Guide to IBC Tote Solutions

As previously mentioned, IBCs are used in the processing industries for storing and transporting bulk liquids, pastes, and powders used in the production of food products, and health and beauty products, as well as in other non-sanitary chemical processing applications. They are also known as IBC totes, IBC tanks, or IBC pallets (note that stainless steel IBCs are also called TranStore tanks).

Regardless of the name, these containers come in both flexible and rigid configurations. Rigid IBC totes are stackable, reusable vessels with an integrated pallet base mount that provides for forklift and/or pallet jack maneuverability. Flexible IBC totes, in turn, feature sides that fold inward when the unit is empty, allowing it to collapse into a much smaller package for return shipment or storage.

IBC totes are manufactured from various materials, including:

• High density plastic (e.g., polyethylene)
• Compound materials (e.g., galvanized steel frames surrounding a plastic container)
• Carbon steel
• Stainless steel (both 304 and 316/316L grades).

For sanitary product storage and transport in the food & beverage, the preferred tote is a rigid stainless steel variety. 99% of the totes used in commercial operations, though, are made of compound materials or are rigid polyethylene.

The term “intermediate” in the IBC name comes from the volume that these containers can carry, which falls in-between the capacities of large storage tanks and traditional 55-gallon drums. The two most common rigid IBC tanks used in sanitary processing operations come in either 275-gallon or 330-gallon sizes.

In comparison to other methods of product storage and transportation, IBCs offer several significant advantages:

• Most IBCs are cube-shaped, and this engineered design contributes to the packaging, stacking, storing, shipping, and overall space efficiency of these vessels.
• Rigid IBCs feature integrated pallet bases that are designed for easy maneuvering via forklift or pallet jack. Most are also designed so that they may be stacked vertically on top of one another to minimize storage footprints. IBCs also generally feature a built-in tap (valve, spigot, or faucet) at the bottom of the container to which hoses can be attached, or through which the contents may be poured or pumped into smaller containers. A larger opening located on the top of the tote may also be used for filling or emptying the container.
• Most importantly, in comparison to pallets of 55- gallon drums, IBCs are capable of carrying equivalent volumes of product in less shipping space, and with fewer logistical steps involved. For example, four 330-gallon IBC pallets would contain the volumetric equivalent of twenty-four 55-gallon drums occupying six pallets, effectively saving two pallet spaces. And, unlike the case with standard 55-gallon drums, IBCs may be manufactured in a variety of heights yielding various container volumes (although the base dimensions are fixed for standardized moving and shipping purposes

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