14 BULKDISTRIBUTOR
IBCs & Drums
March/April 2016
Mauser receives UL fire
certification
Hoyer expands
range
M
H
auser Group has received
certification for its SM13 EX UL
IBC design from UL, a global
independent safety science
organisation based in Northbrook,
Illinois, USA.
With this certification, the SM13 EX UL
will be permitted for storage of some
classes of combustible liquids in
accordance with NFPA 30, Flammable
and Combustible Liquids Code.
Mauser claims that by using the 1,000
litre unit, customers will be able to store
combustible liquids in storage areas into
the more efficient IBC design as opposed
to conventional 55 gallon (220 litre) steel
drums when protected with fire sprinklers
in accordance with the requirements and
limitations referenced in NFPA 30.
“By developing an IBC solution that
performs to the UL global performance
standards, we believe that MAUSER’s
solution to accommodate flammable
products storage will be attractive to
customers worldwide,” commented
Siegfried Weber, senior vice president,
global sales and marketing for Mauser.
“We think the SM13 EX UL incorporates
a variety of innovations. Most notable is
the fire-resistant blanket design that not
only encloses the entire IBC, but also the
entire valve,” he continued. “The unit
incorporates reinforced steel legs to
provide maximum stability in the event of
a fire and is also designed with anti-static
resin as well as a grounding system to
dissipate any charge the unit or product
may have to allow the usage of this unit
in explosive zones 1 and 2.”
“It was quite a challenge to design an
IBC that performs to UL standards,” said
Klaus Peter Schmidt, head of global
product development at Mauser. “From
identifying the ideal materials to
engineering the structured pallet
supports, it took tremendous team work
to bring it all together.”
The UL fire exposure test protocol was
revised in 2014 and became effective in
2015, making the performance standards
more challenging with enhanced
relevancy to the end-use application. In
order to pass the test, two units needed
to retain their product with no leaks while
surviving a 20 minute heptane fire,
stacked one upon the other. The two
units must remain stacked after the 20
minutes without more than a 5deg lean
in any direction.
“Supporting users of IBCs as well as
authorities having jurisdiction that now
have more flexibility to specify the use of
an IBC that has demonstrated
compliance with the latest UL safety
requirements also supports UL’s mission
to create safer working and living
environments worldwide,” said Dan
Steppan, senior staff engineer with UL.
“We are pleased to see manufacturers
developing products that meet these
stringent requirements.”
The SM13 EX UL IBC is currently
undergoing customer trials and
qualifications in North America and
several European markets.
www.mausergroup.com
With the UL certification the SM13 EX will be permitted for storage of some classes of combustible liquids in
accordance with NFPA 30
Greif sales
down
G
reif reported a fall in net sales for its rigid packaging &
services division in the first quarter of 2016.
Net sales decreased to US$534.9 million for the first quarter
compared with $649.7 million for Q1 2015. Excluding the impact
of divestitures, net sales decreased $94.1 million compared
against Q1 2015 due primarily to the negative impact of foreign
currency.
Operating loss was $2.6 million compared with an operating
profit of $20.2 million in the previous year’s quarter. The decrease
was primarily attributable to $36.8 million of non-cash asset
impairment charges incurred during the first quarter related to
the pending divestiture of a non-core business.
Operating profit before special items and excluding the impact
of divestitures was $35.5 million versus $23.3 million for the first
quarter of 2015, due primarily to improvements in gross profit
margin and reductions in SG&A costs related to transformation
efforts across the division, partially offset by a foreign currency
negative impact.
Net sales in flexible packaging decreased $15.2 million to $72.9
million compared with $88.1 million Q1 2015. Excluding the
impact of divestitures, net sales decreased $12 million, again
mainly due to the negative impact of foreign currency and lower
sales volumes partially offset by pricing improvements.
Operating loss was $3.1 million versus an operating loss of $8.8
million in the last year’s Q1.
www.greif.com
WWW.BLUEPACK.DK
over has expanded its fleet of IBCs by adding two new container
types. The product range now also includes a steam-heatable
IBC and a cube-shaped IBC that is particularly space-saving in storage
and during transport.
