An A-Z of IBC vocabulary

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The intermediate bulk container (IBC) sector, like many others, is full of its own terminology and jargon.  In many cases users will naturally refer to an IBC by a particular brand or product name.  It can get confusing.  To try to help, here’s an A-Z of IBC vocabulary.

 

Arca

A specific product name of a foldable bag-in-box type IBC.  Also referred to as ‘Arca container’, ‘Arca bin’ or ‘Arca IBC’.

 

Arlington

Our company’s own brand of bag-in-box IBC, the popular Arlington Combo is often simply referred to as an ‘Arlington’.  Available in 250L and 1000L sizes, it is a foldable all-plastic container with a plastic liner inside.

 

Aseptic IBC

Designed to guarantee sterile transport of a liquid, an aseptic IBC is a rigid foldable all-plastic container with a sterile liner bag on the inside equipped with valve and seal technology ensuring liquids can be aseptically filled and discharged.

 

Bag-in-box IBC

Instead of a rigid plastic bottle and a metal outer cage, a bag-in-box IBC is composed of a foldable plastic outer container with a liner bag inside to hold the liquid, fluid or chemical.  It is also known as a ‘foldable tote container’ or more often a ‘foldable IBC’.

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BSP

British standard pipe is a thread specification widely used in industry sometimes further defined with BSPP for a parallel thread or BSPT for a tapered thread.

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BPA 

Bisphenol A (BPA) is a chemical used to make plastics including containers that come into contact with food. This includes refillable drinks bottles and food storage containers. It's also used to make some protective coatings and linings for food and drinks cans.

 

Combo

An alternative to the rigid bottle-type intermediate bulk container, the Combo IBC or ‘bag-in-box IBC’ is a foldable all-plastic container with a plastic liner bag inside.  It is used for the transport and storage of liquids, fluids and chemicals.  The most common Combo sizes are 250 litres (65 gallons) and 1000 litres (285 gallons).

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DN thread

DN or diameter nominal is a thread specification measured in mm. e.g. DN50 is a 2 " fitting of that thread type

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Easifold

A specific product name of a foldable bag-in-box IBC.

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EVOH

Ethylene vinyl alcohol is a type of polymer used to introduce very low gas permeability properties to liner bag materials

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Flow Box

A specific product name of a foldable bag-in-box IBC.

 

GLC

A specific product name of a galvanized stainless steel foldable bag-in-box type IBC.  Also referred to as ‘GLC IBC’ and ‘GLC1000’.  A ‘GLCS’ also has a sump base.

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Hire or Rent

Generally hire would refer to a short term ad-hoc period of shorter duration whereas rental is often used to refer to longer contract based periods. Sometimes the differentiation is made between portable assets and non-portable assets eg hiring a car or renting a house. Arlington do both ad-hoc hire contracts and long term lease style contracts, as such the term hire and rental may be used interchangeably.

 

Iconic

A specific product name of a foldable bag-in-box IBC.  It is also known as the ‘pallecon iconic’.

 

Intermediate bulk container (IBC)

An intermediate bulk container or IBC is a reusable container used for the transport and storage of liquids, fluids and chemicals.  The word ‘intermediate’ actually relates to the typical volume of IBCs, being between that of drums and tanks.  There are three common sizes: a 250L IBC, a 500L IBC and a 1000L IBC.  It is also known as an ‘IBC tote’, ‘tote tank’, ‘pallet container’, ‘palletised container’, ‘pallecon’ or ‘pallet tank’ (USA)

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Met/pet

Metalised  Polyethylene terephthalate is a very thin metal layer usually applied to PET to provide very low gas permeability properties to liner bags. This has the added advantage of also being opaque so also overcomes any UV issues.

 

Pallecon

Used very widely throughout the industry, the word pallecon is a direct abbreviation of the term ‘palletised container’, and has become a regular synonym for the more generic term intermediate bulk container or IBC. The term ‘plastic pallecon’ is also often used.

 

Pallecon Auto Flow

A specific product name of a galvanized stainless steel foldable bag-in-box type IBC.

 

Pallecon Ultra

A specific product name of a foldable plastic bag-in-box IBC.

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Rental

See Hire or Rental above

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S60 fitting specification

This is a course buttress thread type basically only used with IBC and other container connections

 

Schoeller Allibert Combo

A world leader in the design and manufacture of reusable transit packaging, Schoeller Allibert introduced the first Combo, a foldable all-plastic bag-in-box type IBC used for the transport and storage of liquids, fluids and chemicals.  They make our own very popular Arlington Combo.

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Schoeller Allibert Excelsior

An alternative bag-in-box type IBC from this leading plastics manufacturer.

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Superior

A specific alternative type of bag-in-box type IBC, very similar to the Excelsior.

 

Unifold

A specific product name of a foldable bag-in-box type IBC.  It is also called ‘Unifold IBC’ or ‘Unifold1000L’.