Flexible intermediate bulk containers (FIBCs), also called “big bags,” are an industry staple to store and transport dry flowable materials, such as powders and granulated products. Compared to IBCs, Gaylords, boxes and other types of semi-bulk industrial containers, FIBCs are much lighter. Despite generally weighing just a few pounds, one FIBC can be used to safely and effectively transport up to several thousand pounds of material. In addition, when emptied, FIBCs can be folded and compressed for easy storage and transport.
If a manufacturing plant is loading a vat in a single load or utilizing an automatic feeder system, big bags become a more efficient means of transporting greater quantities of material in a single container. What might be transported in 40 or so 50-lb paper or plastic bags—which would each have to be handled, cut open, and dumped individually—can be transported in one FIBC big bag. “A lot of our customers have some form of a feeder system, making the big bags most efficient,” says Chuck Monzo, global market management team leader of the Adhesives Polymers business of Dexco Polymers. “Normally our product is supplied in 20-kg bags, and they’re cracked open to put into the mixer. But for our customers with the automatic feeder systems, it’s more efficient for them to use the bulk bags that hold nearly a metric ton of product.”