Kodiak Thermal Technologies, Inc.

Whether the product is being shipped in the freezing winter, the scorching summer, internationally, or from a freezer to the tarmac to a warehouse, the ambient shipping environment is uncontrollable. Inadequate thermal packaging and inevitable delays in the logistic chain are the main culprits of temperature abuse which damage valuable temperature sensitive products. However, Kodiak Thermal Technologies, Inc. (Kodiak) provides a solution that completes the broken link in the cold chain shipping system. Kodiak products ensure that the internal temperature of the container remains within customer specifications, regardless of external ambient conditions for up to 5 days.

In addition to Kodiak containers ensuring the quality and integrity of your products, you can feel confident that your brand equity is protected. Pharmaceuticals save lives. Kodiak saves Pharmaceuticals.

The Kodiak Advantage

There are countless mentions within FDA and other regulatory agency’s documentation referencing ensuring the “identity, strength, quality, integrity and purity” of products until they reach their destination -- be it the consumer or a test lab. Kodiak’s approach provides the innovative solution for the movement of temperature sensitive products through the inherently unreliable “cold chain.”

We are all familiar with and entrenched in the current industry standards. Cold Chain shipping products have lagged in applying today’s technology to improve the shipping environment for temperature sensitive products. The industry standard is and will continue to rise due to tighter regulation, tampering concerns and the need to ensure product integrity. Just as the telephone and computer were once considered niche products for just a few, the Kodiak is creating a similar paradigm shift in the Cold Chain Shipping Industry. Current shipping methods primarily employ passive insulated boxes, requiring complex handling of dry ice, wet ice or frozen gel packs. These methods provide inadequate control and complicated pack-out protocols. Furthermore, with limited hold-time (generally 36 hours), these containers usually require expensive overnight shipping.

Kodiak provides patented cold chain shipping containers that are more reliable, durable and cost effective than traditional disposable cold chain packaging. While each Kodiak is the result of thousands of hours of R&D, numerous prototypes and countless testing, the final solution is relatively simple: a durable, lockable shell; extreme insulation; and a thermal regulation system that senses internal temperature and adjusts the temperature accordingly, reducing temperature variation and holding stratification to approximately 1.5°C anywhere in the container. Add to that, in-transit temperature monitoring and optional downloadable data and reports, and you see how the cold chain becomes considerably more controllable.
Because Kodiak’s proprietary thermal management system ensures that the internal temperature of the container remains within customer specifications, regardless of external ambient conditions for up to 5 days, your shipping week and transportation options expands drastically. For example, instead of only shipping during the early part of the week, you can now ship on Friday and know that the Kodiak would maintain the integrity of the product until its delivery on Monday. This makes ground transportation a viable option for temperature sensitive cargos and makes those dreaded custom waits less of a hazard to the products efficacy.

Temperature sensitive goods from blood products to biologicals are vulnerable to temperature deviations during the distribution process that impact their efficacy. Vital to ensuring that temperature sensitive goods arrive at their destination fit for use, it is absolutely essential for the recipient to know whether or not the contents have been thermally compromised during shipment. Kodiak has addressed this challenge by incorporating a built in data logging capability in the Kodiak. This feature is called the Data Acquisition and Recording System (DARS). The DARS acquires both internal and external temperature data from on board sensors. The data is then recorded into memory. This addresses a concern presented to manufacturers, “Temperature excursions based on stability data for each product must be readily available to distribution staff.”1 At the end of the shipment the recipient can determine from a display externally mounted on the container if an out of spec condition occurred during shipment without ever having to open the container. Recorded data may also be down loaded onto a PC or laptop computer.

Since the patented thermal management system is housed in the lid of the container, all of the container’s cargo area is available for use. The Kodiak will generally hold 3 to 4 times more payload compared to a foam insulated container with the same external cubic dimensions. The container does not require the addition of thermal mass, and requires no power to operate. Since there is no requirement for a power source, the Kodiak is ideal for shipping and storing vaccines and other medical products to a disaster or remote area.

The container’s footprint has been designed to be stackable and to accommodate maximum use of a pallet. The lids are securely fastened to the container with cam latches equipped for locks or tamper evident seals to protect the contents during transit. Furthermore, the DARS reflects lid openings via the sudden change in internal temperature. Therefore, the time and duration of an unauthorized lid opening can be easily determined. Additionally, the reusable Kodiak addresses environmental issues as no recycling or disposal of boxes or gel packs is needed. This durable container has been UN tested to withstand the impacts from daily transit in the cold chain system. Furthermore, the Kodiak has been tested and validated by independent third parties and numerous other Life Science, Pharmaceutical and BioPharmaceutical companies.

The extended 5 day hold-time of a Kodiak container is made possible through a combination of a patented Thermal Regulating Unit, a Thermal Switch, a Thermal Shield and high performance Vacuum Insulation technology. It is not ice, dry ice or gel packs but a thermal regulator in the lid that accounts for the superior hold time of the Kodiak. This technology enables the containers to withstand the extreme variations in ambient temperature. So how does it work?

Innovative Shipping Container Technology

Thermal Regulating Unit (TRU)
The Thermal Regulating Unit maintains consistent, accurate internal temperatures. Kodiak’s patented thermal regulating unit inside the container’s lid controls the internal temperature of the payload, thus there is no need for adding gel packs to the payload area. This allows you to fully utilize the entire available cargo space of our 36 liter units and 11 liter units. Additionally, labor and packaging costs are reduced because less effort is needed to pack the product and it saves money that would otherwise be spent on refrigerant materials that are often lost, damaged or discarded. Overall operational costs can be reduced by using the Kodiak -- customers will have fewer returns and losses due to spoilage, expanded transportation options to 2nd and 3rd day shipping, increased operating efficiency, and higher customer satisfaction. It is a win win situation.

