FIBC bags carry the weight of expectations; literally and figuratively. Their effectiveness depends on how much they hold, how long they hold it, whether the contents suffer any damage, and the convenience of usage. To summarise, the quality of bulk bags are underlined by how they are built, and this is in essence what our work at Soliflex revolves around. 

Developed with the knowledge that bulk bag transportation is a critical component of major industrial processes, Soliflex has made a name for itself as the leading provider of world class bulk packaging and big bag solutions. In a mission critical world where things have to get from one place to the next, and where the slightest glitch can have tremendous impact on time and money, we provide dependability without compromise on quality. As India’s first integrated facility we provide bulk packaging and big bag solutions for all kinds of food and pharmaceutical FIBC’s and standalone units, with Container Liner manufacturing capability.

Bulk bags by their very nature have to be sturdy and dependable. They carry the weight of not just goods, but plenty of money and time invested in operations. The bags therefore have to do their jobs, and do them well. However, despite the best fail-safe measures undertaken in their construction, challenges do crop up and months of effort goes waste in a matter of hours.

Our job at Soliflex as a bulk bag manufacturer, is to pre-empt these problems, catch them before they even pose problems. We even have proprietary processes that are designed such that we achieve excellence at every stage of the bag making process.

So what are the challenges or common problems with bulk bags, things that often get missed while overseeing the larger details?

One wouldn’t think that there is much that can damage or lessen the effectiveness of an FIBC bulk bag. After all, every measure – whether size or fabric quality – is covered while constructing them. However problematic bags go beyond these criteria. It all boils down to the little details, often overlooked like the ones below that can present challenges.

SIZING OF BULK BAGS

The size of bulk bags is a very critical parameter. This one aspect alone goes through several audits and checks before manufacturing, to ensure they adhere to the manufacturing standards and the customer’s requirements. Incorrect sizing doesn’t just mean that products cannot be filled, but also that there could be wastage because of the ill-fit or the bags won’t fill and discharge properly. This eventually causes a myriad problems for everyone involved and creates enormous stress, at the client and manufacturer’s end. 

While sizing of bulk bags, there are 3 main things to keep in mind;

• Know how much you want the bag to eventually weigh
• Factor in bag expansion and blind space pockets
• Know the pallet size the bulk bags go in

As a part of our manufacturing process at Soliflex, our products go through stringent quality guidelines with our multi-level control process that not just looks for standard sizing adherence, but many other details often missed during the construction phase. We look into outfitting bags with liners suited to the material they carry, such as flanged liners for extra strength. Our Fluidizing PE Film Liner Bags are built for the flexibility of liquids. Special palletless bulk bags and even tubular bags with bag size of more than 105 cm, are specially constructed once we understand requirements and make sure there’s good value in every product we make.

BULK BAGS BRIDGING

Spout bottom bags are one of the most commonly used FIBC bags. They allow easy pouring of contents, are less messy and very functional no matter which products – fine powders, oils, solids – are carried within. The one challenge of a spout bottom is the problem of bridging – sticking of contents to the spout – during discharge. Infrequent users of such bags, the continuous clogging of the spout halts discharge from the bag, and may need manual intervention in removal. A seemingly small problem can become a big one, when large numbers of such bags are involved. 

Bulk bag bridging is commonly handled by cutting off the discharge spouts. This destroys the very purpose of such bags and causes safety issues – food getting contaminated and hazards to people handling the bag. While there are several different recommended alternatives and approaches to this, below is what we suggest.

• Using bulk bags with oversized discharge spouts– While this is the most suggested alternative by most manufacturers, we go one step ahead in customizing the spouts and designing bags with special discharge options. The spouts can be designed with different kinds of openings, built into specific bag areas; thereby aiding inconvenience and management of the product discharge.
• Using full bottom discharge or ‘diaper bottom discharge’– The most convenient solution but not readily available, these kinds of bulk bags are specially created for your delivery, once we understand requirements and know the process of transportation. By specially customizing the entire bottom of the bag a discharge spout, it becomes easy to use. What we take special care of is to pre-empt it’s use, make it easy to open, convenient to handle and safe to move around.

Therefore while there are bound to be challenges and roadblocks in using FIBC bulk bags, at Soliflex we ensure that they are taken care of well before they are used in the transportation of your product. Because with us, making ‘bags’ is not just the priority but an absolute belief that our bags Move Your Business Forward.