Steel drums facing stiff competition

Intermediate bulk containers (IBCs) have always had one clear advantage over steel drums - volume. An IBC on a pallet holds 1000 L, whereas in the same space, four steel drums only hold a total of 820 L. Now Schutz’s new KEB blow moulder and clean room facility are increasing the advantages offered by plastic-based IBCs.

The KEB blow moulder produces multi-layer containers which are the first of their kind in Australia, providing viable competition to the steel drums due to their multilayer design and function. Unlike the steel drum, the 1000-litre ecobulks are plastic based. The blow moulder applies six different protective layers to the HDPE (high density polyethylene) and what makes it innovative is the fact that it includes an inner security layer called EVOH. This security level is made up of a combination of ethylene and vinyl alcohol, and it acts as a barrier against gas, aromas and odours and is equally resistant to oils and fats. The security layer also prevents permeation and increases the shelf life of the food and beverage products stored inside. For example, the shelf life of orange juice increases by 4% and that of milk, beer, salad dressing and olive oil increases by 15%. In addition to the inner layer, the outer layer offers UV protection while being conductive and non-chargeable.

Additionally, this new multilayer technology is designed to safely contain flammable products and the containers can also hold industrial and agricultural chemicals and lubricants. The IBCs, or ecobulks, are approved for filling goods with a density of up to 1.9 and are reinforced with a warp-resistant tubular steel grid jacket, which can be separated and re-used. They are suitable for high-bay warehousing because the bottom plate provides stability and minimum residual contents. In the production process the ecobulk is only open with the cap off in a specifically built clean room. The clean room provides filtration of less than five microns, the temperature is controlled at 23°C and there is positive air pressure to ensure maximum safety and to minimise contamination risks.

According to Andrew Gill, the General Manager - Eastern Australia and New Zealand Schutz, there are many benefits to this new technology when compared to the traditional steel drum, which presents the packaging industry with an interesting choice. The IBCs are easy to empty and they are equally easy to fill, unlike steel drums where you have to use a dripping tube across five drums in order to fill them. In IBCs there is only one set of labelling instead of five as there are on steel drums and the IBCs are halal, kosher and FDA certified, with additional Dangerous Goods certification. In transport you can fit 18,000 litres of IBCs in a 20-foot shipping container, compared to only 16,000 of steel drums, and the IBCs can be stacked up to four high, whereas steel drums can only be stacked three high. In relation to their containers, Schutz offers free collection of empty IBCs as the cages which contain the container can be re-used when the container is changed, providing economical recycling. The plastic bottle in turn is recycled into the bottom corner plastics and it is due to these reasons that Gill sees their IBCs as “economic, environmental and social” in their function.

The Schutz Group provides industrial packaging systems worldwide and are headquartered in Selters with production sites in Europe, Asia and America. In Australia, the Melbourne facility joined Schutz in 2001, becoming a licensee for Australia on the basis that they would produce IBCs for the Australian market, as the containers were otherwise too expensive to import. When the facility in Melbourne began producing IBCs, the first requirement was to be competitive in the market against steel drums. As demand for the IBCs grew, a second blow moulder was built in the facility, which is the largest in the Southern Hemisphere, costing seven million dollars.

By Suvi Rantanen. Suvi joined Westwick-Farrow Media as an intern from Switzerland shortly after finishing her Master’s degree in English Language and Literature from the University of Geneva.