FIBC or Flexible Intermediate Bulk Container is known as a flexible container for storing in bulk. An FIBC is essentially a large or big bag but with “special details”. Typically, the container is an industrial-sized container made of flexible material or fabric that is used to store and transport products, be they dry liquids such as sand, fertilizer, or granules.
The big bags have been used as packaging since the 40s, particularly in the rubber industry. They are made of PVC. In the sixties, with the advancement of new technology, their uses changed, being used by oil companies and the chemical industry using them for the storage and transportation of fertilizers and chemical elements. A decade later, it’s rare to find an industry that doesn’t use these containers along with shipping container liners for the packaging of its bulk goods.
Basically, the relationship between the two is similar, even large or big bags are known as FIBC, namely containers that store. Both store and transport bulk and waste products for disposal.
The big bags are quite convenient, flexible, and reusable packaging. They have the shape of a big bag or sack – hence the name -, and are most widely used in transporting or manipulating certain materials or liquids because of their robustness and simplicity.
Currently, using big bags is the most economical type of packaging on the market, which is associated with reduced storage costs and the space used for it. Why? Because this type of packaging is none other than a type of folding container with almost no volume.
In addition, big bags have a top opening and a handle to facilitate their use. They have many advantages such as:
- Improved conditions of filling and emptying, because there are machines that adapt to this type of container.
- Regarding transport and conditions, both Flexible Intermediate Bulk Containers and big bags can carry up to 1000 times their weight, without the need to use other means of loading. Most FIBC bag manufacturers have standardized standards regarding the weight capacity that their products can hold.
- They adapt to all types of merchandise, are easy to handle, and cover all packaging needs.
- They are informative, usually carrying information attached, either printed (facilitating company publicity) or carrying certain documents.
- One of the most important aspects of their use is that they are commonly environmentally friendly, as they are reusable.
So can FIBC be compared to a big bag? It depends on the point of view used. An FIBC is definitely a big bag but a big bag is not necessarily an FIBC. Why? Because an FIBC is a big bag specifically designed to accommodate certain industrial materials, it is therefore safer. It is also equipped with handrails to reduce the risk of spillage of the material being transported. To this day, FIBC can be considered the most practical transport container in the industrial world because it requires simpler technical operations than traditional storage drums.
