Bag-in-a-box packaging set for PROSOCO products

New “bag in a box” packaging is set for four PROSOCO products beginning in September, as part of the company’s transition from hard-plastic containers.

PROSOCO is a national manufacturer of products that clean, protect and maintain concrete, brick and stone architecture. The four products are Sure Klean® Weatherseal Siloxane PD, and Blok Guard & Graffiti Control II; and Consolideck® Saltguard WB, and LS (lithium silicate) hardener/densifier for concrete floors.

The bag-in-a-box system is a mixed-plastic bladder inside a double-walled corrugated cardboard box. These first products will be available in a 5-gallon (18.9 liters) version.

The 5-gallon box is 12 ½ inches high, 11 ½ inches wide and 9 ½ inches deep.

PROSOCO plans in coming months to make these and other products available in a 55-gallon bag-in-a-box container, and a 265-gallon bag-in-a-box tote.

Recyclability and easy jobsite disposal are two of the reasons PROSOCO is switching to the bag-in-a-box system, said Bruce M. Boyer, vice president for production. The cardboard box, which is 93 percent of the packaging, is completely recyclable.

The bladder, while not currently recyclable, drains completely enough to meet RCRA (Resource Conservation and Recovery Act) standards to be disposed of without rinsing – a time-saver at the job site, he said.

The system is also sturdy and durable, Boyer said. In company tests, the boxes withstood many times their weight from heavy containers stacked on top. They also stayed intact after incidental contact with forklifts. In some tests, the bladders even survived direct hits from forklift prongs better than traditional plastic totes.

 

PROSOCO tests "Bag-in-a Box" for durability

SCRUNCH!

That’s the sound a forklift prong made recently when it rammed a 265-gallon Bag-in-a-Box full of water in the PROSOCO production facility.

It wasn’t an accident. The puncture was part of a series of tests to see how well PROSOCO’s new recyclable container system can stand up to the type of damage sometimes dished out at job sites and warehouses.

And how well did the Bag in a Box do? In one case, it survived a direct hit from a forklift prong better than a traditional steel cage-plastic tote, said Bruce Boyer, Vice President for Production. Bruce designed and oversaw the test program.

“The blade punctured the cardboard box, but the heavy water-filled plastic bladder inside gave way and stayed intact,” he said.

At the same speed, the forklift blade easily poked through the plastic tote. A geyser of water spewed from the side of the damaged plastic cube.

Pallets of five-gallon Bag-in-a-Box containers, along with 265-gallon Bag-in-a-Box totes got the test treatment. They were tested for stackability, incidental forklift contact, direct ramming, and dropping.

In the stackability tests, both totes and pallets of 5-gallon Bag-in-a-Box containers withstood many times their weight from heavy water-filled containers stacked on top.

In the incidental contact tests, forklifts “accidentally” scraped alongside the pallets and totes. While the contact left deep grooves in the double-walled corrugated cardboard containers, there was no breach.

Although the first direct ramming test failed to breach the plastic bladder of the 265-gallon Bag-in-a-Box tote, the determined forklift driver tried several times. He finally got the puncture – but unlike the plastic tote, there was no geyser.

Instead, there was just a slow seeping of water from the perforation.

The drop test results weren’t as successful as the other tests. Dropped on concrete from 10 feet up, both box and bag broke. That test led to a heavier corrugated cardboard box, Bruce said.

The new box has survived a fall from 3 feet, said Jeff Plumlee, PROSOCO’s production control manager. Jeff assisted with the testing.

Test conclusions?

“The Bag-in-a-Box showed strength and flexibility,” Bruce said. “But it’s not our traditional plastic container. While it’s superior in some ways, it’s different in others.

For instance, he explained, even though the cardboard Bag-in-a-Box has a water-resistant coating, it’s not going to stand up to weather like PROSOCO’s traditional plastic containers. The Bag-in-a-Box is best stored inside, or, if outside, then covered up.

“That’s going to a slightly different mindset,” Bruce said.

The payback is that the Bag-in-a-Box makes life easier for the end-user, he said. The box is recyclable. The bag, while not currently recyclable, drains completely enough to meet RCRA (Resource Conservation and Recovery Act) standards to be disposed of without rinsing – a job-site time saver.

“Those benefits – to our customers and our environment – are worth thinking a little differently,” Bruce said.

See for yourself:

  • Durability Tests Video (Windows Media)
  • Durability Tests Video (QuickTime)

    • This is it -- June Johnson-Ryan, Production Technician, displays the main parts of the Bag-in-a-Box container.

    Stack Test – Production Control Manager Jeff Plumlee tests the "stackability" of the Bag-in-a-Box 265-gallon tote by setting about two tons of water-filled steel-cage plastic totes on top.

    Oops! – Production Control Manager Jeff Plumlee "accidentally" scores the side of a 265-gallon Bag-in-a-Box tote to test the container’s resistance to incidental contact.

    Waterworks – After a direct ramming by forklift prongs, 265-gallon totes leak water. The water geysers from the punctured traditional steel-cage plastic tote. The water slowly weeps from the damaged Bag-in-a-Box tote.

    Scrunch! – Forklift prongs pierce a water-filled 265-gallon Bag-in-a-Box tote in an attempt to get water to fountain out like it does when a traditional steel-cage plastic tote is punctured.

    Weepy – An attempt to get water to fountain out through a breach in a 265-gallon water-filled Bag-in-a-Box tote by piercing the tote with forklift blades resulted only in a slow weeping of water.

    Prepare to launch – Production Control Manager Jeff Plumlee gets ready to launch a water-filled 5-gallon Bag-in-a-Box into the air, about 10 feet above concrete, as part of recent durability tests of the Bag-in-a-Box container system.

    Airborne – A water-filled 5-gallon Bag-in-a-Box flies briefly, after being tossed in the air by Production Control Manager Jeff Plumlee. The short flight was part of durability testing of the Bag-in-a-Box container system.

    Bustin’ loose – The water-filled mixed-plastic bag in this 5-gallon Bag-in-a-Box container survived a 10-foot fall onto concrete, though the box did not. PROSOCO has since gone to a heavier box which has survived a 3-foot fall.