• What is a Bulk Bag? | What is an FIBC?

WHAT IS A BULK BAG?

FIBC BULK Bags

A bulk bag or FIBC, Flexible Intermediate Bulk Container, is a large woven bag designed to carry bulk materials. Bulk bags generally range in size from 28" x 28" x 12" to 51" x 51" x 71", (filled dimensions) and may contain up to 4000lbs of material, depending on the design. FIBCs have flexible walls, unlike RIBCs, Rigid Intermediate Bulk Containers, and tend to be used for dry bulk solids. Developments in bag liners and bulk bag manufacturing allow bulk bags to be used in other applications as well.

Use of bulk bags has been on steadily increasing. Approximately 100 million bags are used annually with an average annual growth rate of around 12% per year. This growth is projected to continue due to the many advantages bulk bags provide over other containers, like paper bags, rigid IBCs, fiber, plastic, or metal drums.

ADVANTAGES OF FIBC BULK BAGS

Improved safety: The manual handling of bulk material in bags and drums combined with the discharging of material into process equipment can expose workers to injuries. Bulk bags require mechanical means to move the container (fork lift, pallet jack, or hoise), which means less manual movement by workers.  Learn more about handling FIBCs in the FIBC Safe Handling Guidelines.

Cost savings: The labor cost per container is typically reduced when bulk bags are used. Lifting, opening, dumping, and disposal of forty, 50lb. paper bags cost more than the positioning and lifting one 2000lb bulk bag in most cases.

Economical packaging: As bag capacity increases, tare weight as a percentage of material weight decreases. This means more material can be shipped with less packaging for the same cost. Properly sized FIBCs can be positioned and stacked higher and more efficiently than smaller bags, maximizing shipping container usage and storage facility space. When determining if your product or process is suitable for bulk bag use, it is important to work with an experienced bulk bag supplier. A large percentage of complaints to bulk bag and machinery manufacturers are due to improper bag sizing or styles. 

GLOBAL-PAK'S BULK BAGS

Global-Pak is one of the largest suppliers of FIBCs in North America. We have over 25 years of industry experience with importing large quantities of FIBCs from our world class manufacturing partners. We're headquartered in Lisbon, OH, with satellite warehouses all over the country that are a 1-2 day shipping point to most of the Eastern United States. We stock over 250,000 bulk bags and offer warehousing solutions for our customers as well. In addition, we have an extensive quality system in place and offer independent design and testing for our bulk bags, so we can provide you high quality bulk bags at a low cost. Our promise is a satisfaction guarantee for all of our bulk bags.

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