Steel drum barrels have been in use for many years to store and transport various items. They've also been used in less orthodox circumstances, such as musical instruments native to Trinidad and Tobago, urban bonfire pits and even by several daredevils who decided to tackle Niagara Falls inside steel drums of varying shapes and sizes. One bright spark even enclosed his drum in inner tubes (amazingly, he survived).

Drum handling and storage is a large part of the materials handling industries, as there are so many different applications for their use. 44-gallon drums are the industry standard, their size, shape, and weight distribution suited to them being rolled on their side or base for a short distance across a dock or factory floor. Of course, it’s important to follow correct lifting and storage procedures when moving drums on site, which is why we supply a selection of drum lifting and handling equipment, including fork mounted drum grabs, crane lifts and drum tongs.

For storing your drums, we have everything from basic stands to dispensing stations, spill control pallets and storage vaults, all to suit a variety of sizes and areas. We also supply several different types of drum heaters. Our drum base heater is designed for melting or reducing the viscosity of soaps, fats, waxes, varnishes and oil based type of products, and can be used on all sizes of drums up to 45 gallons. The side drum heater is available in four sizes, each with their own internal insulation to aid thermal efficiency, and can also be used in conjunction with the drum base heater. Finally, to keep your products warm, we also offer drum insulation jackets.

Of course, if you can't find exactly what you want, consider asking our bespoke steel team to come up with a storage solution to suit your needs. That's what an Essex-based power station did when they needed a secure drum storage facility. Due to required compliance with environmental regulations, they needed a secure storage facility for hazardous waste materials. After an on-site visit and assessment, Action Handling was able to design and supply a lockable steel drum storage unit incorporating a sump overflow facility, steel construction and a customised paint finish to comply with Health and Safety regulations.

So, whether your drums are used for storage, music or daredevil stunts (not recommended), Action Handling has a drum handling range that can't be beat (sorry).

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