Packaging for Gas Cylinders

This customers operation manufactures various types of high-value gases that are exported from their facilities in North America to Europe, Australia and China by air and sea freight. The customer was shipping its cylinders full of product in a standard type steel cage that could fit many cylinders at a time, even when the customer needed only 2 or 3 cylinders.

 

The end customers not only disliked the bulkiness of the steel cages but also the fact that they had to pay a daily rental fee to the customer in addition pay for the return freight of the cages. The customer's exports were being affected. A new, creative solution was needed.

Familiar to developing solutions for gas and chemicals, Nefab presented the customer with an innovative solution: for exterior protection the tried-and-tested Nefab ExPak Type S consisting of 6 mm birch plywood box and steel profiles was suggested. The internal dunnage proposed consisted of high-grade honeycomb material that would hold the cylinder(s) in place and mould itself "around" the shape thanks to the weight of the filled cylinders. To test the integrity of the packaging materials, Nefab's proposed solution was submitted to strict drop tests based on IATA Packing Instruction 650 for outer packaging. As expected, Nefab's ExPak S with inner honeycomb dunnage successfully passed the tests.