New container designs expand intermodal uses

Translog: Journal of Military Transportation Management, Jan-Feb, 2003 by John Randt

Arrayed outside a Greensboro, N.C., hotel, the miniature-looking containers appear strangely out-of-place.

The intermodal creations are the work of Charleston Marine Containers, Inc., of Charleston, S.C.

The tan and green modular forms are actually container sections that, when coupled together, form a standard 20-foot shipping container. They were located outside the 2002 National Defense Transportation Association exhibit area, Sept. 30-Oct. 1, near the front door of the Sheraton Greensboro Hotel at Four Seasons.

The intermodal containers are the Tricon and the Quadcon, said Phil Moore, director of programs, for the container firm.

"We got some of the ideas from Desert Storm," said Moore. "With a standard container, a military unit might have to unload the entire container to get to equipment located in the back."

The container designs provide intermodal transportability ease and customer utility, said Moore. Sturdily constructed, the metal structures are designed to carry military cargoes across the breadth of the world.

The firm is currently producing 18 Tricons a day for the Army's Tank & Automotive Command, said Moore. The containers are being used for unit equipment stored with vehicular equipment.

* The Tricon is a 6.5-by-8-foot container section, that when coupled together with two identical units, forms a standard 20-foot intermodal shipping container. Each section has a volume of 346 cubic feet and a weight capacity of 12,300 pounds. The sections are bonded together mechanically via the firm's unique sealock connectors.

Charleston Marine Containers is now building 27 Quadcon containers a day, said Moore. Military units, down to a company-size level, are using the Tricon for organizational equipment.

* The Quadcon is a 5-by-8-foot container section. When bonded together with three identical units, the Quadcon forms a standard 20-foot intermodal shipping container. Each section has a volume of 215 cubic feet and a weight capacity of 9,400 pounds. The sections are bonded using the same sealock connectors.

"The genius of these systems is that when separated, each can be handled by standard material handling equipment," said Moore. "This eases the speed and adaptability of transportation and use."

The containers are fully intermodal, he said.

Using the firm's LandSeaAdapter, the Tricon and Quadcon containers may be quickly modified to air transport.

"The adapter fits into the corner fittings of the container, eliminating the need for 463L pallets and chains," said Moore. "The adapters are small and light, and are shipped within the container to allow full intermodal use."

Inspectors of the displayed equipment included Col. Michael Toal, a former MTMC commander of Military Ocean Terminal Sunny Point in 1997-1999.

"You don't have intermodal until it will go on an aircraft," said Toal, who now serves as director of combat developments at Combined Arms Support Command, Fort Lee, Va.

"Whoosh--throughput. I want something to flow from an airplane to a truck and it gets there."

Toal said he was "very impressed" with the modular container sections.

"The inside configuration is ready to go," said Toal. "It's set up for the ultimate end user. It's all about speed and throughput."

The members of MTMC's 841st Transportation Battalion have visited the firm's facility in the old Charleston Naval Yard, as part of the unit's professional development program.