When transporting or storing liquid or granulate substances (e.g. chemicals, food, cosmetics and pharmaceuticals) stainless steel totes or IBCs (intermediate bulk containers) are an effective alternative to the standard cylindrical drum that are still so prevalent across the United States. 

There are 4 key benefits of choosing stainless steel totes over Drums and they are:

1. Better Storage Utilization
   With a volume range situated between drums and tanks, the stainless steel tote gives a particularly noble utilization of storage capacity.  Drums can only be stacked 3-high, while stainless steel IBCs can be stacked 4-high when empty and 3-high when full.  Six 55-gallon drums use up more space than one 350-gallon stainless steel tote tank, translating to 33% better space utilization.
2. Environmentally Friendly
   Stainless steel totes are nearly completely drainable creating virtually no product waste.  Liquid can be easily emptied from a stainless steel tote by the installed 2” discharge valve without requiring a pump.  Drums must each be individually opened, checked and drained (usually via a pump).  Stainless steel totes can be cleaned easily and residue-free because with stainless steel there is no diffusing of product into the container wall. Therefore stainless steel totes can be used for application with frequent change of product making recycling unproblematic.   Stainless steel IBCs can be fully recovered and reprocessed into other useful products at the end of their service life.
3. Overall Cost Reduction
   Unloading and loading Drums usually requires 2 workers and takes about 90 minutes.  Whereas, with their pallet-like bases, stainless steel totes can be moved in about 20 minutes by 1 worker using a forklift or pallet-jack, saving you valuable time and labor costs.  Cleaning costs are reduced by 55% by cleaning and returning one IBC monthly vs. disposing of 120 drums.  High quality stainless steel totes can be rented at low daily rates.  They are also reusable, returnable and recyclable, reducing your disposal costs.
4. Minimized Potential Liability
   Approximately 45 million drums (most containing hazardous materials) are disposed of each year, some of which usually end up in landfills.  Drums may be found dumped illegally in these landfills with YOUR name on them!  Stainless steel totes can also reduce the number of workplace accidents and injuries caused by moving drums which require brute force, since workers use forklifts.

Stainless steel totes have a lifetime of sometimes more than 20 years and they may be filled, transported and discharged many times during their lifetime.  Switching from drums to IBCs not only saves money, but also preserves peace of mind.  The advantages clearly cover all aspects of container usage:  disposal concerns, product loss, shipping & labor costs and liability issues.

If you would like more information on the advantages of stainless steel totes please email us or call us at (800) 634-4128.