Plastic Container Blog

This plastics company has grown rapidly thanks partly to it’s dry liners it has made for bulk containers.  Read more about this company and what they have to offer here

Sky’s the limit for TC plastics co.

By AL PARKER
Special to the Record-Eagle

TRAVERSE CITY — Much of Michigan’s economy has lagged over the past few years, but since 2004 a Traverse City plastics company has experienced tremendous growth.

Established in 1999 by owner David Peterson, Plascon Group supplies businesses with a variety of plastic and manufacturing needs, ranging from traditional films, bags and dry storage containment liners to innovative flexible food packaging and green plastic products.

The company not only offers clients the materials they need, but also provides machinery and sets up complete turn-key manufacturing programs.

Since 2004, the company’s growth has been impressive — now encompassing five divisions, each offering different products or services to clients across the United States and Canada. In four years, the number of employees exploded from two to 34. In 2007, the company posted $14 million in sales.

“The company began in 1999 offering turn-key programs to the state of Michigan to employ inmates,” explained chief operating officer Jennifer Rastelli.

A few years later, Plascon struck up a working arrangement with Grand Traverse Industries, which provides employment and training to persons with disabilities. Plascon helped set up manufacturing programs for GTI, which makes plastic bags, toilet tissues and corrugated boxes. GTI also provides all liners for the Michigan Department of Corrections.

“I’d be hard-pressed to find a better business partner whose mission lines up so well with our own,” said Steve Perdue, GTI’s president/CEO. “They’re dedicated to helping us create jobs for folks with disabilities. It’s a win, win, win.”

Other notable Plascon clients include Disney World, Harrah’s, Munson Healthcare, Northwestern Michigan College, Turtle Creek Casino and prison systems of New York and New Jersey.

One of Plascon’s most recent successes is its new line of biodegradable plastic bags. In January, Plascon introduced an innovative line of biodegradable items that have no toxic by-products. The company’s green products have been tested to successfully biodegrade between nine months to five years under most environmental conditions.

Plascon’s packaging division was launched in 2004 and produces durable cook chill bags, in which food can be chilled, frozen, stored and distributed, then reheated right in the plastic bag for easy preparation.

Another Plascon division is Plasport, which specializes in making dry liners for bulk containers and other storage and packaging products. Plasport’s president is Steve Duchon, who became a partner with Peterson in March of this year.

This article discuss how and when IBC’s (intermediate bulk containers) originated and how it has developed over the years.
Click here to read the article in entirety.

