A HOLIDAY QUESTION – ARE YOU AS GOOD AS YOUR DOG?

A HOLIDAY QUESTION – ARE YOU AS GOOD AS YOUR DOG?
Of all the items ever published in this Newsletter, I am repeatedly asked about "Are you as good as your Dog?" I hope you will find in it, a special message for this Holiday season.

"If you can start the day without caffeine, if you can get going without pep pills, if you can resist complaining and boring people with your troubles, if you can eat the same food everyday and be grateful for it, if you can understand when your loved ones are too busy to give you any time, if you can overlook it when something goes wrong through no fault of yours and those you love take it out on you, if you can take criticism and blame without resentment, if you can ignore a friends limited education and never correct him, if you can resist treating a rich friend better then a poor friend, if you can face the world without lies and deceit, if you can conquer tension without medical help, if you can relax without liquor, if you can sleep without the aid of drugs, if you can honestly say that deep in your heart you have no prejudice against creed, color, religion or politics, then my friends, you are almost as good as your dog!" (Howard Skolnik)

SEE YOU AT THE WINE SYMPOSIUM IN SACRAMENTO

SEE YOU AT THE WINE SYMPOSIUM IN SACRAMENTO

For those of you wanting to see our stainless steel wine barrels up close, come to Sacramento! Once again, we will be exhibiting our increasingly popular stainless steel wine drums in Sacramento, CA at The Unified Wine & Grape Symposium. The Symposium runs for 2 days, January 30th and 31^st, 2008. This event has been extremely successful for us over the past six years as it is one of the most popular wine making events of the year. The Symposium provides us the opportunity to personally demonstrate the features and options of our wine barrels. Being an annual show for Skolnik, we have established trusted relationships with many winemakers and as always, we will have various sizes and styles for attendees to view. We will be located on the Main Floor, at Booth # 217. Additionally, we would like to invite anyone that is not already registered to be our guest in attending the Symposium. We have a limited number of free entry vouchers that we would be happy to send to you or your colleagues. If interested, contact us immediately at: 773.362.1913 or email Jason@skolnik.com. See you in Sacramento! (Jason Snow)

HOW ARE YOU GOING TO SHIP YOUR HAZARDOUS MATERIAL?

HOW ARE YOU GOING TO SHIP YOUR HAZARDOUS MATERIAL?

Determining that you have a hazardous material to ship is the first step of safe and compliant transportation. Many companies are unaware that items that they are about to ship are classified as hazardous materials and must meet the shipping requirements of the US Department of Transportation (CFR 49). Now more than ever it is important to ensure that hazardous materials are transported in full compliance with the regulations. Notwithstanding, finding someone to help with proper classification and packaging can be easier said than done. DOT contends that classification is the shipper’s responsibility and will not confirm classification. Few in the Hazmat community are available to help with the classification, packaging selection and the transport process. Issues such as new product development, changes in formulation, changes in packaging, and mode(s) of transport can all effect compliance. To help with all these issues, we recommend contacting Frits Wybenga of Dangerous Goods Transport Consulting, Inc. in Rockville, MD. Frits retired from DOT in 2005 after dedicating most of his professional life to domestic and international hazmat transport issues. He welcomes the opportunity to consult with those in need of advice on hazmat transportation. Contact Frits at: Tel: 301.929.1668 or email to: f.wybenga@comcast.net. (Howard Skolnik)

SKOLNIK SAYS CLOSURE VERIFICATION IS ESSENTIAL PRIOR TO EVERY SHIPMENT

In our October 2007 edition of the SKOLNIKNEWS, we reinforced the need for hazmat shippers to follow a manufacturer’s closure instructions prior to every shipment. Several readers responded and indicated that my word of warning was timely. Per 49CFR 178.2(c) closures should be checked for tightness prior to shipment. Without being checked, it is likely that the DOT will consider the drums to be in violation of the CFR, and the shipper will be fined. We have so many customers that want to prepare their packagings to be compliant that we try to alert them to all the nuances of the CFR requirement. Therefore, be certain to re-tighten all closures (plugs and rings) prior to shipment to confirm compliance with the manufacturer’s Closure Instruction. Failure to do so is considered non-compliant if discovered by a DOT inspector. Furthermore, during a DOT inspection, if a shipper does not demonstrate that they reconfirm the Closure Instruction process, they can be sited for non-compliance. (Veronica Crouchelli) (www.skolnik.com)

