Bulk bags, also known as FIBC’s or Flexible Intermediate Bulk Containers are made from durable plastic and are woven together to create a long lasting item. These bags are very strong and have lift straps affixed to the top of the bag. This enable the handling and movement of the bag when it is loaded, as they can be picked up using standard forklift forks and some of the bags offer the ability to empty the contents from the bottom of the bag. Other bulk bags can be emptied using specific equipment.
Container Exchanger (www.containerexchanger.com) is an online marketplace that offers manufacturing and distribution businesses an outlet for procuring or selling used returnable packaging. The product offerings include many standard and common reusable packaging solutions, including but not limited to plastic totes, plastic collapsible bulk boxes, metal containers, wire baskets, and plastic pallets. Launched in 2005, ContainerExchanger.com has empowered companies to reduce packaging acquisition costs through access to used returnable packaging inventories and it has enabled companies to maximize return during disposal of their used packaging fleets.
According to David Madden, President of Container Exchanger, “Bulk bags are a heavy-duty, really strong bag that can hold powders or solids or really anything. They are similar to Gaylord boxes, it’s a cheap, disposable option for bulk materials storage and transportation. One advantage bulk bags have over gaylords, is the storage density when empty. For a bag that is roughly the same size as a Gaylord, you can put 500 empty bags on a single pallet space, while in gaylords, 500 gaylords takes up a whole truck (26 pallet spaces), which means that you pay a lot less freight to receive bulk bags than you would to receive gaylords (the closest competing storage option).”
There is a broad range of bulk bags including custom bulk bags, woven polypropylene bulk bags, food grade bulk sacks, anti-static super sacks, and flow-through jumbo sacks, U.N. bulk sacks, and Hazmat bulk bags. Bulk bags are often used for agricultural, industrial and food products.