Nothing ‘Intermediate’ About IBC Success

ATLANTA, Aug 13, 2008 /PRNewswire via COMTEX/ — In the 1968 iconic film “The Graduate” a businessman pulls the young Benjamin Braddock aside and with one word nails a generation, “Plastics.” Eighteen years later a sales representative would say essentially the same thing to a young Kurt Ross, who, unlike Benjamin Braddock, took heed and built a successful company providing a product most of his customers never see. Ross’ company, Grayling Industries, in Alpharetta, Georgia, makes plastic liners for the intermediate bulk container industry, an esoteric but quietly essential part of the supply chain of American manufacturing.
It wasn’t that long ago that if your business needed ingredients of any kind for your end product, your choice was by the box full or by the boxcar full. Then in 1949 the Intermediate Bulk Container (IBC) was created, it seems, simultaneously in Europe, America and Japan. Termed “intermediate” because it was, indeed, in between a box full and a boxcar full. The new package was easier to handle than a boxcar and held a great deal more than a regular box.
Then, in the late 60s, the “Flexible Intermediate Bulk Container” was created. This “FIBC” was made of woven polypropylene; it could hold the same amount or more than a rigid IBC and had the added benefit of being stackable without requiring a pallet. Often called “bulk bags” or totes, these re-usable bags offered great new efficiencies in manufacturing processing as well as in shipping and storage.
Today IBCs and FIBCs are big business and what makes them more than just a box or a bag are the liners that go into them. As more companies use IBCs they are realizing the benefits of utilizing specialty liners for their various applications.
It was this realm of IBCs and FIBCs that caught Kurt Ross’ attention and led Grayling to design special liners for these intermediate bulk containers. They found that by combining the various properties of different types of plastic film, they could offer a liner that would meet more of the stringent barrier protection requirements that customers needed and by shaping the liner to form-fit the IBC, the package would perform much better than an IBC without such a liner. Grayling could make a liner that kept the contents dry, or kept them wet, or kept them from air, or kept them from being affected by light, among other traits, all depending upon the chemical construction of the liner, and the needs of the client. According to Ross, “We found that we are most effective in helping our customers by consulting with them about their entire process and how to make it more efficient, rather than simply making liner bags. As a result, we’ve learned a great deal about a lot of different industries in the last 20 years.”
According to the Cleveland-based Freedonia Research Group, the demand for all flexible bulk packaging is expected to increase 3.4% annually to a $7 billion industry by 2009. Lewis Anderson, executive vice-president of the Minneapolis-based Flexible Intermediate Bulk Container Association (FIBCA) is encouraged by the forecasts. “FIBCs represent one of the highest growth areas in the packaging industry. We’ve found that a lot of end users are getting more comfortable with FIBCs after years of use, realizing that the product represent a strong economical and effective packaging option.”
Many of the bulk bags that were made in the U.S. 10 years ago are now being manufactured in India or China. Globalization has quickly turned the FIBC into a commodity. The same could be said to be true of many liners that go into bulk bags, but Kurt Ross would beg to differ.
Most liners used in Intermediate containers are called “pillow” or “tube” liners because if you blew them up with air they would either look like a large plastic pillow or an oversized tube. These types of liners are always larger than the containers they fit into therefore there is always excess material to deal with, which is wasteful and can also be costly in other ways. The pillow or tube liner frequently needs constant attention during filling to insure that there are no issues. This extra effort can cost in man hours but also, because the container fills more slowly, it reduces productivity and limits capacity. The tube liner must also regularly be monitored during dispensing to insure that the liner doesn’t dispense with the product into the processing equipment, which could cause a shutdown or contamination. Another drawback of the pillow and tube liner is its inherent shapelessness. Material often gets trapped in the folds of the liner and results in a less than full container or, at the other end, trapped product results in a less than completely discharged container.
To alleviate the cumbersome and inexact nature of dealing with pillow and tube liners Grayling designed a form-fitted liner for IBCs and FIBCs. The form fit conforms to the interior shape of the container exactly, requiring less worker involvement and up to 30% more product going into the bulk bag or other container thereby reducing labor, freight and storage costs as well as reducing the environmental impact.
Today many of the FORTUNE 500 use Guardian(TM) liners, the brand name for Grayling’s packaging products, to store and ship everything from polymers to poultry parts, from coffee to asphalt.
In the process Grayling is helping companies go a little more ‘green.’ Grayling showed one international food giant how using form-fitting liners in FIBCs substantially increased the amount of tea that could be packaged in a container. The higher efficiency meant fewer truck trips, which saved the company hundreds of thousands of dollars a year in shipping expenses and massively reduced their carbon emissions. “It wasn’t our objective to be ‘green,’” Ross says, “but increasing efficiencies has a lot of positive downstream effects. Our job is to simply find the right solution for our customers to make their supply channel work better for them.”

Arlington Packaging supplies a type of “bag-in-box” intermediate bulk containers (IBC).  They partnered with another company to provide emergency drinking water.  Click here to read more about this.

Arlington and Wincanton join forces to provide emergency water
Jane Ellis, packagingnews.co.uk, 13 August 2008

Arlington Packaging, the supplier of bag-in-box intermediate bulk containers, has partnered logistics firm Wincanton to provide emergency kerbside drinking water across the UK.

The Pewsey-based firm is supplying “many hundreds” of its 1,000-litre Combi 100% polypropylene IBC, which has four-way entry and can be stacked five-high, which will be used alongside Wincanton’s transport planning systems.

When used with the completely recyclable single-use polyethylene liner, the Combi is an alternative to traditional blue titan tanks used to provide water in an emergency.

It has a tough outer casing to protect against adverse weather conditions and can be packed flat to save space when not being used.

As the Combi is sealed and each liner is only used once, there is no need to swab test for contaminants, the firm said.

Arlington Packaging director Harry Fairbank said: “We are also supplying a 250-litre Combi, which is more easily recycled than plastic bottles and folds down to the size of a briefcase.”

Following last summer’s floods in the UK, water authorities have to ensure that they meet their legal obligations to ensure the provision of essential water supplies in an emergency.

Not only are cardboard boxes more expensive than used bulk container, but they contribute to landfil waste.
Click here to read more about this benefits of bulk containers along with other reusable packaging products.

