Ripening rooms are an important business decision as well as a major infrastructure investment, and no one understands that better than Thermal Technologies. Having installed rooms for leading retail chains, wholesalers and growers worldwide for nearly 30 years, we know how important ripening room are to the long term success of each and every client we serve.

Based on this experience, we’ve found that it typically makes the best business sense to install rooms once banana or other individual fruit volumes reach or exceed 60 pallets (3 shipping containers) per week – or on rare occasions when supply chain issues dictate the necessity to be in control of the ripening process at lower levels. 60 pallets per week provides a good minimum volume for a successful and profitable multi-room ripening program following industry standard shipping protocols.

Ripening room capacities are typically designed around shipping container volumes in 20 pallet (one shipping container) or 40 pallet (two shipping container) capacities featuring 2 or 3 levels or “tiers”.

The most common TarpLess^® SX room configurations are:

BANANAS
For bananas, a single ripening room is not enough to operate a successful ripening program. For example: to ship out 10 pallets ripened to the same color 7 days a week, a minimum of (3) 20 pallet rooms with dual-temp zones would be required (see chart below).

A Typical 5/6-Day Banana Program* using 3 Dual-Temp, 20 Pallet Rooms, Shipping 10 Pallets Daily
*Graph for illustration purposes only. Actual ripening/shipping cycles vary widely by facility and program.

In this example, room 1 is gassing today, Room 2 was gassed two days ago and Room 3 is shipping today. Dual-temp zones allow each half of the room to ripen at two different speeds allowing you to ship half the room at same color on 2 consecutive days (or at two different colors on the same day).

Using the example above, one 20 pallet dual-temp room would provide 10 pallets of ripened fruit ready for shipping on 2 consecutive days per week. Therefore, to operate a successful program shipping 6-7 days per week, 3 dual-temp rooms would be the minimum number required.

AVOCADOS, PEARS AND STONE FRUIT
For commodities such as avocados, pears and stone fruit, which can be ripened, held in cold storage and shipped out over a period of days, one ripening room in concert with proper cold storage is sufficient for a simplified program. However, a second backup room is always highly recommended.

Most ripening rooms are designed specifically for bananas, the world’s most popular and widely consumed fruit. However, rooms can also be designed with multi-fruit capability to ripen bananas as well other commodities including avocados, pears, plantains and mangoes.

If you’re ripening more than 60 pallets or 3 shipping containers per week, we would generally recommend (1) 20 pallet capacity room for every 20 pallets you plan to ship each week. If your weekly volume exceeds 140+ pallets, we would recommend larger 40/42 pallet capacity rooms, one room for every 40 pallets shipped per week.

Most TarpLess^®SX banana room customers request rooms equipped with dual temperature zones. This popular feature allows ripeners to achieve 2 different banana pulp temperatures in the same room at the same time, allowing fruit to ship out:

• At the same color stage on 2 successive days.
• At two different color stages on the same day.

In double-wide dual-temp rooms, the right and left sides of the room are independent temperature zones. In single-wide dual-temp rooms, the independent temperature zones are split between the front and rear of the room. The maximum temperature differential between the two temperature zones is 3-4 degrees Fahrenheit.

Ripening rooms represent a substantial infrastructure investment and pricing varies depending on desired room configuration(s) and features. Multiple room installations are typically in the hundreds of thousands of dollars.

Every Thermal Tech room installation is designed and built to maximize our client’s investment. We never cut corners or use inferior materials simply to lower costs. Instead, we provide rooms that deliver superior fruit quality with unbeatable operational efficiency and dependability. Rooms that deliver the fastest return-on-investment, usually in 2 years or less, followed by years of unparalleled performance and profit.

These are not just words; thousands of TarpLess^® rooms 10 to 20+ years old are still in operation today, turning out the same, beautiful, high quality fruit for which they’re designed, day-in and day-out. Just one more reason why every day, around the world, more fruit is ripened in TarpLess^® ripening rooms than in all other ripening room systems combined.

The installation of new TarpLess^® ripening rooms, combined with Thermal Tech’s training in proper ripening practices and procedures, typically results in an immediate 5 to 15% increase in sales due to improved fruit quality. Over time, increases far greater than 15% have occurred.

Typical project lead time is 12 to 14 weeks to get equipment to your site. Once construction begins, you can expect it to take approximately 1 week per room plus 1 additional week for startup and training. For example: a 2 room project will take approximately 3 weeks; 2 weeks for construction and 1 week for startup and training. A typical 10 room project will take approximately 11 weeks; 10 weeks for construction and 1 week for startup and training.

By carefully following the cleaning and maintenance protocols provided by Thermal Technologies, your TarpLess^® ripening room installation should continue to turn out consistently beautiful high quality fruit for 15 to 20 years. With proper cleaning and maintenance along with technology and component upgrades, rooms often last much longer.

If you’re ready to join the global community of industry-leading retailers, wholesalers and growers who put their trust in TarpLess^® ripening rooms each and every day, please fill out and submit the Expedited Response Form to begin the quotation process.

Submitting the form will ensure you receive the fastest and most efficient response possible. We review each form in the order received. As we are currently experiencing a high volume of inquiries, the sooner you submit your form and the more thoroughly you answer the questions, the sooner we will be able to accurately address your needs. Thank you very much! We look forward to working with you.