DoKaSch Temperature Solutions and Japan Airlines (JAL) have signed a new Master Rental Agreement (MRA) for the usage of the Opticooler as part of the carrier’s cool service.

DoKaSch and JAL said the rental agreement will help meet the country’s growing needs for a safe and reliable air cargo cold chain. Japan Airlines said its hub at Narita International Airport handles about 60 percent of the country’s imported pharma products, and the new MRA with DoKaSch enables the carrier to strengthen its cool chain capacity with highly reliable packaging solutions.

The Opticooler is a temperature-controlled packaging solution that comes in two sizes: the RAP container hold up to five euro-pallets, while the smaller RKN version provides space for one euro-pallet.

Both active containers are battery-powered, and since they only require a power socket to be charged, they can easily be used as temporary storage when the necessary cool infrastructure is lacking. This makes them the ideal solution for the safe transport of highly sensitive pharmaceutical products which need to be protected from temperature deviations at all times.

Kiyoaki Yasui from Cold Chain Logistics Team of Japan Airlines said the airline has been focused on strengthening the cool chain within its network given how crucial the supply of lifesaving medicines is. JAL’s intercontinental network connects Japan with major hubs in Europe, North America, China, Southeast Asia and Australia.