs, Overholt said.
They’re available in a wide range of sizes to accommodate various pack styles for fresh fruits and vegetables, and they provide a consistent footprint, he said, adding that they help maintain the quality of fresh fruits and vegetables, boost sustainability, enable automation, drive efficiencies and elevate safety.
RPCs offer customers a number of benefits, but their ability to protect products and help reduce labor are top of customers’ mind these days, Overholt said.
“Rising food costs have highlighted how RPCs protect products resulting in better quality, damage reduction and shelf-life extension,” he said.
“Labor challenges are driving growers and retailers to implement more automation, and because IFCO RPCs are sturdy, collapsible, stackable and standardized, they are great to use in automated environments,” he added.
IFCO is keeping up with the times, Overholt said.
“Many growers and retailers are increasingly basing their operations and services on digital technologies, and in doing so, [they] increase transparency along the supply chain,” he said.
“For every step along the supply chain, IFCO’s growing catalogue of digital services improve efficiency, enable automation, support more integrated business flows and help ensure food safety,” he said.
The range of fresh produce the company’s RPCs can accommodate is extensive. Customers pack them with apples, avocados, berries, carrots, citrus, corn and leafy greens to mushrooms, onions, stone fruit, tomatoes and tropical fruits.
“We even see exotic items like cactus,” Overholt said.
And the RPC pooling system is sustainable.
“Compared to single-use packaging, the use of our RPCs generate up to 60% less CO2 emissions and 86% less solid waste while using 64% less energy and 80% less water,” he said.
