For many, the time has already come and gone but for you, today may be the day when you are making a critical decision regarding your storage needs. You have already visited the local mega hardware stores’ selection of tin sheds that are constructed as sturdy as a toy you have bought for a child, expecting it to last about a few years before they grow out of it or get over it. You then ask yourself, Well, maybe a few years is enough for this thing to last but then think back two years ago and wonder where the time has gone. You think twice about making your purchase, get back in your truck, and head home. You then wrestle the computer from your teenage daughter, hop on the Internet and discover a world of opportunity that has arisen from repurposing ISO shipping containers, now commonly known as portable storage containers.
Malcolm Mclean invented ISO Shipping Containers in the late 1950s. The need for containerization came from the lack of uniformity that existed in the shipping industry. Port cities struggled to come up with methods to transport cargo in various shapes and sizes without damage, theft, and loss. The ISO shipping container caught on quickly and is now one of many icons of industrialization.
Well the ISO, (International Standards Organization) has done most of the legwork for you, requiring shipping lines, leasing companies and factories to come together in producing a vessel that is capable of being loaded with over 50,000 pounds of cargo, grabbed from the top and lifted into the air at over 20 miles per hour when transferred from dock to vessel. They are also made to withstand the rigorous conditions that exist on the open ocean and exposed to virtually every climate type throughout the world. Materials are carefully selected to insure that the ISO shipping containers are not only strong but will also last for years and years to come. A common misconception is that the life of the former shipping containers that are sold as portable storage containers is over when they are retired. This is not true. Portable Storage Containers are available through your Container Alliance supplier in various conditions, from Like New to As Is.
ISO Shipping Containers or Portable Storage Containers are also available in various sizes: 20ft portable storage containers are manufactured predominantly to transport heavy-weight items, being that the gross cargo capacity of a 20ft portable storage container is roughly the same as a 40ft portable storage container. You can also find containers that are reconfigured to various lengths, from 8ft to 45ft high cube containers.
It seems to be a pretty easy decision and millions of users will agree that ISO shipping containers are the best choice for your storage needs. Shipping containers being used as portable storage containers are over-engineered and built to last for years and years to come.
Author: Geoff Fargo, Container Alliance
