WHO WE ARE

THE TOMKAT KOOLPAK INNOVATORS

"A passion to be a commercial fisherman has been a driver for most of my life. In 2006, I achieved that ambition when I established TomKat Line Fish with my wife Kath."

MISSION STATEMENT

"Before our journey with the TomKat KoolPak, we were focused on building our sustainable line fishing business: "TomKat Line Fish". Our aim is to fish sustainably, reduce wastage and maintain the health and resilience of the Great Barrier Reef." Click on our image to hear our story.

To achieve this, we needed an environmentally responsible, thermally equivalent alternative to Expanded Polystyrene (EPS) fish boxes to transport our premium product direct to market.

When we couldn't find an appropriate alternative, we invented our own.

TOM & KATH LONG

A plumber, project manager and professional fisherman

Tom Long has an innate ability to problem-solve and his lifelong dream of running his own fishing business has been a constant in his life.

In 2005 Tom and his wife, Kath, moved to a small fishing community called Kurrimine Beach in Far North Queensland. While sustainably line fishing on the outer Great Barrier Reef, Tom continued to dream of highlighting the provenance of his premium product.

In 2016, TomKat Line Fish was born, and Tom’s fish was soon on the tables of some of Australia’s most respected restaurants.

OUR ETHOS

Tom & Kath's ethos is "sustainably fishing for the future".

So placing their first-class product into polystyrene boxes did not reflect their values. After a global search for a viable, thermally efficient alternative, which would not create an alternate waste problem, revealed that there wasn't one, Tom and Kath created their own and called it the TomKat KoolPak®.

Not only did they succeed in creating an integrated packaging solution, Tom also designed the machinery to manufacture the boxes from scratch. KoolPak boxes, which were patented in 2018, are a local fisher driven solution to a global problem.

OUR VISION

To create a durable product that could be re-used many times without the need for single-use plastic liners

A viable alternative must also protect against leakage and be able to flat pack for easy storage and transportation.

The outcome is the TomKat KoolPak®, a tough, lightweight, container with all the thermal qualities needed for transporting and storing temperature sensitive and perishable products such as medicines.

The technology behind the product development is not just reusable and recyclable; each component – the box, the lid and the thermal liner – can be tracked throughout its life. At eventual end-of-life a cash back credit is available when KoolPaks are returned to an authorised recycling centre.

TRACK & TRACE

The KoolPak takes packaging to another level by building traceability and temperature sensing into a thermal container

The track and trace technology benefits mean that TomKat Global Solutions can assign every KoolPak sold to the purchaser.

With this level of technology, not only can clients prove the provenance of their product, but they also have the opportunity to scan off their KoolPaks post multiple uses at an authorised recycling centre, validating their environmental credentials.

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