The Story of Bananas, Randall’s Insulated Pallet Covers, and a Happy Grocer
National Grocer’s Temp Control Challenge
A major national grocery store distributor was having difficulty keeping their bananas at proper set-point temperature while in transit – which could be up to 24 hours. Additionally, pallet heights varied depending on the route, demand, store, etc.
The First (In-House) Temp Control Solution
Initially, this grocer attempted to solve the problem in- house. The solution was to create a “North Face type jacket” pallet wrap, shrink wrapped around the pallet, pallet cover, and a final layer of shrink wrap.
Their in-house solution was still not keeping their bananas at their desired temperature ranges. This grocer maintains strict temperature guidelines and will not accept any margin of error. They wanted an effective, scale-able, consistent solution.
Randall’s Temp Control Solution
Randall’s engineering team designed and manufactured custom, insulated pallet covers to meet the supply chain needs of the national grocery distributor. The variables that were considered before the engineering team put pencil to paper to design a custom solution were:
- Number of hours on the road
- Temperature outside the blanket
- Type of product under the cover
- Height of the product
- Spacing / size of the cover
- The way the product is stacked (4 per level with hollow center vs. 5 per level solid stack)
- Where the pallet is positioned in the cooler area
- Does the operator know how to properly cover a pallet
The Randall Engineering team and territory manager worked hand-in-hand with this grocer to provide them with a tested, custom, insulated pallet cover solution for their bananas. We were able to offer:
- Two size options to accommodate varying heights
- An outer shell of 600 Denier polyester, polyurethane coated
- A core combination of polyester fiber insulation with aluminum foil facing
- Four (4) commercial Velcro® corners to ensure the connection to the pallets were easy and effective
Randall’s Custom, Insulated Pallet Covers – Delivered
- Increased the level of service by delivering bananas within temperature specs, when needed. Pallets were no longer being rejected – leaving the store in an out-of-stock situation.
- Reduced install times, labor and materials
- Provided a more reliable, consistent insulated pallet cover solution
Today, this banana / insulated pallet cover solution is a standard practice that used across the country at this grocer. Randall’s sales team coupled with our engineering team bring temp control solutions to the foodservice market like this every day. That’s our expertise and we’re proud to be recognized as a go-to leader for innovative, temp control solutions.
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What’s your temp control challenge? We’d love to help. 800-323-7424 or [email protected].
