Periodic Reporting for period 1 - 4FOLD (4FOLD Reduction of the International Transport of Empty Containers by Folding) Reporting period: 2014-10-01 to 2015-03-31 Summary of the context and overall objectives of the project Context: €25 billion a year is spent on repositioning empty containers. The proposed solution is the 4FOLD foldable container. A bundle of four folded 4FOLD’s has the same dimension as one standard container, reducing empty transport movements and emissions up to 75%. Objective: Assess the feasibility of a successful market introduction of the 4FOLD container in Europe and convert the findings into a detailed market implementation roadmap. Work performed from the beginning of the project to the end of the period covered by the report and main results achieved so far Feasibility Study: • Task1 Technical feasibility of commercial production of the 4FOLD; HCI worked out an assembly plan for production and a maintenance plan for operations. These plans have led to a drastic reduction in cost price.• Task2 Commercial feasibility of sales of the 4FOLD; Based on discussions with several prospects HCI created a mathematical tool (http://www.hcinnovations.nl/calculate.php) to calculate the savings, and developed a business model to speed up market introduction.• Task3 European consortium for market launch; during the project, HCI spoke to a lot of market parties and created a list with over 50 prospects/potential partners, from different market segments.• Task4 Business plan; Together with the SME coach, HCI developed a business plan, in which a roadmap is implemented on how to become a success in the European market within 3 years. Progress beyond the state of the art and expected potential impact (including the socio-economic impact and the wider societal implications of the project so far) Lower costs resulting in higher marginsA calculation tool is online, prospects can use their own data to fill in the tool and directly see savings to be made by using 4FOLD. Results show a possible increase of the European container users’ profit margin and also a reduction in carbon footprint.New prospects/partnersSeveral European parties would like to cooperate with HCI in a consortium to set up trials with 4FOLD. Market implementation plan• Better understanding of clients' needs; HCI developed a marketing plan tailored for the conservative container industry. • Better knowledge about marketing methods; HCI created a model for easily quantifying benefits of using 4FOLD.• Better understanding of technical issues; Plan is made for efficiency and ease of maintenance. 4Fold project image of a bundle of four folded 4FOLD’s 4Fold project image of the 4Fold container 4Fold project image pilot 4Fold container 4Fold project image demonstration of the 4Fold container
