About Pails

Pails, also known as ‘buckets’, can be found across a variety of industries due to it’s durable properties for protecting, dispensing, and delivering the product safely. Pails are more commonly used in the industrial, chemical, and agricultural industry since higher volumes of product are used within those in those industries. However, pails can be found behind-the-scenes of food industries when larger quantities of food or beverages need to be transported. Because pails serve such a variety of industries, there is an equal variety of pail designs to fit every industry’s needs.

The most commonly recognized pail you may see everyday is the open round shaped pail with a metal handle, but there are a variety of shapes and styles available to accommodate different products. Pails are generally made of two types of materials: Plastic and Steel. Depending on the needs and cost constraints of the customer, both materials have their unique benefits:

Plastic Open Head
Plastic open head pails are the most commonly used pail and can be found in almost every industry to individual consumer households. Lids often are used with the pails to seal dry or liquid products within the container. A variety of lid options are available ranging from lids with gaskets to lids with spouts built right in! These pails are lightweight and can be made with different thicknesses by using more or less plastic during production (thickness is identified as ‘mil’). Depending on the needs of the product, a customer may want a lightweight pail to save on costs or a thick walled pail for products with aggressive ingredients. In addition to the options for different thickness, additional shapes such as square and rectangle are available to help maximize storage space.

Steel Open Head
Steel open head pails are also commonly used, but are more prevalent in industrial settings. Since steel isn’t a light material, it’s not as popular as plastic because of the higher cost to ship and produce. However steel pails are the trusted packaging option for products composed of aggressive materials which calls for a durable package that can safely protect and transport the product. Lids are built to be just as durable as the pail body. Lug covers paired with metal pails and must be sealed with a lug cover closing tool. Steel open head pails are only available as a round shape, but a wide range of coatings can be added within the interior of the pail for additional protection.

Common linings are rust inhibitor, epoxy phenolic, red phenolic, green phenolic, and gold phenolic. Each coating has unique properties Speak with a representative to see which coating would work best for your product.

Tight Head
Both plastic and steel pails have a ‘tight head’ version where the top is closed (no lid is needed) with the exception of one or two smaller openings for filling and dispensing product. The top also typically has a handle designed to help the user pour out product from the opening. Metal tight head pails are only made in a round shape, but plastic tight head pails are available in round or square. The square shape is a more popular choice for the plastic tight head pail due to maximizing space. Different types of caps (may be referred to as ‘bungs’) and spouts can be affixed to the openings to dispense product efficiently.

Regardless of what type of material, shape, or size, pails are trusted for it’s strength and efficiency. Many of our pails are also UN certified which means the pails have been tested and approved to transport hazardous products. Speak with a packaging expert today to see how a pail could optimally protect and deliver product!