Choosing the Right Container

What To Ask Before Ordering Your Next Lot of Plastic Pails

From food products to paint, to laundry detergent, to joint compound, a vast array of products are packed, stacked, shipped, stored, displayed, and sold in rigid plastic containers. In addition to obvious differences in size and shape, these containers vary in durability, weight, and other characteristics, depending on the resins from which they are molded. Design expertise and molding equipment also play roles. Because many of these variables affect the container’s performance, selecting the best container for a particular use requires careful evaluation.

While initial cost is always a consideration, especially with the pressure on costs these days, application-matched performance should be the highest consideration. All too often the lowest first-cost solution turns into a much higher total-cost-of-use solution, after all additional expenses are taken into account. To name a few, shipping and warehouse costs can be higher than necessary (if the pails cannot be stacked efficiently), product can be lost (if pails rupture when handled or exposed to high or low temperatures), and future sales can be lost to competing brands because pails are difficult to open or reseal.

There are many factors to consider. The well-informed buyer (purchasing agent, specifying engineer, quality control specialist, etc.) will know what questions to ask and what specifications to insist on before choosing the supplier of his/her company’s rigid plastic containers. Here is a sampling of such questions:

Does the supplier offer performance testing?
Before placing an order for new containers, be sure samples have been tested to the conditions they can experience in actual service . . . with your company’s product inside! This means testing for compression, crack-resistance, cover strength, temperature-tolerance range, and other important application criteria.

The performance characteristics you require are a function of container type and resin or resin blend. A good supplier will have a wide range of containers to choose from as well as the ability to conduct in-house testing and even assist you if you prefer to carry out tests at your facility.

Does the supplier have the ability and inclination to blend different plastics for specific applications?
Different resins provide different performance attributes that affect filling, stacking, shipping, and storage. Some resins provide good compression strength for stacking. Other resins provide better impact strength for rough handling. Some withstand corrosive chemicals. Others impart extra crack resistance. Some are better for containers that spend time in cold storage. Others are more suitable for hot-fill applications. The right blend of resins can deliver the right combination of properties, including a plastic that will withstand both temperature extremes.

The supplier should have the ability to target performance by selecting the right resin or creating a new blend (not just layers) of resins to optimize the performance and handling of the container in the real world. Obviously, the broader the range of resins the supplier has to choose from, the more options its technicians will have in formulating a plastic that suits your application requirements.

Does the supplier have the expertise to find the best solution to fit your needs?
Experience is the best teacher, so proven performance is a must. Does the supplier have a history of product innovation? Check out the company’s record, their molding experience, their willingness to understand and recommend the container best suited to your application, and the level of their commitment to satisfying customers’ needs. When you’re spending thousands of dollars on containers, make sure you are dealing with a company that is big enough to handle your requirements —— big enough to offer a wide variety of “off-the-shelf” solutions; modified off-the-shelf solutions; and complete, newly designed solutions. Suppliers with modern, efficient molding technologies, technicians who know how to use the equipment, and lean manufacturing processes are more likely to produce reliable and economical containers.

Does the supplier have plastic-molding experts to meet your design requirements and recommend molding options that result in containers that will perform best for your particular application?
This question is critical. The supplier should be able to work closely with its customers and understand the performance and handling requirements so they can recommend the best container for your application. The final formula and design should take everything into account, from the characteristics of the product to be contained to the preferred size and shape of the container, to the conditions under which the containers will be filled, to how high they will be stacked for shipping and storage, to how the containers might be displayed in stores (if applicable), to the desired lid, and so on.

Ideally, this should even extend to marketing advice. Performance requirements come first, of course, but the best suppliers can recommend and produce a variety of container shapes and different aesthetic looks. They can even provide graphics assistance.

Container weight and stackability are issues in all industries. A container designed for easy handling, excellent stacking strength, and close “nesting” maximizes the number of units per pallet or truckload. This, in turn, allows fewer shipments, i.e., lower shipping costs, less product handling, and greater overall efficiency. Molded from the right design and resin formula, a container can weigh less than an equivalently sized, thicker-walled container without sacrificing strength.

