Laser drums with special anti-corrosive properties

Steel drums can be used in a wide variety of applications. The different products safely transported and stored in these drums include pesticides, primary materials for industry, hazardous goods, cooking oils and primary substances for use in cosmetics. But untreated drums do come with one drawback: they rust. As a result, applying anti-corrosive to steel drums is a must. Schütz now combines a specially treated base material with an innovative production process.

Packaging manufacturer Schütz uses hot-dip galvanised sheet steel straight from the coil on both sides to produce its new steel drums. The base material is immersed in a bath of molten zinc before the coil is wound and receives a consistently high-quality and evenly distributed zinc coating through galvanisation. As a result, the base material is already protected against corrosion on the inside and outside. The body of the drum is then manufactured using a laser beam welding process in which the sheet is butt-welded. The result is a high-quality, smooth and clean weld seam that measures just two to three millimetres in width.

A prototype version of the laser drum has been tested as part of a development project, with Schütz making the necessary investments to develop it through to production readiness. The new product made its global debut at this year’s interpack trade fair. After assembling the cover and bottom, the inside and outside of the innovative steel drum are directly protected from corrosion, making it immediately ready to ship. The new type of drum is particularly suitable for storing challenging and sensitive products that would previously have been kept in conventionally galvanised or internally coated barrels.

Schütz makes a number of different designs of the laser drum: a tight-head version with a capacity of 216.5 litres, an open-head version with a capacity of 213 litres and a 210-litre necked-in version suitable for use in ISO containers.

The company also offers a version of the innovative solution with a plastic inliner for extra-challenging products. This lines the drum like a second skin, allowing it to transport sensitive liquid and solid cargo. Keeping the steel and plastic separate reduces disposal costs and makes it easy to recondition the steel drum.

  Since the material used is already homogeneous and has anti-corrosive properties, quality risks are minimised right from the start of production. Due to the direct protection offered by the anti-corrosive material, there is no need for additional treatment processes. Plus, any internal transport tasks associated with this are now also unnecessary. As a result, the novel production process saves time, cuts costs and reduces energy consumption. Thanks to its sparing use of resources, it also has a positive effect in terms of users’ environmental footprint. Schütz can also maintain a large inventory of the pre-hot-dip galvanised coils for the production of the laser drums. This increases delivery flexibility and supply reliability compared with drums that undergo a later galvanisation process, which take up considerably more space in storage.