Through the Years - Thermo King in the Media

In its heyday the Saturday Evening Post was one of the most popular and widely read magazines in the United States, if not the world. So when the publication ran a feature article May 7, 1948, on Fred Jones, it was recognition not only of his fascinating life, but also the importance of Joe Numero's young U.S. Thermo Control Company – later to be renamed Thermo King Corporation.

Jones, a self-taught inventive genius whose formal schooling ended in the sixth grade, was Numero's valued associate. Jones was largely responsible for developing the gasoline-powered automatic refrigerators that now keep thousands of tons of food fresh on long truck hauls from farm to packing house to consumer," wrote the Saturday Evening Post 50 years ago. "The cargoes they protect range from frozen fruits to beer, baby chicks and honeybees."

Then as today, the general public might not have totally appreciated the significance of the new industry founded in 1938. But related industries (trucking, food growers, frozen food processors, supermarkets) well understood the impact that transport refrigeration would have on their growth.

In a touching ceremony at the White House on Sept. 16, 1991, Numero and Jones were honored posthumously – Numero had died earlier in 1991 and Jones long before in 1961 – for revolutionizing the transportation of perishable products. Their widows each accepted the National Medal of Technology, the highest award for technological achievement, presented by President George Bush.

Thermo King continued to build on the foundation of innovation and ingenuity that characterized its inception. But success did not come easily. In 1939, the company sold just 33 units, recalled Mike Green, Thermo King's first salesman and the company's second president, in an interview for the July 1963 issue of UpFront, the Thermo King dealer publication.

"We rebuilt those units four times before they would stay together," said Green.

For a long period the salaries of Numero and Green were $8 to $10 a week. They were drawing $100 a month during World War II, when Thermo King was manufacturing a variety of products for the government: warehouse refrigerators; air conditioners for hospital planes; coolers for B-29 bomber engines; and lightweight portable refrigerators that could be delivered by glider or dropped by parachute.

After the war, the pioneer transport refrigeration manufacturer resumed leadership in its own industry. The "firsts" continued, such as the automatic start-stop generator for gas-powered systems, a feature of the Model D that was built after World War II; the solid state thermostat; automatic defrost; and training programs.

The first-of-its-kind training program grew into the most advanced education and training schools in the industry and was duly recognized for its importance. Dairy Foods in its April 1992 issue announced, "Thermo King has recorded a statistical milestone with the graduation of the 25,000th technician attending the transport refrigeration manufacturer's training center for users and dealers." Since that report, the total has risen to more than 35,000 graduates.

Just as educational capabilities evolved, so did products to meet customers' performance demands.

The industry's first diesel-powered unit, the Model NWD, was introduced by Thermo King in the early 1960s. The NWD led to the Super NWD and ultimately in various developmental stages to today's Super II and SB-III Smart Reefers. Modern diesel systems were equipped with the Cycle-Sentry that emulated the success of start-stop technology for gas-powered units. In November 1986, Heavy Duty Trucking wrote about a fleet whose annual fuel savings with Cycle-Sentry operation was at least $1,200 per unit" as compared to continuous-running equipment, "and reduced operating times also lead to additional savings by extending both maintenance intervals and component life."

The sophisticated microprocessor controls of trailer and truck Smart Reefers are the descendants of earlier research and testing. This was how the potential value of the Thermoguard (P IV microprocessor was described in the February 1992 issue of Refrigerated Transporter: "Imagine the impact on medical expenses if patients could diagnose themselves and doctors merely prescribed remedies. The same benefits can accrue to fleet operators if mechanics spend all their time fixing problems rather than looking for the cause of problems."

Product innovation has continued throughout the 1990s. "Thermo King Achieves Breakthrough in Truck Refrigeration" was the headline in the January 1998 Fleet Equipment about the XDS SR with unique scroll compressor rather than the conventional reciprocating compressor." The same publication, and many others, also wrote extensively about Thermo King's new Whisper Edition, the transport refrigeration system that is 87 percent quieter than competitive units.

This concern for noise pollution and the environment is hardly new. Thermo King, for example, was the first manufacturer in the industry to use chlorine-free refrigerants that do not deplete ozone from the atmosphere. Such leadership "characterizes our position and responsibilities as the world leader in our industry," said Jim Watson, who is only the fifth president in the history of Thermo King Corporation.

"We will continue to use our imagination and resources in all that we do," said Watson, "from manufacturing the best products to providing the best service through our unmatched dealer organization to helping make this a better world for everyone."