Staxxon designs foldable multimodal shipping containers, a solution designed to address the “empty run” situation where empty containers clog ports and hurt supplies
George Kochanowski is the CEO of Staxxon, a company that has created a new breakthrough by designing foldable shipping containers that resemble accordian and can be stacked on board ships or at ports to reduce congestion, delays and carbon emissions.
He received a bachelor’s degree in Chemical Engineering from Brooklyn Polytechnic Institute and several graduate studies in Business at Northwestern University (USA). He invented all-plastic, reflective traffic signs, and received the Plastic Product of the Year award in 1998. As Director of Process Control for GE Plastics, George Kochanowski also received leadership awards for state-of-the-art computer control systems and networks at GE’s facility in Alabama.
George Kochanowski has held senior corporate leadership positions with public and private companies ranging from electromagnetics to advanced composites.
“We design foldable multimodal shipping containers that exceed ISO and CSC standards, and have the systems necessary to safely and quickly stack them upright in bundles. We are in the process of developing a network of fabricators in Europe and North America to produce our assemblies,” said George Kochanowski.
What causes “empty run”? Empty containers clog roads and piers, congesting ports and leaving little room for unloading. This then forces more ships to wait offshore, wasting resources and slowing down the supply chain. The problem only disappeared when the ships went out to sea.
Unfortunately, due to global import and export imbalances, “empty cargo” – when delivered to the terminals – causes port congestion, according to George Kochanowski. This has a domino effect, as they need to be temporarily stored on their frames at storage facilities off the terminal, reducing frame availability. (Chassis is a trailer or undercarriage used to transport containers at sea by road). This “congestion” then leaves exporters starving for empty goods, which arrive at the wrong place and at the wrong time.
The environmental cost is very high per move, as every non-manufacturing activity is handled by fossil fuel-powered equipment. As the world enters a “post-pandemic” period where there will be less commercial activity – port productivity will increase. However, this increase will come at a cost, as labor and fuel costs have skyrocketed, under the influence of global inflation. The cost of repositioning empty products is more expensive than ever – and it costs more to not move anything around.
According to George Kochanowski, multimodal shipping containers have been around for 70 years. Over the years, it has been refined, but the cost of ownership has increased. For example, this year, the annual operating price ranged from $25,000 to $40,000 to reposition an empty container. Those costs are primarily labor, fuel, and land use, and all increase with inflation.
Over the past 50 years, the repositioning of empty containers has had a negative financial and environmental impact. During this time, the only folding method was a technology whereby the end walls collapsed to the floor. Unfortunately, the cost of ownership is too high and many design limitations have not been overcome. In the end, collapsible units attracted little interest.
Staxxon approaches the problem differently. A Staxxon box that folds like an accordion. “We always keep the box upright even when folded. This gives the ability to stack the bundles anywhere on board.” “Additionally, you don’t have to wait for a large number of collapsible containers to be nested to meet required ISO size standards, saving space at ports, reducing the need for temporary external storage. beyond the terminal and free up multiple chassis”. he continued.
With the number of trips now reduced, the use of fossil fuel-powered vehicles and pollution has decreased significantly. The goal of Staxxon containers is to generate ROI while reducing environmental impact.
George Kochanowski said: “I benefited from working for GE Plastics when Jack Welch was running GE, and many years later I ran a premium composites company for Dr. Walt. Robb, who was Welch’s close advisor and confidant when Robb was at GE. While not without fault, the two are always inspirational when they’re together.”
Best advice ever received? For George Kochanowski, the job isn’t done until the right people do it.
Source: https://vlr.vn/
