Closures, steel and spouts are part of our DNA at Con-Tech. For almost forty years, Con-Tech has provided the drum industry with reliable, cost-effective security through a wide variety of products, parts and closures essential to the production of both open and closed head drums. We service a multi-national with 180 global sites in manufacturing, reconditioning, recycling and reselling industrial containers. We also sell to numerous domestic manufacturers with complete lines of new cold-rolled steel drums.
Serving the Drum Industry with Closures, Steel and Related Products
Steel drum closures are devices used to seal 55-gallon steel drums in order to protect the contents against air, dirt, liquid and other contaminants during transportation and storage. Steel drum closures also maintain the shelf life of the contents and provide a means of reclosing and reusing the steel drum. The 55-gallon container closures are covered with cap seals to prevent tampering and further protect the contents.
Con-Tech offers a wide variety of 55-gallon container closures, drum parts, and accessories for steel drums including drum cap seals, steel drum nuts and bolts, steel drum metal ring accessories, nylon drum plugs, and plastic drum plugs, drum plug gaskets, leak lock plugs, drum paint caps, and drum cap seal crimping tools. Con-Tech drum cap seals are printable with your own logo, while a complete assortment of open head drum rings and bolts is also available. Likewise, our 55-gallon steel drum bolts, nuts, lugs, and latches offer reliable cost-effective security for all of your 55-gallon steel drums.
Con-Tech also has been proud to provide the steel drum industry with an extensive range of steel circle blanks from a variety of world-class steel circle blank suppliers all over the world, many of whom are ISO certified, as well as varied domestic steel suppliers and blanking facilities. These mills have been chosen as suppliers based on their ability to guarantee the highest quality and lowest cost available anywhere.
In addition, our cold rolled sheet steel is provided to the steel drum industry by various, domestic and foreign world-class steel producers, many of whom are ISO certified. These mills have been chosen as suppliers based on their ability to guarantee the highest quality and lowest cost available anywhere.
This is an important role in today’s world as Steel drums are an essential American industry for which buyers carefully assess every detail. Steel drums in various sizes and configurations have many practical uses in industry. They also have been used in many other ways including as housing supports, musical instruments, rain barrels and barbeque drums.
Steel Drums Essential in Today’s World
Steel drums have either open or closed, welded heads, and are commonly available in the United States in the 55-gallon steel drum size. Closed-head steel drums are used for shipment, and storage liquids like chemicals and petroleum, as they cannot easily be filled with or dispense powdered items, while open head steel drums have more versatility.
Cold-rolled steel sheets are used to fabricate steel drums as the bodies are welded then made into drum bodies. A rolled seam is then made for the drum bottom, or on both the bottom and the top. Steel drums typically have top and bottom chimes or rims, while most steel drums have rolling hoops for strength and rolling, as well as two standardized bung holes of 2 inch and 3/4-inch diameters o the head. Threaded flanges are permanently inserted into the steel drums for use with plugs or bungs which are screwed into the drums once it is filled, in order to make a seal.
Reconditioned Drums Vital Now Too
We have long served the vital reconditioned drum sector. Industry sources have long recognized that emptied steel drums can be reconditioned or recycled many times over, making them eminently sustainable.
An EPA publication recognizes that the “benefits of reconditioning steel drums are considerable. New drums cost nearly $20, and reconditioned ones are about $12. Thus, at waste disposal sites where there are thousands of drums, the potential reclamation value could be significant. Moreover, reclamation would help to alleviate a nationwide shortage of recondition able 18-gage drums.”
Drum Industry Strictly Regulated
Using the correct drum closures and accessories is critical as the area is strictly regulated. Organizations of manufacturers of reconditioned and new steel, plastic, and fiber drums, as well as intermediate bulk containers, work hard on their members’ compliance. Manufacturers of new industrial packaging and their North American suppliers do the same while emphasizing the importance of safety and reliability.
Spouts Important to DEF Industry
A newer part of our business is our service to the small container industry. Con-Tech provides Diesel Exhaust Fluid (DEF) Spouts, which improve dispensing time for DEF additives and eliminates the need for vented jugs. Con-Tech’s small container DEF spouts bring the small container industry many significant features including easy attachment to the bottleneck, smooth fluid flow, no leaks or spillage during dispensing and availability in different colors.
Standard, Vented and Collapsible DEF Spouts Available
Con-Tech DEF spouts are offered in standard, vented or collapsible DEF spout versions. Con-Tech DEF spouts can be used to dispense DEF typically from 1-gallon, 2-gallon, 2.5-gallon, and 5-gallon jugs and are available in 38mm, 45mm, and 63mm sizes.
Con-Tech responded to the needs of the DEF marketplace and began to offer DEF spouts. DEF is a mixture of synthetic, high-purity, automotive-grade urea and deionized water. DEF is clear, nontoxic, nonflammable, non-explosive, and generally nonhazardous.
DEF was developed after the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) began to require lower emissions in response to the major amendments to the Clean Air Act. In 2008, the EPA mandated all three-quarter-ton and larger trucks have diesel particulate filters installed. Then in 2010, the EPA required that medium and heavy-duty vehicles reduce engine emissions. Significantly, this EPA ruling required diesel engines to use DEF to reduce harmful emissions and satisfy the mandates of the Clean Air Act. Thus, a strong new DEF market was created in the United States.
DEF is safe to handle but should be stored in clean, well-ventilated areas away from direct sun. DEF can access single and bulk use dispensers as well as with DEF pumps in some locations. The DEF should meet ISO purity standards to ensure it meets the goal of protecting the environment.
As diesel engine trucks required DEF fluid on an ongoing basis, commercial fuel services outlets throughout the country began to sell DEF in jugs. When the need for different size jugs emerged, a market for DEF spouts was born. Recent market surveys and industry leaders indicate that the DEF spout and accessories market will continue to grow in the next five years. Con-Tech is excited to be working with suppliers and consumers of this growing market.