April 22, 2022
What Makes Flexitanks A Better Investment For Wine Transportation
Flexible tanks (flexitanks) have become the go-to transportation option in the wine industry for the bulk transport of wine. As a superior alternative to ISO tankers, flexitank transportation is incredibly versatile and offers numerous significant advantages to ensure the fast and safe transportation of wine across long distances.
We’ll cover the various challenges winemakers and manufacturers face when transporting wine and why flexitank transportation makes an excellent investment as the better transport solution below.
Problems in Wine Storage and Transportation
Wine is an incredibly sensitive product. Because of this, winemakers and transporters often run into various problems when transporting wine, which impacts the quality and integrity of the product.
Some of these problems include:
- Temperature Fluctuations: Thermal fluctuations during transport, especially when extreme heat is present, can destroy the wine. When exposed to high temperatures, the wine will cook, eliminating its acidity and fruitiness. In some cases, bottled wines may oxidize and push the cork out of the bottle. Once that occurs, the wine becomes undrinkable.
- Presence of Contaminants: During transport in ISO tanks, the wine may be contaminated by taint and other contaminants left behind by previous shipments. Exposure to such contaminants can threaten the integrity of the wine, altering its flavor or making it unsafe for consumption.
- Oxidation: Scuffed labels, damaged corks, and loose seals can expose the wine to atmospheric oxygen. When that happens, oxidation occurs and flattens the wine, losing its flavor and aroma.
- Inadequate Space: Traditional transport limits the amount of wine transported per shipment. The wine itself is heavy, and the packaging and pallets further add to the weight of each shipment. This creates two distinct challenges: the bulkiness of the load limits the tonnage in twenty-foot containers, while road weight allowances limit the payload in forty-foot containers.
Advantages of Flexitank Transportation
The advent of bulk shipping allows shippers to address the everyday challenges of wine transport by shipping the wine itself in large containers. Flexitank transportation presents a more flexible and cost-effective bulk shipment option from ISO containers. Other advantages include:
Material Compatibility with Tank Walls
The interior of a flexitank container is made from numerous layers of polyethylene. This creates an effective container for the transport of wine while minimizing reactions with the tank wall, preserving the quality of the wine.
High Capacity For Bulk Wine Transport
As previously mentioned, the transportation of wine in bottles is incredibly heavy and bulky when accounting for the weight of the wine, packaging, crates, and palettes. This limits the amount of wine that can be transported during each shipment.
But the bulk transport of wine eliminates the capacity issue as one flexitank container can safely hold up to 24,000 liters of wine, equivalent to 30,000 bottles of wine.
Greater Temperature Control
The flexitank Wine Pac, a flexitank container made specifically for bulk wine transport, keeps the temperature inside the tank stable.
The inside environment of the container lessens the amount of friction inside, which protects the wine from temperature fluctuations during transport, preserving the wine’s shelf life and quality.
No Cross-Contamination
One source of contamination issues in the bulk transport of liquids is the improper cleaning and sterilization of tanks. When the tanks are then reused, the residue inside the tank contaminates the liquid being transported, ruining the entire shipment.
But because flexitanks are designed for single usage, all cross-contamination issues are eliminated. Once the wine is transported to its destination, the flexitank container can be discarded safely or recycled, preventing further use and eliminating any chance of contaminating future shipments.
Reduced Transportation Costs
Using a flexitank is a cost-effective way to transport wine across long distances due to several reasons. First, the flexitank container itself is made of cost-effective materials compared to other bulk transport options. And as previously mentioned, they can transport up to 24,000 liters of wine in a single shipment, cutting the number of trips considerably.
Another reason for its cost-effectiveness is the efficiency of loading and unloading wine during transport. In addition, it is not labor-intensive and does not require the use of special equipment like cranes, which lessens labor and handling costs.
Furthermore, flexitanks do not need to be cleaned because they are recycled after each shipment, eliminating sanitation costs. Ultimately, the bulk transport of wine using flexitanks reduces the overall cost of operations, which can be especially advantageous when dealing with international markets, making it a worthwhile investment.
Efficient Wine Transport Solutions by Kan-Haul
Kan-Haul is an industry leader in providing bulk transportation solutions for the wine industry.
For the efficient flexitank transportation of wine, give Kan-Haul a call today! With decades-long experience in transport and logistics, Kan-Haul offers a reliable, cost-effective wine transport option for your business.
Learn more about our Flexitank Transportation Services to see how our reliable transport solutions can help you.
