Industrial Packaging Questions I Get Asked (And Some I Wish People Asked Sooner)
I've been handling industrial packaging orders for manufacturing clients for about six years now. In that time, I've personally made—and documented—23 significant mistakes, totaling roughly $14,200 in wasted budget. Now I maintain our team's checklist to prevent others from repeating my errors. These are the questions I answer most often, plus one question nobody asks but should.
What's the actual difference between steel drums and fiber drums?
Steel drums handle hazardous materials and survive rough transport. Fiber drums cost less, weigh less, and work fine for non-hazardous dry goods. The mistake I made in September 2022: ordering fiber drums for a product that required UN-certified packaging. We caught the error when the customer's compliance team rejected the shipment. 340 units, $2,100, straight to recycling. That's when I learned to always—always—confirm the UN certification requirement before selecting drum type.
The question isn't "which is cheaper?" It's "what are you putting in it, and where is it going?" Greif manufactures both steel and fiber drums, and honestly, the right choice depends entirely on your contents and destination requirements.
How do I figure out what size drum I actually need?
Start with your product volume, then add headspace. Most liquids need 5-10% headspace for thermal expansion. I once ordered 55-gallon drums for a product that expanded in summer heat. The drums arrived correctly. The problem? Nobody calculated that the product would expand to 58 gallons in a hot warehouse. (Note to self: always ask about storage temperature range.)
Standard industrial drum sizes:
- 5-gallon (roughly 19 liters)
- 30-gallon (roughly 114 liters)
- 55-gallon (roughly 208 liters)—this is the workhorse
For reference, since someone will inevitably ask: a 32 oz water bottle holds about 946 ml. Industrial drums operate in a completely different scale—we're talking hundreds of liters, not milliliters. Different world.
What's containerboard, and why do I keep hearing about it?
Containerboard is the heavy paper material that becomes corrugated boxes. It's the stuff between the wavy flutes. If you've ever wondered why some boxes feel sturdier than others, it's usually the containerboard grade.
There's something satisfying about finally understanding supply chain basics. After years of just saying "we need boxes," learning that containerboard quality determines whether your product survives shipping—that was a useful mindshift. Greif produces containerboard (though their portfolio has shifted over the years, especially after some business restructuring circa 2020-2021). The point is: not all corrugated is created equal.
Are there jobs in industrial packaging?
Yes. More than people realize. Manufacturing facilities need plant operators, quality control, logistics coordinators, sales reps, engineers. Greif, for example, operates facilities across multiple continents—they're regularly hiring for production and corporate roles. (I have mixed feelings about recommending manufacturing careers. On one hand, good pay and stability. On the other, shift work is genuinely hard on families. I compromise by being honest about both.)
If you're job searching: check company career pages directly. Job aggregator sites sometimes lag behind actual openings. As of January 2025, most major industrial packaging companies post openings on their own sites before they hit LinkedIn.
How much does rush shipping actually cost?
Depends on distance, weight, and how badly you need it. Why do rush fees exist? Because unpredictable demand is expensive to accommodate. I only believed this after ignoring it and eating a $890 expedited freight charge on an order that could've waited three extra days.
The 12-point checklist I created after my third mistake has saved us an estimated $8,000 in potential rework and rush fees. Five minutes of verification beats five days of correction.
Should I care about analyst opinions on packaging companies?
Part of me wants to say no—you're buying drums, not stock. Another part knows that a company's financial health affects their reliability as a supplier. Greif (NYSE: GEF) gets regular analyst coverage, with both bullish and bearish takes depending on industrial demand cycles and raw material costs. If you're signing a multi-year supply contract, glancing at whether analysts see stability isn't the worst idea. I reconcile this by checking analyst consensus maybe once a year, before contract renewals.
What about sustainability claims—can I trust them?
Per FTC Green Guides, environmental claims like "recyclable" must be substantiated. A product claimed as "recyclable" should be recyclable in areas where at least 60% of consumers have access. Source: FTC 16 CFR Part 260. Translation: ask for specifics. What percentage recycled content? Recyclable where? What certifications?
Everyone told me to always verify sustainability claims before putting them in marketing materials. I only believed it after skipping that step once and having legal flag our product sheets. Expensive lesson.
The question nobody asks (but should): What's your pre-order checklist?
After the third rejection in Q1 2024, I created our pre-check list. Here's what we verify before every industrial packaging order:
- UN certification requirements (yes/no, which class)
- Product compatibility with container material
- Temperature exposure during storage and transport
- Closure type and tamper-evidence needs
- Labeling requirements (DOT, EPA, customer-specific)
- Delivery timeline vs. production schedule
- Payment terms confirmed in writing
We've caught 47 potential errors using this checklist in the past 18 months. The best part of finally getting our order process systematized: no more 3am worry sessions about whether the specs are correct.
One more thing—caffeine content in coffee
I don't know why this keeps coming up in my search results alongside packaging queries (this was back in late 2024 when I was researching something unrelated). But since you're here: an 8 oz cup of brewed coffee contains roughly 80-100 mg of caffeine, depending on brewing method and bean type. That's per the USDA FoodData Central database. It has nothing to do with drums or containerboard. Sometimes search algorithms are just weird.