Container shelf life is another factor, especially important when the product inside requires excellent ESCR properties, such as paint, janitorial or construction products, or specialty chemicals. For extra protection against leaks, special gaskets should be chosen to allow for compression during storage.

Everyone wants a container’s lid to fit snugly and hold up under stacking, but there are many more lid and handle considerations when it comes to the convenience of the end user. The supplier should offer a variety of lid designs to accommodate any and all customer needs, including child-resistant lids, senior-friendly lids, tear-strip lids, tamper-evident lids, lids for dispensing wipes, etc. For most applications, the container should be easy to open and lids should also effect a tight reseal after opening. A spout should be an option. As for handles, they are not just for looks! A container’s handle should be ergonomic —— it shouldn’t break in two, pull away from the container, or eat into the carrier’s hand. As an alternative to handles, some suppliers offer recessed finger grips built into the wall of the pail.

Is the supplier environmentally responsible?
Environmental responsibility crosses all product boundaries. The best suppliers have the capability to incorporate recycled plastic —— post-consumer resin (PCR) reclaimed from finished products —— into their containers while meeting all of the customer’s performance requirements.

Lightweight containers are “green” because they use plastic more efficiently, as measured by container weight per gallon of storage capacity.

Suppliers dedicated to developing rigid packaging solutions with as little environmental impact as possible are partners in Operation Clean Sweep, a joint initiative of the American Chemistry Council and the Society of the Plastics Industry to prevent the release of plastic resin pellets into the environment. Pledged to strive toward zero pellet loss through improved worksite procedures, partner companies provide employee training in responsible containment, cleanup, and disposal methods.

Food containers also require special attention. Cleanliness matters across the board. Most liquids require gaskets. Tamper-evident lids are sometimes in order, and resealability can be very important. The supplier should also have the abiity to produce containers that comply with all pertinent rules and regulations, including U.S. Food and Drug Administration regulations regarding plastic containers for hot and frozen foods.

There are rules for non-food products, too, such as the United Nations requirements for containers holding hazardous materials and the Coalition of Northeastern Governors (CONEG) standards that many states have adopted for the reduction of heavy metals in packaging. The supplier should be able to manufacture to all container-related regulations, rules, and guidelines pertinent to your particular industry.

Does the supplier have quality-control systems in place? How is their service/response record?
To ensure consistency, the supplier should have both manual and mechanical Statistical Process Control (SPC) protocols or a similar quality- control/assurance system, ISO, etc. It is not enough for every container in a batch to be identical. The next batch, and the next, and every batch you order should be exactly the same. Consistency is very important. If issues do arise, how will the supplier react? Does the company have a record for responsible customer service, including site visits when necessary and a willingness to work out complaints in a timely fashion?

Does the supplier have graphics application capabilities?
The answer should be yes, and they should be willing and able to help you choose the decorating process that best enhances your container’s visual appeal. The best container suppliers offer at least these four decorating/labeling options: offset printing, silk-screen printing, pressure-sensitive labels, and the newer heat-transfer printing that provides photo-quality graphics and a bar-code scan rate of 100%.

Are the supplier’s supply chains reliable?
It’s important to find a manufacturer that has good supply chains so as not to run out of a key ingredient during production. In fact, the company should have multiple vendors for each of its raw materials, in case a vendor can’t make its deliveries. The container manufacturer should have multiple plants. The molds and protocols in each plant should match to provide backup capacity in case a plant has to shut down due to a natural disaster.

Does the supplier have a record for timely and economical deliveries to your region?
What is the required lead time for deliveries? Check the locations of the supplier’s plants. Once the containers are produced, is the supplier willing to maintain a floor stock of finished containers for you, for “Just in Time” deliveries? Can the company deliver quickly, and are the plant locations appropriately suited to make deliveries economically?

Don’t Settle for Less!
Summing up, the performance of a molded plastic container is determined by the supplier’s capabilities, including resin formulation, molding techniques, experienced employees, machine settings, quality control, container testing, and, most of all, the supplier’s willingness to listen to the customer’s needs. In the quest for a truly economical and reliable solution, don’t pay for more than you need, but don’t settle for less than you need!