MAERSK Container Industry (MCI), a member of the A.P. Moller-Maersk Group, has reached an important milestone after producing its 100,000th 'Star Cool' refrigeration container. Production takes place at factories in Qingdao, Dongguan and Huidong, China.

The company said in a statement that this reflects "unabated demand for frozen and chilled foods and an acute need for energy savings in global transportation." Its 50,000th Star Cool container came off the production line just over a year ago for Hanjin Shipping.

"Our focus on energy savings was clearly the right way to go. Bunker fuel prices have more than doubled since 2005 so we can help customers offset part of the additional bunker cost," said chief commercial officer Soren Leth Johannsen.

"We have more innovation on the way to make global trade ever more efficient. MCI's controlled atmosphere, for example, now lets customers increase transportation time in some cases from 30 to 45 days without compromising quality."

Aside from sister company, Maersk Line, another major customer is leasing company CAI International, which recently placed an order for 500 Integrated Star Cool units.

Headquartered in Tinglev, Denmark, where global sales and R&D is based, the MCI employee 6,000 staff worldwide. In 2011, the company constructed 41,000 reefer containers.