EVEN OUR SKOLNIK STAINLESS WINE BARRELS ARE GREEN

It’s been a long time since we’ve mentioned the benefits of stainless steel over oak for wine making, but recently, we attended a symposium in which these benefits were eagerly touted. Wineries wanting to "go green" are including Skolnik's Stainless Steel Wine Barrels in their environmental strategies. Made from recycled materials and with the ability to be re-used for many years, stainless steel wine barrels are being seen in a new light by winemakers wanting to reduce their environmental footprint. With increasing concern about the use of oak barrels, which requires the chopping down of trees, stainless steel barrels offer a unique and long lasting alternative. Once hidden from winery visitors, stainless steel wine barrels are now being proudly used as an example of environmental stewardship. (Dean Ricker) (www.skolnik.com)

SKOLNIK STEEL DRUMS ARE THE ULTIMATE IN GREEN PACKAGING

Though steel drums are not new to the world of industrial packaging, they are one of the most recognizable types of packaging that fulfill GREEN initiatives. Being the packaging type that is most used for global hazardous material shipments, the steel drum is one of the few packagings that has it’s initial life, then depending on the metal thickness, can be reconditioned for another 3-7 lives, and then the exhausted packaging can be 100% recycled. This means that a single steel drum can serve as many as 4-8 shipments of product before being sold for scrap. It’s important to point out that the number of reconditionable turns of the drum is a function of the top, bottom and body wall metal thickness. While many drum manufacturers are reducing the metal thickness to reduce the initial drum cost, this also substantially reduces the number of “trips” the drum will make before recycling. Hence, the small initial savings does, ultimately, increase the cost of packaging. Unlike other packagings that have only a single life, or that are “recycleable” but not reusable, the steel drum qualifies for the GREEN objectives by using our natural resources more efficiently and encouraging reuse and recycling of industrial packaging. (Howard Skolnik) (www.skolnik.com)

AN OPTION FOR IMMEDIATE DELIVERY OF SKOLNIK STAINLESS WINE BARRELS

AN OPTION FOR IMMEDIATE DELIVERY OF SKOLNIK STAINLESS WINE BARRELS

Our customers have been telling us that the 2007 wine harvest looks like it will be bountiful. We’re glad to be a part of this year’s success and know that the end of the season is in sight. Therefore, if you find yourself needing 55 gallon stainless steel wine drums you can call us to see if we are able to ship immediately from stock, or check our lead time. However, if you don't have the ability to wait for us to manufacture and ship the barrels, there's another option to pursue. The Vintner Vault, located in Paso Robles, CA. and the Davison Winery Supply located in McMinnville, OR., both stock our standard 55 gallon drum with the 2" tri-clover fitting in the body center of the drum. They keep an inventory readily available, and are capable of getting drums to customers quickly. Vintner’s phone number is 805-226-8100 - ask for Ryan Horn. Davison’s phone number is 503-472-1711 - ask for Terry Sherwood. (Jason Snow)

REVERSE LOGISTICS REQUIRES COMPLIANCE TO DOT REGULATIONS

REVERSE LOGISTICS REQUIRES COMPLIANCE TO DOT REGULATIONS

Most shippers recognize that when transporting a hazardous material (dangerous goods), there are regulatory requirements affecting the safe transport of the shipment. However, once the initial shipment is made, fillers and re-shippers often fail to comply with these same regulatory requirements, resulting in hefty fines. In addition, companies that have Return Logistic Programs, or Recall Programs, must convey to their customers the need to present packagings for shipment that are in compliance with the DOT, including continuing use of the packaging manufacturer’s Closure Instructions. Only recently Home Depot was required to pay a fine of nearly $10 million dollars as a result of “aggressive cost cutting procedures, which lead to non-compliance” for 55 gallon drums in which hazardous waste was stored and eventually transported in a non-compliant mode. As a result of this widespread breech of shipper practice, DOT is aggressively looking at packagings that indicate a potential for non-compliance. (Howard Skolnik)

WHY ALL THE TALK ABOUT LITHIUM BATTERIES ON AIRCRAFT?

WHY ALL THE TALK ABOUT LITHIUM BATTERIES ON AIRCRAFT?

