It is with deep sadness that we report the death of reefer container industry pioneer Paul Klinge on February 5th, 2010 at the age of 88.
After various youthful business adventures starting in 1944 and including running a gallery in Copenhagen and selling damask tablecloths in New York, Paul Klinge established Paul Klinge A/S in Denmark in the early 1960s and built the company into an international business concern with more than 25 companies and 1000 employees, producing a wide range of products from security systems to ice making equipment and machinery used in the food manufacturing industry.
Paul Klinge A/S entered the reefer container business in 1976 when the company was appointed European agent for transport refrigeration equipment manufactured by York Refrigeration in York, Pennsylvania. Shortly afterwards, the first York reefer container units were supplied to Maersk Line and the company was subsequently appointed as worldwide agent for York equipment.
So successful did the company’s agency activities become that in the early 1980s, Paul Klinge A/S took over the production of York machinery in the US and in 1984 the manufacturing operation was shifted to a new plant in Langeskov, Denmark, under the name Klinge Cool. At the same time, Klinge Corporation was set up in the US as a spin off from the transport refrigeration equipment department of York Refrigeration.
Over the next seven years, Klinge Cool container machinery units were supplied to Maersk, Evergreen, Cosco, Samskip, Tropicana and many other leading international container lines from production facilities in Denmark, Hong Kong and the US.
In 1991, as Paul Klinge approached his 70th birthday, the Klinge Cool facilities in Langeskov were sold to Sabroe Marine, which was itself taken over in 1993 by US major Thermo King Corporation. The Langeskov plant was closed in 2004 after Thermo King shifted production to a new plant in China.
In his later years, Paul Klinge was involved in many projects, including importing fruit and vegetables from Egypt, selling flower coolers to supermarkets and manufacturing plastic bins. His legacy to the reefer container industry lives on through Klinge Corporation, which continues to manufacture specialised reefer machinery and gensets for commercial and military applications in the US under the ownership of his eldest son Henrik.
Paul Klinge’s contribution to Danish business has been recognised by his receipt of both the Danfoss Prize and King Frederik IX’s Recognition Prize for meaningful contributions to Danish exports.
He also received a Lifetime Achievement award for services to the reefer container industry at the Intermodal Transport & Logistics show held in his home city of Copenhagen in 2004. Many in the industry will best remember him for his hospitality at numerous trade shows around the world, where he revived many a flagging visitor with a glass of Danish Gammeldansk.
Paul Klinge is survived by his wife Else and children Henrik, Birgitte, Soren and Peter to whom we offer our sincerest condolences.