Cardboard Boxes More Expensive than Used Bulk Containers

According to David Madden, President of Container Exchanger, “We have facilitated many hundreds of transactions to date and our client list includes Fortune 500 businesses, Automotive Tier 1 manufacturers, consumer product manufacturers, scrap steel businesses, and distribution and freight companies. We work with and empower independent used equipment dealers, used equipment liquidators, and end users by providing value added sales assistance. We handle all customer questions, follow-up sales calls, payment processing, freight delivery, and after-sales support to our customers, and our method of doing business puts buyers and sellers at ease by controlling monetary flow in a manner that ensures full disclosure and delivery of quality product.”

Container Exchanger is an online marketplace that offers manufacturing and distribution businesses an outlet for procuring or selling used returnable packaging. The product offerings include many standard and common reusable packaging solutions, including but not limited to plastic totes, plastic collapsible bulk boxes, metal containers, wire baskets, and plastic pallets. Launched in 2005, ContainerExchanger.com has empowered companies to reduce packaging acquisition costs through access to used returnable packaging inventories and it has enabled companies to maximize return during disposal of their used packaging fleets.

Returnable packaging reduces waste created by every business. The EarthWorks Group estimates that 30% of landfill waste is created by plastic and paper packaging. The use of cardboard products and other one-time-use packaging products contribute to this waste.
Folding bulk containers, industrial totes, and metal storage bins are used over and over again within a facility or between a supplier and a customer. They can be used literally thousands of times. These bulk boxes are much cheaper in the long term when compared to buying cardboard boxes and wood crates every time that product is shipped. Savings can be observed in the per piece packaging cost. While the upfront investment in returnable packaging may cost more, savings can be realized quickly through repeated use (the same bulk containers, metal bins, and totes are used over and over), labor (no more box assembly), material handling (fewer moves from stackable containers), quality (fewer rejects due to damaged packaging), and floor space (plastic and metal containers can stack very high). The per piece packaging costs for used bulk containers and totes can be as low as 5% of the costs for a comparable expendable solution, depending on shipping volumes.
Container Exchanger (www.containerexchanger.com) is dedicated to the sale and resale of reusable packaging and containers. The firm resells folding bulk containers, metal storage bins, plastic industrial totes, plastic pallets, and used gaylord boxes nationwide. When a company is finished using a returnable packaging fleet, Container Exchanger represents the seller and finds a buyer for the used bulk packaging. Sellers enjoy a high sales price for a better return on investment. Buyers save significantly in comparison to new packaging prices.

Container Exchanger
www.containerexchanger.com
David Madden, President
pr@containerexchanger.com
404-551-5599

Click here to read more about what Remcon Plastics, Inc. has to offer.

Product Sheet: Insulated Bulk Containers (IBC Bin) - Plastic
Remcon Plastics, Inc.

Ideal for containment and shipment of materials requiring a cryogenic environment
Dry-ice compatible
FDA-compliant material
Stackable
Lift truck and pallet jack accessible
Features

3 pallet designs:
9-legged, 4-way lift truck or pallet jack accessible
3-runner, 2-way lift truck or pallet jack accessible
3-runner rotating pallet base
2 standard sizes:
27 cubic foot
35 cubic foot
Insulated with high R factor polyurethane (R=18.9)
Adaptable Bag-in-Box availability for aseptic/non-aseptic liquids
Heavy duty, tie-down lid straps
Strong, reliable double-walled construction with foam insulation

These mixers were designed to attach to IBC’s or totes.  Read more about this here.

Mixers are designed for mounting to IBCs or totes.

June 20, 2008 - Available with TEFC electric motors (1/3 to 1 hp) or air motors (½ to 1 hp) as well as explosion-proof motors, Series HGL (430 rpm) mixers allow integration with IBCs or poly tote bins by use of optional 2 in. 316SS bulkhead fitting. They feature short shaft and folding propeller that are constructed of 316SS and capable of fitting through 2 in. opening. Prop’s operating diameter is 9 in. Second folding propeller can be added as accessory and bolted anywhere on ¾ in. dia shaft.

