Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: MONDAY, June 28, 1993 TAG: 9306280085
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: C2 EDITION: STATE
SOURCE: Associated Press
DATELINE: RICHMOND LENGTH: Medium
David Shea hopes the dessert arrives still frozen. It will be packed inside a new thermal shipping package the real estate developer designed.
On Friday, Shea delivered 12 of his large cooler bags to the Defense Subsistence Office at Cheatham Annex in Yorktown.
"We can develop bags and boxes of any size; they're recyclable and nontoxic."
Shea has formed Radiant Technologies Inc. to sell the space-age thermal temperature barrier he developed in his dining room.
Shea's thermal cartons trap temperature inside, making it possible to ship frozen food in nonrefrigerated vehicles. The bags also eliminate the need for dry ice, Shea said.
The cartons operate on the same theory as astronaut suits made of aluminum, Shea said.
"The aluminum contains the human body temperature within the suit and reflects heat or cold away."
Patents on the bags are pending, Shea said.
The Somalia-bound ice cream will travel about 36 hours in Shea's radiant bags.
A corrugated shell will surround the bags, and where the shell touches a bag, some defrosting can be expected, "but not much," Shea said.
The shipment "will be a test for us," said Brenda Ash of the Defense Subsistence Office.
She said if the trip is successful, future Pentagon shipments could use the technology.
Since he began marketing the bags in January, Shea has signed up pharmacies, medical laboratories and food distributors as customers, he said.
Frustrated with the slow commercial real estate market in Richmond, Shea began work on the idea last fall, he said.
"Quite frankly, I wanted to do something different and find a way to make money."
Shea said his prices are competitive, although he would not disclose them.
by CNB