To protect products, people and the environment, our plywood folding boxes are manufactured according to a number of European and international standards. These standards relate to both the types of materials transported and the means of transport used, as well as the standards required by the importing countries. In this respect, we have had the opportunity to talk about the ISPM 15 phytosanitary standard as well as the different types of packaging recommended according to the sectors of activity. Across the various sectors of activity, the packaging and transport of hazardous materials are governed by national, European and international regulations and must have a packaging code according to the UN approval system. The approved boxes that NO-NAIL BOXES can guarantee are used in this specific context, with up to 50 different models available.
What is the context of an approved box?
Dangerous goods are categorized according to a specific nomenclature laid down by the UN, which comprises nine main classes:
- Class 1: Explosives
- Class 2: Gases
- Class 3: Flammable liquids
- Class 4.1: Flammable solids, self-reactive substances and solid desensitized explosives
- Class 4.2: Substances liable to spontaneous combustion
- Class 4.3: Substances which, in contact with water, emit flammable gases
- Class 5.1: Oxidizing substances
- Class 5.2: Organic peroxides
- Class 6.1: Toxic substances
- Class 6.2: Infectious substances
- Class 7: Radioactive substances
- Class 8: Corrosive substances
- Class 9: Miscellaneous dangerous substances and articles
In addition to these different classes, the mode of transport is also decisive for the approval of the packaging. Thus, there are four main modes of transport, each of which is subject to different regulations:
- Road: ADR
- Maritime: IMDG
- Air: IAT
- Rail: RID
Thus, depending on the hazardousness of the material to be transported, different types of packaging such as barrels, buckets, cans, jerry cans, boxes, etc. may be used and must be coded. For plywood boxes, this is the 4D code.
What are the characteristics of an approved box?
The regulatory marking of an approved box, in accordance with the UN approval system, consists of several groups of letters and numbers, each of which designates specific characteristics:
- UN symbol
- Code for plywood boxes
- Packaging designed to hold solid substances or with inner packaging (combined)
- Year of manufacture
- Country code in which the approval tests are carried out by an approved body
- Certification of the packaging with the approval number of the box
- Packaging group for which the box is approved (according to groups I (max. 71 kg), II (max. 90 kg) and III (max. 125 kg), from the most dangerous to the least dangerous product
In order to be approved, a box must have passed the tests carried out by an independent and approved testing institute. These tests mainly consist of mechanical stacking and drop tests. At NO-NAIL BOXES we have our own in-house laboratory with a drop test station. This enables our specialists, under the supervision of independent experts, to carry out recognized approval tests. In this respect, we work together with leading European test laboratories such as the Belgian Packaging Institute, the Bureau de Vérifications Techniques, the French Centre de l’emballage agréé and the German Bundesanstalt für Materialforschung und-prüfung.
Our wide range of approved boxes
As a specialist in the manufacture of folding plywood boxes for the industry for six decades, NO-NAIL BOXES now offers more than 50 approved box models. In addition, to make things easier for our customers, we also offer 4DV approved boxes, which can be used to pack all dangerous products from classes 1 to 9 (except 7) up to 300 kg and with greater flexibility. In fact, the use of this type of box is allowed without specific tests, provided that the packaging and inner packaging conditions are scrupulously respected. These boxes are available as EXBOX, RIBOX and ISIBOX models, and guarantee complete and effective protection for the transport of all regulated products, and for all the different transport ways. It is important that each approved packaging is used in accordance with its approval report. In this sense, we are also able to carry out specific approvals depending on the hazardous material to be packed.
With its expertise, capacity for innovation and ability to listen to its customers, NO-NAIL BOXES also offers technical support for the design of approved packaging: because the competitiveness and safety of our customers is also part of our business.
