PACEGATE Limited, subsidiary of Hana Group and Manufacturer of steel drums, is celebrating one year of pioneering Africa’s largest fully automated steel drum factory in Nigeria.
The Company 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 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.
The Managing Director (MD), Pacegate Limited, Mr. Umesh Amarnani, 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. When paired with a proper fire-suppression system, retrieving-style steel drums provide optimum protection even in a high-temperature fire”.
Speaking further, Mr. Umesh said, “As we celebrate one year of producing the highest quality drums with minimum lead times, our fundamental goal is to convert users of Plastic drums to Steel drum by educating them on the benefits of steel drums. Globally, there is an increasing demand for cost-effective, yet efficient packaging solutions to overcome the bulk packaging challenges. We are determined to make steel drums a sustainable and affordable packaging solution in Nigeria. Our Steel drums are custom-made according to the customer’s needs, and we are dedicated to investing in improving our standards to reflect global best practices and ensure that we are well-positioned to meet the challenges of increasing demand for Steel drums”.
PACEGATE has various clients in Lubricant, Paint, Chemicals and Agricultural sector. Pacegate 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 already packaged at source. Nonetheless, 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. Lastly, the demand for steel drums in the agricultural sector is gradually increasing. This will allow Nigerians to use pulp processed locally instead of importing.
