Logis-Tech Tokyo 2026 (LTT2026) exhibitor series, Part 2
When you import pharmaceuticals or food, temperature is quality itself. In Japanese pharmaceutical distribution the thinking behind GDP (Good Distribution Practice) has spread, and for food, hygiene management along HACCP lines has been written into the system. What both demand in common is this: can you show, in records, that the goods were carried at the right temperature?
Reading through the cold chain and temperature control exhibits at LTT2026, the approaches divided clearly into three. Solve it with equipment, solve it with containers, or prove it with records. Although all three sit under the same phrase "cold chain", the buyer and the purchase decision are different in each.
Three approaches
| Approach | What protects the temperature |
|---|---|
| ① Solve it with equipment | Refrigeration installed in a warehouse or facility |
| ② Solve it with containers | Boxes that hold temperature without power |
| ③ Prove it with records | Measuring temperature and keeping the record |
① Equipment — the shift to natural refrigerants
Exhibits taking this approach were, without exception, refrigeration systems using CO₂ as the refrigerant. That is no coincidence: it reflects an industry-wide move in response to tighter regulation of fluorinated gases.
The selling points gathered around two themes. One was energy efficiency — integrated control of refrigeration and freezing, cooling that tracks load variation, optimised expansion-valve control. The other was reducing the risk of refrigerant leakage: standardising parts to simplify the body structure, cutting the number of pipe fittings, designing for low vibration. Each of these reduces the number of places a leak can start.
Models that reach into the low-temperature bands are an area where the range of options narrows depending on what you handle. Stated temperature ranges can differ between documents, so when you evaluate, you need to state the band you actually require and confirm it specifically.
② Containers — what they share is "no power supply"
This approach consistently promoted constant-temperature transport that does not depend on a power supply. From an import-operations standpoint, that means more options that do not presuppose a reefer container or a refrigerated truck. Whether goods that assumed air freight can move to sea freight is a question that changes the cost structure itself.
Design directions differed as well. Some prioritised matching the dimensional standards of existing logistics equipment so the box drops into a line that is already running. Some extended holding performance with vacuum insulation panels. Some were costed on operation, assuming repeated use with collection and repair. Whether specifications can be made in small lots also matters practically in a field where the required temperature band and shape change with each product.
There is, however, a caution when comparing. What gets published is often the holding time, while the temperature band being maintained and the assumed conditions — ambient temperature, initial temperature, load factor — are not always shown. Constant-temperature transport can only be compared once "how many degrees, for how many hours" is complete. Lining up figures alone is not a comparison if the conditions differ.
③ Records — this is where the weight has moved
Of the three approaches, this was the area with the heaviest presence. It shows that the weight has shifted from "cooling" to "showing that it was kept cool".
The architecture is broadly common: sensors take the temperature, a gateway sends it to the cloud, and it is retained in a form that can be produced for an audit. The differences lay in where the operational burden is placed — some emphasised that no network equipment is needed on site, some captured not only temperature but location, humidity, shock and tilt, and some were single-use, removing calibration and collection from the premise altogether.
There were also exhibits built around shock rather than temperature, positioned for analysing the cause of transport damage — "when, where and how severe" — the same act of recording, put to a different purpose.
Seen from the importer's side
Laid out together, the trends show what is actually at issue in this field.
- Equipment is moving to natural refrigerants — a transition driven by fluorinated-gas regulation
- Containers are moving away from power — widening the choice of transport mode
- Weight is moving to records — evidence that temperature was held is asked for as insistently 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 you can show afterwards that it was. Whether you are set up to explain that with records, to a trading partner or to a regulator, is something to confirm at the stage of choosing the transport mode.
And one more thing. These three are not alternatives. Whether the goods go into a warehouse cooled by equipment or travel in a container that needs no power, the record is required separately either way. What has to be decided first is not the device but the condition: how many degrees, for how many hours, over which leg of the journey.
Let us handle the enquiries for you
Companies that exhibit are waiting to be contacted. The difficulty is that if you approach them one by one yourself, the sales calls keep coming — including from those whose conditions do not fit you at all. The more names on the list, the heavier that becomes, and comparing them properly stops being possible.
We have organised the full set of exhibits from this show, and we handed our card to the exhibitors at the venue. Tell us how many degrees, for how many hours, and over which leg of the journey you need to hold, and we will put the question to the ones that fit and come back to you with the answers together. We will not pass your contact details to anyone without your agreement.
You are welcome to consult us before the temperature band has been decided. As a company that handles the import and distribution of pharmaceuticals, cosmetics and food, we will also set out how to read the specifications and what you should verify.
This article organises trends on the basis of exhibit information published by the organiser and information made public on exhibitors' own websites. No individual product or company names are given, and no comparison or evaluation of merit is made. Published content is as of August 2026.
