Hasenkamp Group launches arca, a sustainable, smart solution for art logistics

The Hasenkamp Group, one of the world's leading companies in art transport, has recently announced the launch of arca – Made to Protect, an uncompromisingly sustainable art case.

Developed with the product philosophy of protecting valuable paintings and keeping the environmental impact as low as possible, arca offers museums, galleries, collectors, and artists an integrated sustainable, smart, and safe transport solution.

Thomas Schneider, CEO of Hasenkamp Group, says, “Arca was designed with sustainability and uncompromising protection of artworks in mind and features intelligent monitoring of the internal climate. For us, arca marks an important step towards an environmentally friendly, reusable transport solution in the art market.”

A design thinking process with experts such as conservators, registrars, art packers, and carpenters provided the impetus to arca. The result is a crate that ideally meets the requirements of the market. These expectations are in line with what the Hasenkamp Group has been doing for many years in the three key areas for sustainable art logistics, which are: sustainable and reusable packaging, energy-saving storage, and emission- and resource-efficient transportation.

Wood is good! For artwork’s safety and the environment
In Hasenkamp’s sustainability activities, arca plays a decisive role as a reusable art case made of regionally sourced materials such as the wood from the so-called climate tree Paulownia.

Its Kiri wood combines the properties of storing up to 35 kilograms per year of carbon dioxide and regrowing again after harvesting like fruit on plantations. Wood is not only a carbon accumulator. Wood is renewable and it makes arca a climate-positive product (-131kg/CO2e per arca), that forms ideal properties in terms of intrinsic climate and vibration absorption to protect artworks.

Less transportation: Smart data ends acclimatization times in the museum
Arca is well insulated and preserves the climate inside the crate for a long time so that the artworks are safely protected from temperature fluctuations. With a size of 140x136x33 centimeters, the arca art case is easy to handle and covers a wide range of picture sizes.

The arca system is more than the crate itself, it consists of storage, transport, and the art case. This makes acclimatization times and the advance delivery of unconditioned crates a thing of the past. A smart sensor system reports the interior climate of the crate to an app via Bluetooth. This means that the current status of temperature and humidity can be monitored at all times and supports decision-making.

Made of recycled and reusable components
The selection of high-quality and durable materials allows for long-lasting use over many years. Where plastics cannot be avoided, arca is equipped with 100 % recyclable or reusable materials. Carbon-neutral rubber from discarded truck tyres protects the corners and recycled hemp fibre materials are used for insulation. Additionally, the art cases are IPPC and Oddy certified.

Maximum protection of the inner valuables is provided by a double silicone seal that reliably shields the interior from external influences. A local wall reinforcement made from recycled PET bottles provides robust impact protection against forklifts.

No question that great works of art deserve the maximum possible protection. With arca – Made to Protect, the companies of hasenkamp group have focused on sustainability factors as much as possible without compromising on safety.