Custom transport containers carry giant pandas to Chengdu, China

Linda Casey -- Packaging Digest, 2/4/2010 5:30:38 PM

Two giant pandas journeyed from Washington's Dulles International Airport to Chengdu, China, in transport containers custom manufactured by Chick Packaging, an international supplier of packaging and manufacturing logistics solutions.

On Feb. 4, 2010, FedEx Express flew the pandas, Tai Shan, a 4-and-a-half-year-old male panda born at the Smithsonian's National Zoo in Washington, D.C., and Mei Lan, a 3-year old female panda born at Zoo Atlanta, in two half-ton containers featuring sliding doors that reveal .375-in. polycarbonate Lexan. The windows are designed to let in natural light and to allow the bears to see each other during transport; each container is coated in a food-grade epoxy used for industrial food equipment; and water can be provided for Tai Shan and Mei Lan easily without opening the cage.

. Stock photo: stock.xchng/Alexander WarnolfIn 2000, Chick Packaging produced the original transport containers that were used to transport Tai Shan's parents from China to Washington's D.C.'s National Zoo. "Chick Companies has a long history of developing innovative packaging solutions for rare and delicate cargo and is privileged to serve as a trusted partner to many global OEMs and their most demanding applications," said Ken Wilson, president of Chick Packaging Group. "Chick Industrial Services, [a subsidiary of Chick Packaging] is proud to partner with FedEx Express in designing and manufacturing transport containers for these rare pandas."