Any industrial enterprise involves moving and storing vast amounts of materials — whether manufacturing components, raw materials, pieces of equipment, or waste — that require specialized transfer equipment such as industrial totes, tanks, and hoppers.
Understanding the different types of transfer and storage equipment available can help you choose the best ones for your application.
Often, off-the-shelf products won’t do the trick for specialized processes. In which case, it’s wise to consider custom metal fabrication, which can produce industrial totes or other transfer and storage products that meet your exact specifications.
Continue reading to learn more about the various storage options for industrial totes, tanks, and hoppers.
Industrial Totes for Scrap & Waste
One of the main uses for industrial totes is to house scrap and waste.
Totes made out of thick carbon steel plate can handle all types of waste and hold it for extended periods of time until it can get picked up, recycled, or drained.
Properly finished carbon steel resists corrosive liquids and can store the waste without any leaks, fumes, or dangers to your employees or warehouse. Each industrial bin is built using custom specifications and is created with your personal needs in mind. This can help ensure proper application and installation for your company.
Bumper Totes
Moving materials around a manufacturing facility requires a lot of planning, as well as strict conformity with safety procedures.
If your company creates signature parts and products, then custom bumper totes can be designed to hold and move those parts.
Custom fabricated bumper totes can be designed to feature steel frames that will hold large products in such a way that they don’t hang off the edges — inviting damage and hazards. Custom totes can also incorporate heavy-duty wheels and can be produced to be free-rolling or part of a trolley system.
Fuel Metering Bins
Large-scale fuel storage can be optimized with the installation of metering bins.
Custom-made metering bins make it easy to control fuel flow because the bins include controls for limiting the amount of fuel they dispense. When implemented on a large scale, the cost savings can be significant.
When you use multiple metering bins, you can match the settings on each of the bins to ensure smooth processes and overall optimization, as well as aid with maintenance and inspection down the line.
Storage Tanks
Industrial storage tanks vary widely by the type of business they are designed for.
For example, a typical industrial tank is installed vertically and features an output nozzle near the bottom.
But if you need an indoor tank and your facility has a relatively short roof, then you can have a storage silo custom fabricated to fit within your building. Alternatively, you could consider a horizontal installation. The horizontal design would allow you to place the tank on its side and have multiple access points from either end.
Storage Hoppers
Tanks and bins are ideal for storing liquid materials, but storage hoppers are meant for dry materials.
For example, ash and waste from wood-burning plants can be stored in a storage hopper to properly cool off. A custom metal fabrication company can provide multiple hoppers to fit your waste needs and sizes.
Storage hoppers are also necessary for a number of food industry applications. When used for food applications, they should be fabricated using food-grade stainless steel.
Hoppers used in food processing can be used to store food ingredients or food waste products that will be recycled and later used for other food applications. For example, a storage hopper could be used to house bulk collections of sugar and flour. Or, it could be used to store chicken bones once meat has been stripped from them and sent through for cooking or packaging.
Storage hoppers can be manufactured for both indoor and outdoor applications.
Custom paint applications for storage hoppers can help protect against plant conditions and can be implemented to conform to plant color-coding standards.
Hoppers can also incorporate viewing windows, which allow you to see how full each unit is, as well as visually monitor contents for any potential problems.
Finding the Right Industrial Totes, Tanks, and Bins
Chances are, your facility has been specially designed for the type of work you do. In which case, it’s important to have transfer and storage solutions that will fit your needs — whether they have to do with production or waste disposal.
If you find yourself in that situation, off-the-shelf industrial totes, tanks, and bins are probably not going to do the trick. You’ll need custom fabricated products. If they are properly designed and fabricated, they won’t just meet your needs — they can also contribute to optimizing your facility’s performance and safety.
To discuss the custom fabrication of industrial totes, tanks, or bins that meet your specific requirements, contact us today.
