How to Choose the Right FIBC Bags for Your Business?

Flexible intermediate bulk container bags are used in industries to carry sand, plastic granules, flowable products, cement, and other dry materials. FIBC, as the name suggests, is made from polypropylene, and the bags are thickly woven and come in various sizes to carry a load of around 1000 kilograms. They come with one, two, or four lops as per industry demand. The loops are used for lifting the bags. The bags used for bulk transportation have a special opening on the bottom side to empty the load, or they are cut to open. There are various types of FIBC bags available in the market, and it is time to know about them a bit to choose the right bag for your specific industrial need.

The points to ponder

While choosing the right FIBC bag for your industrial need, you should consider some fine details before sealing the deal with the best supplier or manufacturer.

• The size – One of the significant considerations for selecting suitable FIBC bags is the size. You need to consider not only the volume of the bag but also the load-bearing capacity per cubic foot. Again, you need to consider the pallet size for storing as well as transporting materials. To determine the right size for these bulk bags, first, pay heed to the weight they can carry per cubic foot. For example, if you want to load and transport feed products and your feed weighs around 18 kg per cubic foot, and you want to store around 900 kilos of feed in each bag, you need to have a bag of 50 cubic foot capacity.
• The fabric- The fabric of the FIBC bags can be divided into four categories. Type A, B, C, and D are used for loading and transporting specific materials.
• Type A bags –It is the most commonly used and standard bag. It is made by combining calcium carbonate, a mixture of polypropylene and UV additive components, to protect the bags from erosion. The bags are used to store and transport non-flammable products as they do not have static properties. You should not store combustible products that do not emit gases or materials like solvents that are highly flammable. Always keep these types of materials away from Type A type bulk bags.
• Type B bags –These bags are made from standard polypropylene but are able to prevent sparks. They come with a special coating of antistatic material with a low breakdown voltage of around 6kV and prevent ignition of air and dust mixture. However, these bags are also unable to dissipate static electricity. You can carry flammable or dry products in them but should not keep the loaded bags in close proximity to gases or solvents. The best manufacturers can also supply these Type B bags in customized sizes or without antistatic coating or add a liner of antistatic material inside and regular material for the outer layer.
• Type C bags-If you intend to store and transport flammable materials like inflammable powders, then use these conductive bags. This bulk bag is made from non-conductive fabric and manufactured with conductive interwoven threads. If you are in the chemical industry, you need to use these bags but remember to electrically ground the bags while loading or emptying. If the bags are properly grounded, you do not need to worry about solvents or gases that are flammable in nature.
• Type D bags –These are dissipative or antistatic bags like the type C bags, but they do not need to be grounded while filing or emptying. The fabric used for Type D bags is static dissipater, and static charge dissipates through them and does not allow them to spark. Type D bags are ideal for carrying gases and solvents but avoid keeping them on surfaces smeared with grease or water.
• Inner Lining and coating – The material of the bulk bag you need to use will depend on the materials you need to fill and transport. Depending on the material, you may need a bag with coated or uncoated fabric. While the UV-coated bags protect the inner stored materials from decaying due to sunlight, the uncoated bags allow airflow and moisture to dissipate. Again, the liner is used for retaining moisture or oil of the stored product; they also prevent the materials from getting soiled from moisture and in the environment, depending on the character of the materials.
• Type of opening and closing – While selecting the right FIBC bag for your product, you need to decide on the opening of the bag. You need to consider the filing factor or the hooking factor and decide on the opening. You need to decide on the size too. You can get these bags with a standard fill spout, open top, duffel top, or cone top having a fill spout.

After you have decided on the opening of the bag, you need to understand the process of closing, understanding as per industry need for your materials. The bottom design of the bags can be like flat bottom, spout bottom, tie-open bottom, or any customized opening as desired by the user. Most of the reputed manufacturers can customize the bottom of the bags as per your industry and end-user needs.

• Some additional features to decide 

You may want to have some additional features, and the best manufacturers will do the same. It may be various colored lops to store and identify various products kept inside; it may have document pouches to store the shipping and consignee details and other papers. Again, the manufacturers and the suppliers will print your logo if you want or can make provisions for various locking styles.

Try to select the manufacturer who has a wide array of supplying these bags or has ready stock. You not only need to select the right bag but also may need urgent supplies to facilitate storing and supplying your products.

Overview

Selecting the right flexible intermediate bulk container bags is not rocket science. You need to decide on the products and the characteristics of the materials and select one of the best bags of Type A, B, C, or D. Also, look for additional features as mentioned above if you need to store and transport some unique materials. So select the right bag and the best manufacturer and stay out of the blues of storage and transportation.