In my June 2007 Newsletter, I wrote about the DOT taking regulatory action to insure the safe transport of lithium batteries aboard aircraft. As a result of this article, many readers have called asking why lithium batteries are drawing so much attention from the DOT. In the June Newsletter, I referenced two incidents in which transportation vehicles (in the air and on the road) were involved in fires that started as a result of the lithium batteries on board. What most airline passengers don’t know is that since 2005, there have been at least 29 incidents (smoke and/or fire) related to aircraft cargo and baggage in the US alone. We’ve been fortunate that these incidents were discovered in time to avert a catastrophe, but here are just a few of the incidents logged in by the DOT and the FAA (Federal Aviation Administration): 1) a ramp worker removed a checked bag that was on fire when loading a passenger aircraft – on fire was a battery-pack for a Sony video game; 2) on a domestic passenger flight that was taking off, smoke poured out of an overhead bin that when opened spewed smoke and flames. The flight made an emergency landing and flight attendants were able to extinguish the fire which was caused by loose batteries packed in a bag with audio-video equipment; 3) on an international flight, a passenger found that the battery-powered photographic flash in his bag had burnt holes in some of his clothing. To date, the battery related incidents have gone relatively unnoticed by the traveling public so it is prudent that DOT establish packing and packaging regulations to address this growing concern. (Howard Skolnik)

SKOLNIK STAINLESS WINE BARRELS OFFER GREAT VERSATILITY

SKOLNIK STAINLESS WINE BARRELS OFFER GREAT VERSATILITY

Originally conceived for winemaking, our complete line of stainless steel wine barrels is now being used for more than just wine. Recent customer applications include the making of tequila; rum; vodka; beer and Limon cello. Because our stainless barrels range in size from 5 to 55 gallons they are ideal for small artisan batches and experimentation. As an additional benefit, stainless steel acts as a superlative material for aging wine, beers and spirits, allowing the natural flavors to develop without added flavors imparting from the barrel. Makers of Sauvignon Blanc have known of this benefit for quite a long time and now, others are learning of this trade secret. Our standard version stainless steel wine barrels have a 2" Tri-Clover fitting in the center of the body, and other plug options are available for special applications. With grape harvest in full swing be sure to leave us ample time to fabricate and ship your orders. (Dean Ricker)

INCIDENTS MORE LIKELY TO OCCUR WHEN LOADING AND UNLOADING

INCIDENTS MORE LIKELY TO OCCUR WHEN LOADING AND UNLOADING

It’s not news that, except at Skolnik, all forms of packaging have been on “diets” for the last 20 years. Less steel, less plastic, less paper – it’s all about reduction of material thickness to reduce cost and natural resource depletion. In the case of steel drums, we’ve seen other manufacturers reduce the weight of their drums by as much as 25%, claiming that these lighter gauge drums perform as well as the heavier ancestor. Now comes recent news from the DOT (Department of Transportation), that for bulk packagings, 25% of hazardous material incidents occur during the process of loading or unloading for transportation. In addition, 33% of incidents that occur in transportation were the result of damage that occurred during the process of loading or unloading. Furthermore, most of the damage during the unloading/loading process is related to puncture by forklift, nails and other sharp objects used to secure the load. Though DOT did not summarize the loading and unloading statistics for non-bulk (steel drums) packagings, the DOT incident log (as summarized by CL Petit of RIPA), indicates that 61% of failures were due to drums being punctured or crushed with 63% of failures the result of a forklift accident; improper preparation; inadequate blocking and bracing; impact with a sharp object, and abrasion. With wall thickness diminishing, statistics now confirm that the increase in packaging incidents relates directly to these “slimmer” versions of the steel drum “work-horse.” The result is more clean-ups and more product loss - all for very little savings. In my opinion, a packaging option is not favorable if, by diminishing the cost, the risk to the contents is increased. In the case of steel drums, thickness does matter. (Howard Skolnik)

MARKINGS ON SKOLNIK UN PACKAGINGS MUST BE LEGIBLE TO BE COMPLIANT

MARKINGS ON SKOLNIK UN PACKAGINGS MUST BE LEGIBLE TO BE COMPLIANT

When shipping non-bulk drums that contain hazardous materials, it is the shippers responsibility, and liability, to confirm that the packaging is compliant with 49CFR 178.500 and 178.600. With respect to the markings on the package, 178.503(a) states, “The markings must be durable, legible and placed in a location and of such a size as to be readily visible.” In addition, the CFR does not specify a required marking system and therefore, it is the responsibility of the manufacturer to choose a compliant format. At Skolnik, we emboss our permanent marks and use a laser printed pressure sensitive label for the durable side mark. Recently, we have seen drums in which the bottom embossment is illegible and we have seen other marking systems, (that print directly onto the drum surface) which often result in unreadable letters. If a shipper accepts new packagings (drums) that have an embossment or a durable mark that is not legible, they should return it to the manufacturer. If the drum is shipped, it is likely that the DOT will consider the illegible marks to be in violation of the CFR and the shipper will be fined. (Josip Petrusic)

