1 Each FIBC can carry up to 1000 times its own weight.

?2 Each FIBC has integral lifting loops, eliminating the need for pallets.

?3 The pp woven bags (woven polypropylene properties of FIBCs) allow for the printing of product information to easily identify the product being transtported.

?4 Efficient use of space

?5 Simple to use

?6 Cost effective

?7 Very strong yet flexible

?8 Low unit cost

?9 Variety of dimensions available

?10 Variety of filling, discharging and lifting facilities

?11 Over 25 million bulk bags are sold in Europe every year to a wide range of industries including building and aggregates, chemical, pharmaceutical and food producers.

?12 Can be used for hazardous chemicals as specified in the UN Chapter 6.5 Recommendations.

Although there is disagreement on exactly where FIBC was first used it is certain that they have been employed for a variety of packaging purposes since the 1940s. These forerunners of the FIBC as we know it today were manufactured from PVC rubber and generally utilised within the rubber industry for the transportation of Carbon Black to be used as a reinforcing agent in a variety of rubber products.

By the 1960s development of polypropylene, combined with advances in weaving, the woven bags as we know it today came into being and was rapidly adopted by a wide variety of oil and chemical companies to store and transport powdered and granular products.

It was during the oil crisis of the 1970s that the FIBC really came into its own for transporting huge quantities of cement to the Middle East from across Europe for the rapid expansion of the oil producing countries. At its zenith, upwards of 50,000 metric tons of cement was being shipped out on a weekly basis to feed the vast building programme.

The modern bulk bags transports a growing figure of over ¼ billion tonnes of product each year and is used to handle, store and move products as varied as cereals to powdered chemicals and flour to animal feeds. With a capacity of up to 3m³ and load capability ranging from ½ a tonne to two tonnes FIBCs are highly cost effective, easily recyclable and ideal for virtually any free-flowing granule, powder, pellet or flake.

An FIBC is a flexible container, sometimes called a big bag or bulk bag, with a capacity up to 3 cubic metres, carrying loads from half tonne to 2 tonnes. FIBCs are suitable for any free-flowing material in powder, granular or flake form. They are lifted from above by conventional handling equipment such as forklift trucks and cranes. They are the most cost-effective packaging and transport unit load system of all, as they require no secondary packaging or pallets.(fibc is short for flexible intermediate bulk container)

Why use FIBC?

1 Established: Over a quarter of a billiion tons of product are transported in Europe every year in FIBCs-and growing fast

2 Versatile:  Used for chemicals, minerals, foodstuffs, pharmaceuticals, agricultural products, fertilisers, plastics, cement and many more

Advantages of FIBC include

1 An FIBC can carry up to 1000 times its own weight

2 No pallets needed as each FIBC has integral lifting loops

3 Reusable FIBCs fold flat to take up minimal space when returned

4 Colour printing turns the FIBC into a mobile advertising board promoting company and brand or displaying vital product and handling information

5 Massive savings in meeting EU Packaging Waste Regulations-no pallets or secondary packaging and lowest packaging weight per tonne shipped

6 Designed for easy recycling when working life is over

7 Customised to suit material, plant and distribution system