PACEGATE Limited, has said that it is determined to make steel drum, a very critical material commonly used in the downstream sector of the oil and gas industry for lubricants a sustainable and affordable packaging solution in Nigeria.
The company which is a subsidiary of Hana Group and Manufacturer of steel drums now celebrates one year of continuous production without interruption. It is also pioneering Africa’s largest fully automated steel drum factory in Nigeria.
Currently, most Independent lubricant blenders are using plastic drums, however, the global industry standard in the Oil and Gas sector is steel drums. This is because steel drums are more superior to plastic drums and also environmentally friendly.
Umesh Amarnani, managing director, Pacegate Limited, who spoke on the operations of the company, said: “At the moment, most Independent lubricant blenders are using plastic drums, however the global industry standard in the Oil and Gas sector is steel drums. This is because steel drums are more superior to plastic drums. They perform very well in extreme temperature, humidity, and pressure variations while maintaining their structural integrity irrespective of heat and flame, without any leakage or spillage”.
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It also distributes lubricant additives and industrial Greases some downstream companies, he stated.
The company, according to him, is the first and only UN Certified steel drum factory in Nigeria. The UN approved packaging guarantees that the drums have been built, tested and certified to carry precious liquid or solid which can be either hazardous or non-hazardous. The certification also confirms that the drums are environmentally friendly and with no leakages. Also, UN Certification is mandatory for the export of steel drums.
PACEGATE’s automated, state-of-the-art steel drum factory located in Lagos can produce 5,000 steel drums per day. Each steel drum has a capacity of 210 litres. The Company produces various types of steel drums – open top and the closed top drums. The closed top drums are closed on the top while the open-top drums are open to allow access from the top for ease of application. The closed top steel drum is typically used for storing low viscosity fluids while open-top drums are convenient for storing solids, powder and highly viscous fluids.
PACEGATE manufactures a number of drums which are suitable for various industries/sectors: the varieties of drums it manufactures includes:
- Closed top drums for packaging industrial lubricants and non-hazardous chemicals
- Lacquered closed top drums which have internal coating to package hazardous chemicals that are blended locally or are imported in bulk and repackaged here
- Open top drums for Styrene Acrylic and for Industrial paints
- Lacquered open top steel drums for the Agricultural Industry to package orange pulp, mango puree, pineapple pulp, amongst other fruit pulp and also items Soya Lecithin which is used for animal feed
He said as the company celebrates one year of producing the highest quality drums with minimum lead times, its fundamental goal is to convert users of Plastic drums to Steel drum by educating them on the benefits of steel drums.
PACEGATE has various clients in Lubricant, Paint, Chemicals and Agricultural sector. It supplies closed top steel drums to most of the Oil and Gas companies in Nigeria. For the paint sector, they supply open-top drums as it is easier to mix and apply thinners, styrene-acrylic and industrial paints. The chemical sector also has good potential for steel drums.
At the moment, a huge amount of chemicals packaged in drums are shipped into Nigeria, he stated. But he said this notwithstanding, as Nigeria evolves and with local content policy implementation and awareness of the availability of UN Certified steel drums at reasonable prices, more chemicals will be produced and packaged in Nigeria. The company is an ISO 9001:2017 certified company.