Skolnik Customer Wins Winemaking Competition with Stainless Steel Wine Barrels

WINEMAKER WINS COMPETITION USING STAINLESS STEEL BARRELS In 2005, when Jay Cantor, an amateur wine maker and customer of Skolnik, entered his 2003 Dry Creek Valley Merlot at the 30th annual Marin County Fair for amateur winemaking competition, he never expected to win a 2nd place. Therefore, we were very excited to learn that this year, Jay entered his 2005 Dry Creek Valley Zinfandel and won 3rd place, again, at the Marin County Fair competition. We know that our professional wine customers are making great strides in refining our stainless steel barrels for their wines, and it’s terrific to see that even the amateurs are getting high rankings when using our stainless steel barrels. Whether talking about the larger well-known wineries that purchase hundreds of drums at a time, or small home wine makers who purchase one to two drums at a time, the positive feedback seems to be the same. Our stainless wine barrels are easy to obtain, easy to clean, affordable, and are the best choice for contemporary wine making. With the big harvest just ahead, orders this month are picking up significantly. Be sure to leave us ample time to fabricate and ship your orders. (Jason Snow)

Skolnik Offers Help to find LTL Rate Options for Steel Drums

LTL FREIGHT RATES TO POSSIBLY SOAR
Since 2006, the National Motor Freight Transportation Association (NMFTA) has been investigating the overhaul of charges for empty packagings that are shipped LTL (Less-Than-Truckload). The trend of reducing wall thicknesses of steel, plastic and paper packagings resulted in lighter-weight containers. Currently, the rates for these packagings are based on the weight of the empty packaging and the NMFTA claims that as a result, carriers have lost revenues. The NMFTA is proposing to revise their fee schedule to base the rates on volume, rather than weight. The initial estimates for like packagings indicate that the cost for an LTL shipment could double. NMFTA was temporarily setback when a lawsuit was brought against them for anti-trust violation. However, we believe that a restructuring will occur in the next year and we are ready to work with you to research your best rate options. (Howard Skolnik)

Skolnik Offer's Lined and Unlined Steel Drums

WHY WE OFFER BOTH “LINED” AND “UNLINED” STEEL DRUMS
As a child, you probably heard your mother telling you not to buy a food can that was dented. She was right! In order to protect food from coming into contact with metal, food cans used to be coated internally with a phenolic lining. This lining was brittle and if the can was dented, it was likely that the interior lining had cracked. Today, linings offer the chemical protection of the phenolic plus they are mixed with the flexible properties of epoxy. Together, these epoxy/phenolic coatings are chemically resistant and able to adhere to a surface when it is damaged. While the epoxy/phenolic is a sprayed-on and cured coating (like paint) a passive rust inhibitor is applied to all our carbon steel drums in order to remove surface oil prior to painting. The rust inhibitor is much like the final rinse at a carwash, it is a light clear spray that is neither visible or measurable once it is applied. The purpose of the rust inhibitor is to prevent flash rust on uncoated carbon steel. If a customer needs an epoxy/phenolic lined drum for chemical or long-term rust resistance, then an unlined drum will not suffice. Please contact me, or your sales representative, if you have questions about our lining options. (Dean Ricker)

"LET US TAKE YOU THERE"

“LET US TAKE YOU THERE”

Several years ago I attended a conference at a luxury hotel that had a complicated layout. On my first day I was unable to find the lecture room, and I asked a hotel employee for directions. He offered “to take me there.” The following day, again, I could not find the meeting room and again, I asked another employee for directions. She, too, offered to “take me there.” I realized that their kind offer was also the result of customer service training and when I returned to Chicago, shared my experience with the Skolnik staff. As a result, it’s our pleasure to help you navigate the many regulations that govern the products that we sell. We can’t tell you which steel drum to use, but we can show you where to go to find your classification answers. If you have special requirements or seek unusual options, our Engineering and Sales staff has a huge knowledgebase of available products and services. As for on-line support, our web site (www.skolnik.com) is the most highly used steel drum resource in the industry. Whether it’s our web site, design options or regulatory questions, “let us take you there” to find the right answers. (Howard Skolnik)