Thermal Switch
The Kodiak lid, containing phase change refrigerant and the patented temperature-regulating Thermal Switch, is frozen in a standard commercial freezer. The Kodiak container is packed with product, and the lid is closed. It's ready to go. A built-in temperature monitor records ambient and internal temperatures throughout the shipment. When internal temperatures rise above the mid-point of the specified temperature spectrum, Kodiak’s patented Thermal Switch connects the frozen refrigerant to the patented Thermal Shield surrounding the payload and cools the interior. When the internal temperature falls below the mid-point of the specified temperature spectrum, the system isolates the payload from the refrigerant and the cooling stops. Temperature information is recorded throughout the shipment. Later it is summarized in quality assurance reports that can be downloaded or made available to the shipper online. Passive containers have difficulty regulating temperature during shipment, leaving your product at the mercy of the elements. Kodiak’s temperature-regulating technology responds to any ambient temperature variance, maintaining internal temperatures for the duration of the shipment.

Thermal Shield
When shipping temperature sensitive products, it is also important to minimize the temperature variances within the shipping container. The products at the bottom of the cargo area need to be as well protected as the product in the middle or top. Kodiak's designers solved this problem by creating an aluminum envelope around the entire payload area that seals against the convection plate on the bottom of the thermal-regulating lid when the lid is closed and locked into place. This patented technology reduces the temperature stratification between the top and the bottom of the cargo area to within 1.5 C by allowing uniform heat absorption throughout the entire cargo area. Corners, top, bottom...they are all protected by Kodiak's Thermal Shield technology.

Vacuum Insulated Panels
Kodiak’s extended thermal life technology is aided by using the most efficient insulation available. Vacuum Insulation Panels (VIP) are 10 times more efficient than styrene foam.
Kodiak uses this proprietary technology to create the least heat-leak possible with VIP's. The Kodiak containers are able to achieve an R Factor of 40. Compare that to the standard Styrofoam container that has an R Factor of 4 to 5 per inch. In combination with the Thermal Shield, the result is a thermal absorption resistant container that exceeds all other non-powered shipping units.

Container Solutions

While all the Kodiak containers apply state of the art technology, one of the following three containers may suit your needs the best.

Kodiak R36
The Kodiak R36 as mentioned above provides a cargo space of 36 liters. The primary temperature shipping range of the R36 is 2º – 8º C. Whether you are shipping or storing medicines, blood products, or other pharmaceuticals the patented temperature-regulating system yields 5-day hold times at an average ambient temperature of 25ºC, with minimal temperature stratification. There is no external power source required and no need for gel packs. The R36 can be used for shipping over a 5-day duration or if needed in a disaster area where there is no power will hold temperature. The R36 is a durable, reusable container that protects products and addresses environmental issues—no recycling or disposal necessary. Temperature monitoring of each shipment allows permanent records for audits and downloadable trip information is immediately available from on-board monitors. The Kodiak R36 far exceeds the performance of other cold chain shipping containers. You can be assured your product will meet regulation standards and maintain its “identity, strength, quality, integrity and purity” when shipped in a Kodiak R36.

Kodiak R11
The Kodiak R11 has all the thermal regulating technology of its big brother, the R36, but in a more compact, easy to handle design. The rugged industry standard ATA style case ensures that you can reuse your Kodiak container over 100 times thus reducing your amortized cost per shipment. The R11 is our most requested product to ship test samples, vaccines and tissue products that require less cargo space than the R36. The R11 has also been designed to be stackable on both US and European pallets.

Kodiak D36
Kodiak has a dry-ice container that significantly reduces the amount of dry-ice needed per shipping day and protects the receiver. Due to its super insulation, it requires much less dry ice per day than conventional containers. The Kodiak D36 has a dry ice sublimation rate of approximately 4 lbs per day. The D36 will maintain temperatures below -22° C for up to 5 days based on the amount of dry ice. The D36 has a small corrugated box in the payload area where the dry-ice is stored. The cargo area is just under 32 liter. As with the other Kodiak containers, no external power source required—unit is completely self-contained.

Kodiak Benefits

In today’s world of rising costs, tighter regulation, and higher performance expectations, Kodiak Thermal Technologies, Inc. not only repairs the broken link in the cold chain shipping system, but does so in an economical fashion. Through a combination of reduction in packaging materials, lower shipping costs by use of 2nd and 3rd day transportation, labor savings, decreased spoilage, elimination of disposal costs and added security to prevent tampering, the Kodiak provides a substantial cost savings. In addition to the economical value added, customers receive higher satisfaction and quality control methods. You can be assured your brand equity is protected.

Kodiak’s overall solution is revolutionizing the cold chain system in terms of shipping options, cost savings, reliability, and higher standards to provide not only the type of data the FDA requires but also ensures that the “identity, strength, quality, integrity and purity” of your product is protected from temperature abuse to guarantee the quality control you need. Through advanced technologies, Kodiak provides the most reliable products available at unmatched value. To learn more about the Kodiak, please visit our website, www.gokodiak.com or call Harry Smith at 713-686-1553, extension 15