The company’s accordion fold and band technologies enable a 55 gallon drum to contract to 15 gallons, which saves up to 70% on return empty shipping fees. Technology applies to any size containers, from 1 gallon to ultra-large shipping containers and to viscous, semi-viscous and grain-type materials.
K-Tech R & D Corporation has received one issued patent and has one pending patent that will issue that covers The World’s First Expandable / Contractible Shipping Containers. And, it is the only company that holds patent(s) in this area. These facts change everything.
Our container system technologies change how larger containers are manufactured and shipped worldwide. Enclosed, please find graphics of collapsible containers in various sizes to see how they function in K-Tech’s Contractible Containers file.
This is a brand new, exciting technology that was missed by everyone in the plastic container industry, but which is a very important and valuable methodology that will transform how containers are made, shipped and employed. Specifically, the technologies cover a wide spectrum of containers, such as collapsible drums, totes and ultra-large containers.
Furthermore, our advancements will affect the sales prospects of many different companies’ products that employ these containers. K-Tech’s Flex Shipping Containers will change the entire shipping industry, affecting container manufacturers and user companies that ship and sell liquids, semi-viscous materials, grains and pellets, among other items.
The technology is based upon two novel concepts that have never been implemented previously on larger containers:
* multiple accordion folds run from the top, to the sides and to the bottom of containers,
providing a 360º folding action, enabling them to expand and contract
* a band system is deployed to inhibit or restrict the volume of the container
The significance of our systems enables empty containers to be reduced in size to their ‘restricted’ minimal dimensions for return trips, instead of to their normal, empty full size, thereby saving significantly on transportation costs.
Typically, any containers from 1 gallon on up are candidates for our compression / restriction system. Our band system compresses and holds a container’s size to a specified volume. Once materials are removed from containers, a 5 gallon container, for example, can be reduced to approximately 1.5 gallons for its return trip to the filler. Correspondingly, a 330 gallon tote can be reduced to a 110 gallon size.
And, if desired, one mold can produce a 330 gallon tote that can be compressed to 275, 220 and 110 gallons when using the appropriate sized compression bands. The K-Tech Flex containers replace large containers, totes, and drums, and significantly decrease disposal costs, minimize warehouse space, maximize freight efficiency, and increase productivity compared to all other rigid containers, all equating into major savings that no other containers can offer. Please see K-Tech Tote Feasibility Study.
K-Tech’s technology cuts down on container sizes when empty, and, as a result, its manufacturing design significantly reduces warehouse, shipping, labor and fuel costs over all present manufacturing methods. Perhaps more importantly, it reduces the space required for landfills, making this an important ecological discovery.
Multiple accordion folds are positioned at the top and bottom of containers, while employing multiple side folds, to achieve a 360° folding action. Horizontal side folds were previously deployed many years ago, but when used by themselves without the band technology, were unable to achieve worthwhile product removal or effective compression.
The company’s accordion fold collapsibility features can be implemented on all types, shapes and sizes of plastic containers—–from the smallest of containers to the largest of containers, including giant underground holding tanks. Containers, such as 5 gallon or 55 gallon drums, can be compressed to 33% or even less of their full size, resulting in even more savings. Please see K-Tech Contractible Containers graphics.
As far as larger containers go, it has been estimated that a 40-foot container
holds approximately 320 full-sized 55-gallon drums. Since our drums can be collapsed to 33% or less of their filled size (and can also be squared-off vs. made into round units), the same 40-foot container can now hold approximately 1500 collapsed drums.
A lot of wasted space is picked up by squaring. Obviously, collapsed drums substantially reduce fuel and transportation costs, allowing the users to reap major market advantages not possible with current technologies, and which will radically alter the sales and marketing dynamics unlike any container technologies before them.
Our ‘band’ systems can be incorporated into containers or can be used in conjunction with our ‘strap’ systems, which hold containers in a compressed condition for efficient shipping or warehousing. For most applications, our band systems will be sufficient.
The company has also developed another industry first, which will further extend its patent protection. Now, one individual can contract a 55 gallon drum or smaller drums via a built-in contraction device. This device precludes the need for requiring two people to handle this function.