To learn more about Skolnik visit us at www.skolnik.com

UN-SYMBOL FONT STILL UNCLEAR

UN-SYMBOL FONT STILL UNCLEAR

For more the 5 years, questions relating to the font requirements of the UN symbol, marked on hazmat packagings, continues to elude shippers. As early as 2002, a Department of Energy laboratory noted that in CFR 178.503(e)(1), the illustrated mark indicated that a lower case (Helvetica?) “u” and “n” is used, stacked vertically. Since there is no actual description of the font requirement, DOT has made several interpretations noting that per 178.503(a)(1) and 178.503(a)(10), for a bottom embossed marking on a steel drum greater then 100 liters (26 US gallons), the upper case “UN” can be used in place of the symbol, but not in the symbol. On the other hand, per 178.503(a)(1), the durable side mark must be the UN symbol as noted in 178.503(e)(1) with no upper case option. If you are asking yourself why DOT believes this to be critical, the design of the UN symbol is distinctive and allows it to be read the same regardless of the orientation (upside down or right side up). Of course, though the symbol can be read in both orientations, the remaining marking sequence is only required to have one readable orientation. You can read more about the marking requirements at: http://ecfr.gpoaccess.gov/cgi/t/text/text-idx?c=ecfr&sid=7af91f46f1589effce2e2246c022c87a&rgn=div8&view=text&node=49:2.1.1.3.13.9.39.3&idno=49 . (Howard Skolnik)

To learn more about Skolnik, visit us at: www.skolnik.com

TIME YOUR WINE BARRELS RIGHT FOR HARVEST

TIME YOUR WINE BARRELS RIGHT FOR HARVEST

The wine harvest is almost here and if your harvest is scheduled to begin at the end of July, now is the best time to order the wine barrels that you will be using for processing. Normally, our lead-time for all sizes of these barrels is approximately 7 to 10 working days plus you should allow about 3 to 5 days for domestic shipping time. Of course, overseas shipments depend on the transport option. Another reason to get your orders in soon is that we are anticipating a stainless steel price increase within the next 2 months. Your price is locked when your order is confirmed. From 5 to 55 US Gallon capacities, our stainless steel wine barrels continue to resolve problems associated with conventional oak barrel processing. (Jason Snow)

To learn more about Skolnik, visit us at: www.skolnik.com

SKOLNIK Wine Barrel allows Hoop Placement

Recently, one of our wine-manufacturing customers contacted us to inquire about the possibility of moving or reducing the number of rolling hoops in the side of our wine barrels. Skolnik manufacturers wine barrels from 5 to 55 US gallon capacities, but the 55 gallon is, by far, the most sought after. As the manufacturing process does offer flexibility, we were able to accommodate the requests of this customer with either off-set hoops or removing them completely. It appears that he was utilizing a racking system in which the conventional hoop configurations did not fit the horizontal contour. While we believe that using the conventional hoop locations does yield the greatest variety of rack usage, we were glad that a simple alteration was able to resolve our customers’ processing problem. (Jason Snow)

To learn more about Skolnik visit: www.skolnik.com

SKOLNIK Closure Instructions for Steel Drums

What was once a common-sense 55 gallon steel drum art has now become a scientific process that is very difficult to define and repeat. Closure Instructions are required to accompany all sales of hazardous materials packagings and DOT expects the closure process be followed with exacting detail. Though some manufacturers are loath to write a competent instruction, it is required by DOT for all fillers and transporters to have proper instructions. Since the steel drum is not a finely tooled product, the closure system – while capable of amazing security - can be influenced by elevation, temperature, humidity, compression and, of course, the “human element.” The in-field record of HazMat packaging failures in the US is very low, but, the lack of clarity and inaccurate procedures can yield an incomplete closure. In the case of steel drums, make sure that the Closure Instructions are accurately followed including the use of required tools. Specific to each manufacturer, view the current Skolnik instruction at: http://www.skolnik.com/ClosureInstructions092506.pdf. (Matthew Dick)

To learn more about Skolnik, visit us at: www.skolnik.com

Skolnik Steel Drum Blog and Industry News

For nearly 10 years, Skolnik Industries has published a monthly Newsletter. Manufacturing more then just 55 gallon steel drums, we have been informing users from the hazmat, chemical, and dangerous goods communities of new regulations, trends and occurrences that impact the way we do business.
We also manufacture barrels and drums for wine and spirits manufacturing and processing.

Taking this information and turning it into a living tool, Skolnik now introduces the Skolniknews Blog.
This is the first posting and I welcome a topic or a question to discuss or research. You can see our products and the vast resource center at www.skolnik.com.

To learn more about Skolnik, visit us at: www.skolnik.com