Services Products All Products Container desiccants Absorpole AbsorBag AbsorGel Hanging AbsorGel Blanket AbsorGel Max & Compact AbsorGel Sheet In-box desiccants AbsorGel Pouches AbsorGel Sheet Accessories Packaging Industries Agriculture Electronics Cocoa Automotive Beverage Knowledge Moisture Magazine Container rain Moisture damage costs Why calcium chloride? Moisture damage Caking Corrosion FAQ Webinars About Our organization R&D Quality and production News Our people Transparency & Accountability Sustainability Sustainable desiccants Circular economy program Contact Language Contact us Industries we work with Shipping containers revolutionized global trade. But containerization also involves the risk of moisture damage. Absortech is a knowledge-based company specialized in preventing moisture damage for all kinds of cargo during container transport. We know that each industry faces its own moisture challenges, and therefore needs its own solutions. For most industries, we have a specialist following the specific needs – ensuring we follow applicable legislation, participating in major industry associations, connecting with major stakeholders, and ensuring our R&D meets existing and new, specific demands. Agriculture Electronics Cocoa Automotive Beverage Discover more industries Chemicals / Plastics / Glass Food / Refined food Forwarding / Stuffing Furniture / Handicrafts Garments / Footwear Machinery / Spare parts / Tools Metal / Raw material Packaging / Paper / Wood Pharma Retail / DIY Chemicals / Plastics / Glass Food / Refined food Forwarding / Stuffing Furniture / Handicrafts Garments / Footwear Machinery / Spare parts / Tools Metal / Raw material Packaging / Paper / Wood Pharma Retail / DIY Chemicals / Plastics / Glass Common damage Powder caking is an unpleasant damage in chemicals and plastics. It could impact the quality of the goods themselves. But also make it hard to transport at a later stage, e.g. plastic granules transported to an injection moulding machine. In addition, the cargo is often transported in heavy packaging and a damaged box corner could make the cargo tilt. For glass, moisture may cause glass sheets to stick together with an increased risk of breaking during separation. Powder caking Damaged packaging Collapsed packaging Peeling labels Our solutions These industries cover many different products and therefore the most suitable desiccant solution varies as well. Regardless, a correctly dimensioned desiccant solution will take the root cause (moisture) away. However, beforehand make sure excess moisture is not added. POMM will give guidance. Food / Refined food Common damage A slight change of taste or smell is bad news in this industry as the products most likely can’t be sold. And a peeled label stating ‘production date’ creates customer uncertainty, which may result in unnecessary waste. Bad or changed smell Bad or changed taste Collapsed packaging Peeling labels Damaged packaging Mould and mildew Our solutions The enemy to your cargo is moisture. Which can result in scrapping that directly hits the EBIT line and repeated poor quality that impacts customer relations. The high-performance AbsorRange™ contains a suitable desiccant solution for any loading and packaging configuration. Forwarding / Stuffing Common damage Forwarding companies typically don’t have to protect their own goods. However, customers expect their forwarding experts to take care of their cargo in a safe way. Moisture damage prevention is something that people believe is taken care of by someone else. So, whenever damage occurs, everyone is blaming someone else for the consequences. Bad or changed smell Bad or changed taste Mould and mildew Corrosion Powder caking Warped Collapsed packaging Damaged packaging Peeling labels Our solutions Absortech’s POMM services and AbsorRange™ products provide suitable added value that the forwarding industry can offer its customers. This added value can be a source of increased revenue and customer satisfaction, while no scrapping is also a big win for the environment. Absortech’s global presence ensures we can provide products in most corners of the world. Furniture / Handicrafts Common damage Excess moisture in wood-based products often evaporates into the surrounding air, and when the temperature drops, the water vapor will condensate. This ‘container rain’ may harm the products. Unless products are flat-packed, they are often bulky and leave a lot of free air in boxes and/or the container. The result: even more ‘container rain’. Mould and mildew Warped Peeling labels Damaged packaging Our solutions To protect Furniture / Handicrafts, removing or reducing excess moisture is key – both before and during transport or shipping. Use POMM to locate sources for avoidable excess moisture and use AbsorRange desiccants to absorb the remaining moisture. Garments / Footwear Common damage It goes without saying, products in this industry can lose significant value (or may even have to be scrapped) should they be impacted by e.g. mould. And reconditioning a piece of clothing to get