The steam-heatable
1,000 litre container
gives customers in the
chemical industry and
food sector the ability
to use steam, water or
oil as the heating
medium, thus ensuring
heating that is quick
but gentle on the
material. It is also
suitable for use in
explosion hazard areas
and is designed for
temperatures up to
150 degC and a
pressure of up to 6 bar.
The cube-shaped Meter Cube has a volumetric capacity of 1,000 litres and
represents a practical alternative to a plastic IBC, says Hoyer. Firstly, the
container is highly space-saving due to the special dimensions, and, second,
it is made of stainless steel, so its characteristic feature is high quality. As a
result of its flat construction, it can also be stacked two-high for transport.
This increases the quantity of units that are possible per transport, claims
Hoyer.
Uwe Bartels, Hoyer’s European sales manager IBC Logistics, said: “With the
new container types in our product portfolio, we can present our customers
with two innovations that are positively tailor-made for the market’s needs
in both the food and the non-food area. Dangerous goods approval is also
available.”
The small container’s equipment can be customised to client’s needs. For
examp le, IBCs can be supplied with special fittings, outlets, couplings and
seals. Transport tracking is made possible by radio-frequency identification
(RFID), and a global positioning system (GPS) can also be integrated on
request. In addition, Hoyer offers services such as leasing, transport,
maintenance, cleaning and fleet management.
www.hoyer-group.com
CurTec in Asia
C
urTec has signed a new distribution partnership with Univar
Singapore which will be distributing CurTec’s packaging
across the Far East.
The Rijen, Netherlands, based company manufactures plastic
packaging products for the pharma, specialty chemicals and food
ingredients markets. “Joining forces with Univar not only means we can
increase our market exposure but also raise the level of service to
existing customers,” a company spokesperson said.
CurTec has partnered up with Univar because of the latter’s detailed
knowledge of the specialty chemicals market, as well as it success in the
past couple of years.
www.curtec.com
Wood over plastic
T
he European Pallet Association (EPAL) attended the Gulf
Packaging & Polymers Show (GPPS) in Abu Dhabi in February
2016.
At the delegate conference that ran in parallel, Martin Leibrandt, CEO
of EPAL, spoke about the advantages of the EPAL-licensed wooden flat
pallet, the EPAL system with its worldwide open exchange pool, and the
further development of the additional digital services on offer from
EPAL.
EPAL presented its full flat pallet portfolio at the GPPS: the
conventional EPAL Euro pallet, the EPAL 2 and EPAL 3 pallets, and the
newly developed EPAL half pallet. An “artistic” half pallet with motifs by
Düsseldorf-based photographic artist Christian Gäbel was integrated
into the stand along with an outdoor armchair made from EPAL Euro
pallets.
In 2014, the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) packaging industry
was estimated to be worth US$41 billion. According to market research
institute Smithers Pira, MENA is expected to grow at an annual rate of
almost 5 percent between 2014 and 2019 to US$52.4 billion, higher
than the 4 percent p.a. predicted for the global packaging market.
Sustainable materials such as wood are playing an increasingly
important role in the development of the MENA packaging industry and
were therefore a focal point of the GPPS conference.
Schütz opens in
Singapore
S
chütz is opening a local sales office and distribution
centre in Singapore to boost the company’s presence in
Southeast Asia.
Since 2006, customers in Singapore have been supplied with the
firm’s range of products directly by Schütz Malaysia.
The new Singapore office, which opened in January, complements
this existing channel. The distribution centre also supplies customers
which require smaller quantities of IBCs or drums. Additionally,
Schutz can deliver from there to customers with special logistical
requirements, for example, just-in-time deliveries of smaller batches.
The IBCs and drums are sent from the company’s factory in Nilai,
50km south of the Malaysian capital Kuala Lumpur, to the new
warehouse. From here, the products are distributed promptly on to
customers in Singapore.
www.schuetz.net
Schütz IBCs and drums are dispatched from the company’s factory in Nilai, Malaysia for
distribution in Singapore