Thermo King Launches Flagship LEGEND Trailer Refrigeration Unit with Asian-based Production

Thermo King, a strategic brand of Trane Technologies (NYSE: TT), a global climate innovator, has announced the launch of its first Asian-made trailer refrigeration unit production line at the new smart plant in Wujiang, China. This production line is dedicated to the LEGEND series – the flagship products developed by Thermo King Asia Pacific. These units will be supplied to markets across Aian, marking a strategic milestone in Thermo King’s localization efforts in R&D and manufacturing.

In line with the company’s Future Factory Initiative, the highly automated and intelligent new production line has increased the localization rate of the LEGEND supply chain by 60%, significantly shortened the delivery cycle, and greatly enhanced the stability and flexibility of the refrigeration equipment supply chain across the Asia Pacific region. This development propels the cold chain logistics industry towards a more efficient, intelligent and sustainable future.

“The localized production of LEGEND products is a key milestone for Thermo King to deepen its presence in the Asia Pacific market.” said Helen Ling, vice president of Trane Technologies Asia Pacific, “We have achieved a breakthrough in the entire process of independently developed a product, from design to large-scale manufacturing. We also worked with local suppliers to create the industry-leading ‘three-in-one’ motor technology through a series of technical advancements. This accomplishment marks our completion of a full cycle from independent R&D to mass production. Moving forward, Thermo King will continue to invest in cutting-edge technologies and work with our partners to drive greater quality and efficiency in regional cold chain logistics. ”

The new LEGEND series is built on Thermo King’s world-leading Trailer platforms, specially designed for high-frequency road transportation in Asia Pacific, combining three advantages – precise temperature control, efficient energy saving, and intelligent operation and maintenance. With its advanced electrical architecture and independent airflow control technology, it enables precise all-zone temperature management tailored to cargo types and transportation conditions. This ensures the consistency of temperature control throughout the transportation process and delivering uniform temperature distribution even at low engine speed, which effectively avoids local temperature variations for high-value goods such as fresh food and medicine and significantly reduces the cargo damage rate.

For high efficiency and energy saving, the LEGEND series adopts the breakthrough “three-in-one” motor technology, integrating the motor, permanent magnet generator, and active rectifier. Compared with the traditional mechanical drive solution, the LEGEND series uses 27% fewer components, saving installation space while improving the unit’s fuel efficiency by 15%. Simultaneously, with the coordinated operation of brushless fans, smart control algorithm and electronic engine speed control (ECO Governor), the unit can deliver up to 20% fuel efficiency in actual scenario. Besides, the LEGEND series can also achieve fast pull down and consistent capacity output across all conditions. Its ability to monitor engine load ensures reliable operation, cutting overall maintenance needs by 30% and reducing downtime losses by 52%.

In addition, the LEGEND series enjoys improved product reliability thanks to the intelligent operation and management system. It features an IP67 HMI with multi-language support, live fuel consumption data display, and automated Pretrip self-check function to avoid unexpected downtime. The standard Tbox telematics solution can continuously track the operating status of the unit, ensuring a fully controlled refrigeration transportation process.

The LEGEND series has ovtained the certification for China GB IV emission regulation. The first batch of products will be applied mainly in the inter-city highway refrigerated transport market, with planned expansion into railway applications and compliance with EU stage V emission regulation. In the future, Thermo King will continue the green manufacturing practice, driving the high-quality development of the Asia-Pacific refrigeration logistics industry through intelligent upgrades of production lines and R&D efforts on high-efficiency energy-saving technologies.