Retail produce directors and managers know that displaying bananas ripened to their exacting specifications can help provide their customers with fruit that looks and tastes great, lasts longer and attracts repeat sales. And David Byrne, vice president of sales, said Blythewood, S.C.-based Thermal Technologies Inc. has come up with a way to do that well.
The company’s TarpLessSX ripening system, billed as “the most widely used commercial ripening room system on the planet,” offers consistent, high-quality fruit ripened to the exact color stage retailers need, when they need it, he said.
The system has low operating costs and a fast return on investment, he added. And it uses space efficiently: a three-tier, two truckload, 42-pallet capacity ripening room requires only 12 by 30 feet of floor space.
Rooms are custom designed and can be installed with single or multiple tiers and single-wide or double-wide pallet configurations.
“They’ll even allow you to ripen individual room loads to two or more color stages at the same time,” Byrne said.
The TarpLess humidification process preserves moisture levels, which increases weight by up to one-quarter pound per box and increases shelf life 12 hours or more, reducing shrink, Byrne said.
“There are TarpLess ripening rooms for avocados, pears and stone fruit, even multi-fruit rooms that combine ripening, pre-cooling and low-temperature storage,” he added.
The system can be controlled on-site from touch screens at the front of the room or a centralized PC with optional remote access via smartphones. Customer support is available 24/7.
Thermal Technologies, established in 1987, has been phasing in its TarpLessSX system over the past 10 years “with continual improvements and updates,” Byrne said.
About 70% of all bananas processed in the U.S. are ripened in Thermal Tech rooms, he said.
The company also has multiple room installations in Canada, Mexico and Australia.
In addition, Thermal Technologies has installed ripening rooms for leading wholesalers, including Anthony Marano Co., EXP Group, Panama Banana and Atom Banana as well as major growers, such as Mission Produce, Del Monte and Dole.