Ship Shape(TM) bulk containers manufactured by Meese Orbitron Dunne Co., in Ashtabula, Ohio  are now available in a choice of 100% recycled plastic material, in virgin or in a blend of both.  Read more about this  Orbitron Dunne Co: Virgin, Blended Or Recycled Material In Plastic Containers here.
Tuesday, June 03, 2008

Ship Shape(TM) bulk containers by material handling
product manufacturer Meese Orbitron Dunne Co., Ashtabula, Ohio
(www.ShipShapeContainers.com), are now available in a choice of 100%
recycled plastic material, in virgin or in a blend of both to promote
the use of recycled materials. The bulk forklift containers feature
top quality polyethylene regrind processed on-site from the company’s
own excess material with minimal heat history to deliver strength and
rigidity comparable to virgin in a 100% pre-consumer recycled
material. Developed for material handling, recycling, shipping and
other professionals concerned with supporting environmental issues
without compromising on the quality and reliability of their
containers, the Ship Shape containers may be tasked with virtually
all of the same dry handling applications as the original line of
containers with payloads up to 600 lbs.

  MOD had invested in on-site material reprocessing lines at each of
its four facilities nationally to permit and promote the reuse of its
excess and scrap material in anticipation of the currently high value
of both virgin and regrind material. As a result, the company is able
to offer the bulk containers in 100% recycled material at reduced
pricing vs. virgin. The Ship Shape containers are available with the
recycling logo as a permanent, molded-in graphic at no additional
charge on quantities over 50.

WEK Minimize Waste In Production By Configuring Reusable Plastic Bulk Containers And Totes

WEK Industries, a Myers Industries, Inc. company, received Honda’s Productivity Improvement Award this year.  Read more about their efforts and the specifics of what they do here.

WEK Industries® Receives Productivity Improvement Award from Honda®
AKRON, Ohio–(BUSINESS WIRE)–WEK Industries, a Myers Industries, Inc. company, was presented with Honda’s Productivity Improvement Award at this year’s North American Executive Honda Supplier Conference in March.

The Productivity Improvement Award is given to Honda’s top suppliers that initiate activities that result in significant gains in productivity and efficiency. In addition, continuous improvement in manufacturing, delivery, quality and cost control standards must be achieved.

WEK, a designer and manufacturer of custom engineered blow-molded and injection-molded plastic components, supplies all eight North American Honda manufacturing locations from its facilities in Jefferson, Ohio, and Reidsville, North Carolina. Products range from HVAC ducts to air induction components, radiator tanks and many other custom items. WEK has been a supplier to Honda since 1979, when Honda opened their first plant in Marysville, Ohio. Today, WEK engineers a variety of components for the Accord, Civic, Odyssey, Pilot, Ridgeline, Acura TL and Element automotive platforms, as well as Honda watercraft, motorcycle and all-terrain vehicle lines.

“This is a significant achievement to receive this recognition from Honda,” said Brian Moroney, director of sales and engineering for WEK. “Our associates are committed to customer satisfaction and meeting or exceeding the customer’s demands for quality, delivery and value-added productivity initiatives. This award validates their exceptional performance. Our business has created a real partnership with Honda, and we are very proud of their recognition.”

At the annual supplier conference, Honda recognized 63 North American suppliers for top performance in quality, on-time parts delivery and productivity improvement last year. In commenting to the group of more than 500 suppliers and others, Akio Hamada, president and CEO of Honda of America Mfg., Inc. and leader of Honda’s North American manufacturing, stressed the critical importance of these factors. Honda autos built in North America represented 76 percent of Honda’s global record 2007 auto sales.

Over the last several years, WEK has invested in a variety of new technology platforms and capacity to ensure consistent production quality and engineer solutions around manufacturing challenges. In addition, the company instituted new processes to further minimize waste in production, inventory and handling and to maximize plant safety and cleanliness. “Our focus is to empower our associates to improve their work environment,” said Ron Ulery, plant manager for WEK’s Jefferson facility. “We emphasize taking pride in our work and product quality, which promotes customer satisfaction and keeps us growing.”

WEK is an ISO/TS 16949 facility, which is a quality management system related to automotive products that provides for continual improvement, emphasizing defect prevention and the reduction of variation and waste in the supply chain.

“We have a strong focus through the organization on the value we can deliver to Honda and our other customers,” added Moroney. “This includes not only engineering and prototyping, but also product fabrication and secondary operations that save them time when they receive our products. In addition, one of our sister companies in Myers Industries, Buckhorn®, is a North American leader in reusable transport packaging. We work with them to configure reusable plastic bulk containers and totes in which to ship many of our products to customers. These containers not only provide superior product protection in transit, but also take disposable waste out of the supply chain and help customers reduce material handling costs.”

