New solution for bulk transport

SoCo Soft Container ® for transportation and storage of raw material such as: coal, fertilizer, peat, woodchips, cellulose, bio mass, grain, iron-ore or plastic pellets etc.

Background of the SoCo Invention

Previously, raw material and bulk products have been transported in fixed
open-type cisterns and pickups of trucks, trains and ships.
Typically, raw materials have not been transported in movable units such as containers as the unloading of previously known hard containers has been troublesome. Various hard containers have been used for the transportation of finished products and parcelled goods, as is well-known.

The problem with the previously known manner of transporting raw materials is the multi- phaseness of the transportation system, including several loading and unloading steps, and thus the complexity and non-cost-effectiveness of the system. It has been possible to use the known open-type cisterns and pickups in the transportation journey, not during the entire transportation or in the intermediate storage. Often, the dry bulk material, such as coal, is first heaped up near the production site, from which it is transported in an open-type cistern of a wagon to the port, where it is again intermediate stored as a heap of coal. From the heap of coal at the port, the coal is loaded into the open-type cisterns of a ship and is transported by ship to the destination, where it is re-unloaded to form a heap of coal, after which it may be further once a again transported e.g. in a pickup of the a train or truck to a powerplant. In that case the problem is the increase in the humidity and dust and particle emissions of the raw material, as well as the remarkable raw material loss.

One further problem has been the slowness of the unloading of the raw materials and bulk products and the long unloading time e.g. from ships and barges.
Still one further problem has been the small number of suitable ship, barge and train unloading sites for particular products.

Moreover, known in prior art is to use various big sacks in the transportation of a bulk product, such as e.g. pellets, catalysts or the like. The problem with the usage of big sack is their small size and low load-carrying capacity, wherein in the transportation of bulk product one must use a quantitatively big number of sacks to transport the goods

Objective of the SoCo invention

The objective of the SoCo invention is to eliminate the drawback referred to above. One specific objective of the invention is to disclose a new, very robust and foldable transportation container for the modal transportation and storage of goods, raw material or a product in a more simple, advantageous and efficient manner.

Description of the SoCo invention

The transport container SoCo is designed for the intermediate storage of raw material like coal in a production site, for the transportation from the production site to the destination, e.g. to a power plant, and for the intermediate storage along the transportation journey. The coal is loaded into the transportation container already at the production site of the coal, and is disposed in the same transportation container all the way to the exploitation object. The transportation means, e.g. a combination train-ship-train, can sometimes change but the coal remains in the same transportation container during the entire transportation journey.

The SoCo Soft Container ® also quickness the turnover time of wagons, trucks, ships and barges because thanks to the SoCo a wagons, trucks, ships and barges is needed just during the transportation journey. The SoCo can be quickly and easily hoisted abroad a wagons, trucks, ships or barges and away from them,
in which means need not be at a standstill in terminals, railway yards or unloading places. Furthermore, the SoCo can be filled in advance and hoisted into the transportation means and packed in the minimum of space.

The SoCo is easily an advantageously suited for the transportation and/or
long- or short-termed storage of various goods and raw materials, bulk products and paracelled goods without several loading an unloading steps, which the loss of the goods being small, and the goods maintain the original properties.

More information about Soco SoftContainer ®: