Plastic drums continue push
By Staff -- Purchasing, 7/16/1998 6:00:00 AM
Plastic drums are most commonly used in the food and beverage industries, but manufacturers expect to see growth in other applications including plastics, resins, and pigments. "The plastic drum market is growing in the double digits," says Tim Knaus, product general manager at Russell Stanley.
There are a few drawbacks to plastic drums, including incompatibility with concentrated chemical solvents and not meeting safety criteria for storing many flammable materials. But there is still potential for plastic drum use to grow. Producers expect applications where there are purity and sanitary concerns to help fuel plastic drum growth.
One area of strong growth for plastic drums will likely be in the open-head plastic drum. "Open-head poly-drums are replacing fiber drums in many applications," says Knaus.
The plastic drum industry seems quite healthy. New products are introduced all the time. Van Leer, for example, recently introduced the Valerex open-head polyethylene drum. Its design combines injection-molded hdpe covers and straight-sided extruded bodies. This allows a variety of drum heights and volumes. And new companies are entering the plastic drum industry. General Cooperage, for example, plans to have a plastic drum on the market early next year.
Plastic drums also have access to a network of reconditioners. While not as elaborate as the long-standing steel container reconditioner industry, this side of the business is growing and should give plastic drum users some good options for reconditioning drums. According to producers, poly drums can make 5-10 trips. Then reconditioners can wash and recertify the drums. And the plastic drum reconditioners are becoming more sophisticated all the time. If unable to be recertified, the drum can be ground up for recycling.
Van Leer's ContainerNet program offers leasing of open-head poly drums as dedicated fleets, so that customers receive the same drums back to refill. "As companies stop using fiber drums, they're going into plastic," says Porter at Van Leer. "Once you take the reuse into account, plastic drums are very competitive in price with fiber."
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