Ten Cold Chain and Temperature Control Exhibits — Equipment That Cools, Containers That Hold, Devices That Record [Part 2]

Logis-Tech Tokyo 2026 exhibitor series, Part 2

When importing pharmaceuticals or food, temperature is the quality. Japanese pharmaceutical distribution has increasingly adopted GDP (Good Distribution Practice) thinking, and food handling is governed by HACCP-based hygiene management. Both demand the same thing: the ability to demonstrate, with records, that the product was transported at the correct temperature.

Ten exhibits at LTT2026 fell under cold chain and temperature control. Not a large number, but they divided cleanly into three layers.

Three layers

Layer	What is being sold	Count
① Equipment that cools	Refrigeration installed in warehouses and facilities	2
② Containers that hold cold	Boxes maintaining temperature without power	3
③ Devices that record	Measuring temperature and leaving a record	5

Equipment, materials, measurement. The three layers have different buyers and different decision points; grouped under the single phrase “cold chain”, they are in fact considered at different moments. Taking them in turn.

① Equipment that cools — the shift to natural refrigerants

Both exhibits in this layer presented CO₂ refrigeration systems. The commonality is not coincidence; it reflects an industry-wide shift following tighter controls on fluorocarbons.

Fukushima Galilei (E3-K05)

Exhibited the CO₂ refrigeration system “NOBRAC” and prefabricated cold storage rooms. According to the published description, integrated control of the CO₂ refrigeration unit and the freezer achieves up to 20% energy savings (comparison using the company’s own test equipment). Cited factors include cooling responsiveness to load variation and optimised expansion valve control.

A second selling point is reduced refrigerant leakage risk. Standardising components and simplifying the body structure reduces the number of piping parts, and a low-vibration design is said to substantially lower leakage risk. Targets are logistics facilities, distribution centres and food factories.

Ido Reiki Refrigeration (W4-M39)

Exhibited the CO₂ refrigerant system “Eta-Max” for low-temperature logistics warehouses. Distinctive for being fully air-cooled and for stating the temperature range in grades. According to the organisers’ published material, three grades are supported.

• SF1 grade (−45°C)
• F grade (−35°C to −20°C)
• C grade (0°C to 10°C)

A joint exhibit with Nakayama Engineering. Note that the company’s own website states different temperature ranges in places; if considering adoption, confirm the required range directly. Equipment reaching the lowest grades is an area where the choice of models is limited by what is being stored.

② Containers that hold cold — all of them power-free

All three exhibits in this layer promote temperature-controlled transport without a power source. From an import perspective, this means more options that do not presuppose reefer containers or refrigerated trucks.

Avantas (W1-N03)

Exhibited the decarbonised insulated container “AvanCube”. The following holding times are published.

• Domestic transport: up to 24 hours with no electricity and no coolant
• Overseas transport: up to 30 days of sea transport using coolant only, without electricity

However, what is published is time; the temperature maintained and the assumed conditions — ambient temperature, initial temperature, load factor — are not stated. Assessing temperature-controlled transport requires “how many degrees for how many hours” together, so suitability has to be confirmed case by case.

The company states an aim of reducing dependence on refrigerated trucks and reefer containers, cutting logistics costs and CO₂ emissions. Vibration absorption and data loggers are combined for transport analysis. Target fields cited include food and pharmaceuticals as well as semiconductors, chemicals and trading companies. Customisation of size and specification is offered.

Tada Plastic Industries (E2-B01)

Exhibited corrugated insulated boxes, pallet cubes and vacuum-insulation panels. Of the flagship “TP Cool Light”, the company states that the outer shell is plastic corrugated board, specialised for repeated use.

Two published figures stand out: it is the same size as a 50-litre folding container, and it weighs approximately 1.8 kg. Being dimensioned to an existing material-handling standard makes it easy to slot into a line already running. Intended uses cited include pharmaceutical delivery, frozen food, air and sea freight, and reduction of dry ice.

Kiracs (E2-H02)

Exhibited “COOL-K” and other temperature-controlled logistics equipment. Distinctive for offering manufacture from the smallest lot, to specified size and specification, alongside repair and maintenance services.

Insulated containers vary in required temperature range and shape by product, so off-the-shelf items often do not fit. Being able to produce small lots, and to repair what breaks, are practical conditions for anyone who has to keep an operation running.

③ Devices that record — five exhibits in one area

Half of the ten sat in temperature recording. This was the thickest layer, from which it can be read that weight has shifted from “cooling” toward “showing that it was cooled”.

Gocochain (W3-D18)

Real-time temperature monitoring. CoTag Connect sensors record temperature every five minutes and transmit automatically via a SIM-equipped gateway (4G, Wi-Fi, wired LAN), so the site needs no network infrastructure.

Data is aggregated in the cloud with permanent retention, calibration reports and audit-ready records. Targets include food service, central kitchens, temperature-controlled warehouses, logistics and pharmaceuticals, with compliance with HACCP, GHP and GDP requirements explicitly stated.

Willog (AT-A01)

Logistics monitoring using IoT sensors and AI analysis. Measurement is not limited to temperature: location, temperature and humidity, shock, tilt and light are viewable in real time.

Three components: “Willog Safe” (sensor device), “Willog Control Tower” (cloud management platform) and “Willog Intelligence” (AI analysis engine). Cold chain and pharmaceuticals are cited alongside precision instruments and electronic components.

M-RF (E2-D06)

Presented under the theme of combining temperature control with traceability, exhibiting RFID together with temperature management. Introduced the single-use RFID temperature logger tag from Axzon (USA).

Published characteristics: being single-use, no calibration cost arises; the manganese printed battery makes it permissible for air transport; no return from the destination is required; and bulk reading from a distance is possible.

Temperature loggers have conventionally carried the operational burden of retrieval and calibration. A single-use option removes that burden from the premise. A temperature management package, “Thermotore”, for starting at small scale is also presented.

T&D Corporation (E1-D17)

Exhibited “Ondotori”, a temperature management system for transport and warehouses. A recorder series in wide use within Japan.

Fujita Electric Works (W4-M03)

Demonstrated a Bluetooth shock data logger combined with a gateway. Shock data during transport is collected over Bluetooth and sent automatically to the cloud via the gateway.

The positioning is to grasp “when, where and how much shock occurred” for root cause analysis of transport incidents and prevention of recurrence. Placing shock rather than temperature at the centre makes this exhibit different in character from the rest of the layer.

Seen from the importer’s side

Laying out the ten reveals what is at issue in this field.

• Equipment moving to natural refrigerants — both refrigeration exhibits used CO₂, against a background of fluorocarbon regulation
• Containers moving to power-free — all three promote transport independent of a power source, widening the choice of shipping method
• Half of the field is recording — five of ten. Evidence that temperature was held is being demanded with the same weight as holding it

For anyone importing pharmaceuticals or food, the third point bears directly on daily work. Transport quality is judged not only on whether quality was in fact preserved but on whether that can be demonstrated afterwards. Whether the arrangement can account for itself in records, to a counterparty or to a regulator, is something to confirm at the stage of choosing a transport method.

This article is based on exhibit descriptions published by the organisers and publicly available information on each company’s site. No comparison or rating of products has been made. Specifications are as published in August 2026; please confirm current details with each company.