4FOLD Reduction of the International Transport of Empty Containers by Folding

Project Information

4FOLD

Grant agreement ID: 650677

DOI

10.3030/650677

Project closed

EC signature date 30 September 2014

Start date 1 October 2014

End date 31 March 2015

Funded under

• SOCIETAL CHALLENGES - Smart, Green And Integrated Transport

Total cost

€ 71 429,00

EU contribution

€ 50 000,00

Coordinated by

HOLLAND CONTAINER INNOVATIONS NEDERLAND B.V.
Netherlands

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 margins
A 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/partners
Several 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