About Myers Industries®

Myers Industries, Inc. (NYSE: MYE), parent company of WEK, is an international manufacturer of polymer products for industrial, agricultural, automotive, commercial and consumer markets. The Company is also the largest wholesale distributor of tools, equipment and supplies for the tire, wheel and undervehicle service industry in the U.S. The Company reported 2007 net sales of $918.8 million. Founded in 1933, Myers Industries celebrates its 75th Anniversary in 2008. Visit www.myersind.com to learn more.

About WEK Industries®

Founded in 1972, WEK Industries, Inc. is a premier designer and manufacturer of custom engineered blow-molded and injection-molded plastic components and products. Markets served range from automotive, off-road vehicle and motorcycle to industrial, commercial and agriculture. Products include HVAC ducts, air induction components, fluid reservoirs, dock floats, waste containers and a wide variety of specialty custom products. WEK is headquartered and has manufacturing operations in Jefferson, Ohio, and manufacturing in Reidsville, North Carolina. WEK is one of five brands in the Automotive and Custom Segment of Myers Industries, Inc.

For more information, contact WEK Industries at (440) 576-6940.

Goodpack specializes in environmentally friendly intermediate bulk containers (IBCs).  Read more about why they are looking to bring in new investors.  Read more about this here.

Singapore’s Goodpack taps Macquarie to seek options

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HONG KONG (Reuters) - Singapore container company Goodpack (GPAK.SI: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) has hired Macquarie (MQG.AX: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) to seek strategic alternatives — from a sale to a strategic buyer to bringing in new investors — sources familiar with the matter said on Friday.

Goodpack, a Singapore-listed maker of bulk containers for storing and transporting commodities, specializes in environmentally friendly intermediate bulk containers (IBCs) that could replace wooden boxes and metal drums widely used in bulk cargo today.

Shares of Goodpack rose 6.5 percent on Friday to S$1.79, an 8-day high. The company, which declined to comment, previously had a market capitalization of $572 million. Macquarie also declined to comment.

Sources said Goodpack hired Merrill Lynch (MER.N: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) more than a year ago to sell the company, but a deal was never done because of the company’s high valuation.

Loscam Ltd, an Australian packaging company owned by private equity firm Affinity Equity Partners, could be interested in bidding for Goodpack, a source close to Goodpack said.

Another potential suitor could be Sydney-based Brambles (BXB.AX: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) Ltd, the source said. It has a unit called CHEP, which is global leader in pallet and container pooling services.

Goodpack’s stock has fallen from its S$2.46 high last July, but its price to earnings ratio is still 17.6 times, compared with sector peers’ 11.9 times, according to Thomson Reuters data.

Valuations of many logistics companies, especially those based in Asia, have traded higher in the last few years, fuelled by the region’s economic growth and demand for the transportation of raw materials and goods.

A comprehensive range of intermediate bulk containers is available from Technosearch. You can read about their many features here.

Multicon TD and Multicon Lite intermediate bulk containers from Technosearch

Technosearch  offers a comprehensive range of intermediate containers. Multicon TD intermediate containers manufactured by Technosearch comprise of several features that include folding front drop door, sight glass, galvanised frame construction, polypropylene panels, four way access pallet and possess tare container weight ranging to about 148 kilograms. These intermediate bulk containers have been specifically suitable for storing liquids, food, pharmaceuticals, adhesives as well as paints. Panels present in these intermediate containers can be easily removed for cleaning applications. Multicon SC intermediate bulk containers from Technosearch comprise of several features such as fold back as well as removable front gate, lockable security option, cleats, polypropylene panels in conjunction with galvanised frame construction.

Multicon Lite intermediate bulk containers manufactured by Technosearch can be used for storing frozen meat, food as well as dry products. These containers consist of split lid construction that provides easy accessibility. Multicon Lite intermediate bulk containers from Technosearch have lightweight galvanised construction in conjunction with colorbond panels. Other features include four way access pallets, galvanised corrugated pallet base, tare container weight ranging to about 120 kilograms, lockable security and cleats.

Technosearch provides mobile liquid tilters having safe as well as easy operation. These liquid tillers can be used for discharging products from intermediate bulk containers. Liquid tilters are available in two different models that include manual hand wind up as well as pneumatic tilters.