rid of a bad smell requires re-work operations like ozone washing. Besides additional cost, it is also an avoidable burden for the environment. Mould and mildew Bad or changed smell Peeling labels Damaged packaging Collapsed packaging Our solutions Absortech offers both container desiccants and in-box desiccants to be used inside e.g. polybags. We use calcium chloride as the absorbing agent. These days, leading garment companies are replacing silica gel in favor of calcium chloride due to environmental concerns. The CO2 footprint of silica gel is substantially higher than Absortech’s AbsorGel® products. Our global coverage makes us a perfect supplier as we can discuss a solution with the brand owner and make sure a solution is correctly implemented by the suppliers – who could be on the other side of the globe. Machinery / Spare parts / Tools Common damage Corrosion or discoloration, mouldy boxes or labels peeled off all have one thing in common – they can heavily impact the value the merchandise could be sold for. Often, these rather expensive products are packed in the OEM-branded box. And a re-pack is normally not possible as the original boxes are at the OEM site. Corrosion Mould and mildew Peeling labels Damaged packaging Collapsed packaging Bad or changed smell Our solutions Like garments, these products are often protected by in-box desiccants – often a silica gel sachet inside the box. Or wrapped in expensive VCI solutions. In our mind, there is a much better solution: the packed products do not release moisture themselves, so we suggest protecting the container environment instead. Metal / Raw material Common damage Products in these industries have one thing in common – they are bulky, and therefore the containers will contain a lot of free air. This free air can hold a lot of moisture that eventually can condensate and create ‘container rain’. Whether the cause is high relative humidity and/or ‘container rain’, the shipping environment creates a high risk of corrosion. Corrosion Damaged packaging Collapsed packaging Peeling labels Our solutions This industry is aware of the problems, and traditionally the solution has been oiling, applying expensive surface treatments and/or applying VCI technology. We have a better solution in terms of protection, costs and the environment – container desiccants. Packaging / Paper / Wood Common damage Products in this industry are hygroscopic by nature. In fact, they absorb moisture and that is the root cause for moisture problems such as mould, warping, bad smells, damaged packaging, etc. Mould and mildew Bad or changed smell Warped Collapsed packaging Peeling labels Damaged packaging Our solutions First, the avoidable excess moisture source should be located and eliminated or reduced. Use e.g., POMM – 1. AUDIT. Secondly, absorb moisture entering the container by installing container desiccants. Pharma Common damage This industry is characterized by having expensive and sensitive products packed in boxes with a strong brand image. Which are strong arguments for having solid moisture damage protection in place to avoid mould, bad smells, peeling labels or damaged boxes. Peeling labels Damaged packaging Collapsed packaging Bad or changed smell Mould and mildew Our solutions Our solution has the target of ensuring the products will arrive in the same condition they were loaded. In general, these products do not release moisture themselves. Moisture damage prevention should therefore be focused on taking care of excess moisture entering the shipping container. Often, pharma products are shipped in refrigerated containers or reefers as temperature control is needed for product quality. But this needs to be complemented by desiccants to take care of excess moisture entering the shipping container. However, at other times, the products do not need temperature control and reefer shipping becomes an expensive solution. The alternative is shipping in ‘normal’ containers protected by desiccants – a cost-efficient and flexible solution as availability of reefer containers is limited. Retail / DIY Common damage Like in many other industries, the packaging is part of the product the consumer buys. Boxes are exposed on shop shelves and, if not in good shape, they may be sold at a discount. Or worse, they need to be scrapped. And, apart from the box becoming mouldy or otherwise damaged, the product itself could be corroded. Mould and mildew Corrosion Bad or changed smell Peeling labels Damaged packaging Collapsed packaging Our solutions In general, these products will not release moisture during shipping. Therefore, there is no real need to absorb moisture inside boxes. However, the products inside the boxes must be protected from the moisture entering the container during shipping. Our solution is to put in place a strong container desiccant solution. These desiccants will absorb the damaging moisture in the container, thus there will be no moisture to enter the product boxes. Further, the often-used silica bag inside the box can be removed, thus not reaching the consumer.
