‘Icon’ targets intermodal market
By JOY BROWN | STAFF WRITER | Original Article from The Courier
Debuting publicly on Monday at a Florida trade show is a 53-foot metal behemoth, built in Findlay, that makers hope will revolutionize freight transportation.
Designed by Eric Schubert, founder and vice president of business development for Transglobal Container LLC, and crafted by workers at Findlay Machine and Tool, the prototype, called “Icon,” is a single-unit container and chassis for intermodal industry use.
The industry, which transports goods via ships, trucks and rail, primarily relies on chassis that are separate from the large containers that carry goods. But changes are in the works for 53-foot chassis, the largest on the market and only used in North America, due to ramped-up regulations and other costly factors.
Schubert said a year ago, a federal law was enacted requiring that all intermodal chassis undergo rigorous and regular certification, to ensure safe road travel.
But Schubert said the vast majority of chassis used in the United States originate from China, where they are built cheaply and have limited durability.
The law is therefore placing a hardship on the trucking industry, and pushing the additional chassis certification and repair costs onto consumers, Schubert said.
The Icon’s new intermodal design takes “the chassis issue out of the equation by melding it to the container,” Schubert said.
An additional axle makes the unit stronger, use of weathering steel combats rust damage, and an air ride rather than hydraulic suspension gives cargo a smoother ride, he said.
It can haul more freight by weight and volume than what’s now available, and can be triple-stacked.
Schubert said the Icon can be unloaded at a port, and a semi can back up to it, hook up and pull away, all in less than a minute.
If adopted industrywide, it would eliminate the need for transportation companies to have their own crews for chassis maintenance and management.
Schubert envisions “different future versions of the container,” such as refrigerated or climate-controlled units, and others for hauling grain and autos.
The Icon could also have applications for the military and disaster relief, he said.
The Toledo-Lucas County Port Authority is interested in the Icon, Schubert said. Other companies in Ohio and elsewhere also have their eye on the product, he said, and contracts are being discussed.
“This could potentially be a game-changer,” said Joe Cappel, Toledo-Lucas County Port Authority’s cargo development director. “I think it’s a great idea. It’s a much simpler concept and it makes you wonder, ‘why hasn’t anyone thought of this before?’” he said.
Cappel said he’s also impressed by the Icon’s compartmentalization capabilities. “Ports are very pressed for space. If you can reduce the amount of space that’s required to store and move cargo through, that’s a good thing.
“We’re trying to modernize the port of Toledo. We’ve received about $35 million in grant funding to improve our facilities and acquire state-of-the-art equipment. So this is right in line with what we’re doing,” Cappel said.
Findlay and Ohio have provided Schubert with vital start-up support. Schubert, a Michigan resident, said he had no luck drumming up interest in his home state.
Northwest Ohio’s Regional Growth Partnership, through its Rocket Ventures program, granted Schubert $33,000 to plan and develop the product, and professional connections hooked him up with Findlay Machine & Tool.
“Michigan said ‘no.’ Findlay said ‘yes,’” said Kolleen Kirk Rill, Findlay Machine & Tool president.
“This project really captures the kind of entrepreneurial spirit we have here,” said Rill. “Our engineering staff has been very involved, making design changes on the fly. It’s been fun to watch our work force be energized by a new idea, a new product. We’ve never had something on the floor like this before.”
Rill said everyone involved has also made an effort to make the product “as local as possible” by using resources from Ohio. For instance, PPG’s marine coatings division in Strongsville provided protective material, and AR Marketing in Findlay is assisting with branding and promotion.
Rill also pointed out the regional timeliness of the product: an intermodal rail yard that CSX Railroad is building west of North Baltimore is expected to start operating next year.
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