IBC for Flexibility and Safety in the Chemical Industry

Intermediate Bulk Containers (IBCs) are genuine transport and storage all-rounders with a variety of different uses in many different industries. Well-considered designs, such as deep-drawn, bottom section with low dead space volumes, enable them to be emptied quickly and residue free. The IBC’s cubic shape makes an excellent impression with its efficient space utilization in storage and transport. In addition, stainless steel IBCs guarantee a long service life and are fully recyclable afterwards. All these benefits and features are combined in the stackable SCHÄFER Cube. ADR certified and with UN 31 A/Y approval for the transport of hazardous goods up to 2.0 kg/litre, this IBC is considered especially flexible. That’s why Spanish chemicals distributor Brugués S.A. uses this container for business with their large-scale customers. 

Founded in 1940, Brugués S.A.is a Spanish family enterprise, based in Barcelona and Valencia. A specialist distributor of base and special chemicals, it serves over 2,000 customers in a great variety of industries. The company supplies national and international companies in the cosmetics and pharmaceuticals industries, water supply and other sectors. 

Brugués in times of change

So that they can meet the demands of markets and customers as flexibly as possible, the challenges faced by chemicals distributors are many and varied. Apart from safety and sustainability, it is the actual business figures which are the be-all and end-all in this sector. In the company’s 80-year history, the distributor’s portfolio has steadily yet constantly changed. The initial focus of the business lay in the sale, packaging and distribution of chemical products in plastic containers of various volumes, ranging from 25 to 1,000 litres. 

Today, ecological and economic sustainability combined with maximum flexibility are playing a more significant role in the selection of packaging and transport systems. This has led to Brugués S.A. increasingly using IBC containers made of stainless steel. 

For the increasing volumes it handles, especially for their major customers, the Spanish enterprise has showed a clear preference for the so-called Cube from SCHÄFER IBC with its 1000 litre capacity. The design and lightweight structure of these containers makes them ideal for almost all requirements of the chemicals, pharmaceuticals, paints and oil industries, especially when hazardous substances need to be transported.

Besides storage, packaging and logistics for liquid and solid materials, Brugués S.A’s standard service range also includes specialised packaging for a variety of dangerous chemicals. In the hazardous goods sector, certified stainless steel containers are an ever present feature. 

Integration in existing infrastructure

SCHÄFER Cubes are manufactured in volume increments of 100 from 500 to 1,000 litres. The containers are made completely of stainless steel, are stackable and suitable for handling by crane and forklift and can be cleaned without leaving any residues. Their frameless lightweight design gives SCHÄFER Cubes maximum flexibility for use and optimum space utilization. At the end of their long service lives, often lasting over decades, they are 100% recyclable, making them a genuine ecological product in the industrial container segment in terms of sustainability. 

A further benefit is that SCHÄFER Cubes can be used on Brugués S.A.’s existing filling lines for plastic IBCs without any modification to the existing infrastructure. The extension of the company’s internal transport, conveying and filing technology was more or less completed with the purchase of the SCHÄFER Cube. Brugués uses the Cube in the chemicals, petrochemicals, pharmaceuticals and oil industries, where the long-lasting robustness of this IBC is particularly appreciated over conventional plastic IBCs.

An ecological and sustainable life cycle

The fire-resistant SCHÄFER Cube complies with the highest safety requirements and is internationally approved for the storage and transport of hazardous liquids and paste-like goods on land and by sea: with certified ADR, RID, IMDG Code, UN and EC regulation conformity, this container fulfils all required safety standards. Consequently, use in potentially explosive atmospheres (ATEX) or for the transport of highly inflammable chemicals substances is legally permitted. 

However, Brugués S.A. naturally feels committed to protecting the environment, even without all the laws and regulations. The considerate use of natural resources will guarantee the consistent re-use of SCHÄFER Cubes at Brugués S.A. This clearly demonstrates that stainless steel IBCs, both in use and after use, are ecologically sustainable and consequently in keeping with our modern times. 
 

To the SCHÄFER Cube
www.ibc.schaefer-container-systems.com