Today, IBCs stand for market and customer-oriented container solutions, as they can be adapted to a great variety of customer specifications and requirements by professional manufacturers. That’s one reason why IBCs are used for the transport and storage of liquids and semi-solids in a number of industries, such as the chemical and petrochemical industries, the cosmetics, pharmaceuticals and food sectors, waste disposal, the recycling of paints, varnishes and adhesives, as well as in plant engineering and the building industry.For hazardous goods in particular, IBCs are among the most frequently used packaging today and, combined with Micro Matic closed loop systems, offer unparalleled safety for workers and the environment. IBCs are constantly being developed further. Increasing use in the chemical industry, for instance, led to fire resistance becoming an important issue. Modern, stainless steel containers are significantly more fire resistant than plastic containers and can withstand fire for 30 minutes without a sprinkler system – as verified by the BAM (Federal Institute for Materials Research and Testing). In keeping with the wide range of applications and industries in which IBCs are used, different containers also have the appropriate different properties. On the one hand, these are prerequisites for gaining approval for use in a particular industry. On the other hand, they are the new developments and modifications that improve or facilitate the way IBCs are used. Electrically heated IBCs, for instance, are used for the storage and transport of temperature-sensitive media. Chocolate, waxes and adhesives, amongst other substances, can be transported or stored in such containers at temperatures of up to 120 °C. Other IBCs are specially developed or designed for the treatment of air or various gases in order to clean soil using activated carbon. In contrast to costly earthworks, these mobile filter units can treat the soil on site by means of soil vapour extraction. These IBCs are supplied as combined transport and adsorption units, fitted with all the necessary pipes and standard quick coupling connectors. Filled with selected adsorbents, they achieve much more cost-efficient cleaning results. Models like the Cube, on the other hand, focus neither on the industry nor on the application scenario, but on economic aspects. The advantage of this stainless steel container lies particularly in its frameless, lightweight design, which, in combination with its weigh-saving construction, makes this IBC ideal for almost all requirements of the chemicals, paints, food, pharmaceuticals and oil industries. It is ADR certified and approved in accordance with UN 31 A/Y for the transportation of hazardous goods up to 2.0 kg/litre. IBCs are genuine all-rounders that can be used for any transport and storage task in almost any industry. Containers specially made of stainless steel not only have a long service life. Special manufacturing methods, such as deep-drawn lower sections with a minimum of dead space, also guarantee they can be emptied of any residues completely. This enables IBCs to keep pace with the current trend towards greater sustainability. At the same time, they are being constantly improved and developed to expand their range of applications or make them even more effective in their respective fields. And these latest developments are also taking future requirements for IBCs into account. With a view to Industry 4.0 and automation, work is currently underway on intelligent containers that can communicate information to users, such as filling level, cleaning or position. For more information on how Schäfer Container Systems can supply you with the ideal stainless steel IBC for your application, please contact us here.