Our customer went out for 3 competitive bulk bin quotes and told us how frustrating it was to find that every manufacturer had a different style bulk bin. There are no apples to apples comparisons. They asked if there was a standard steel and wire bin design that is manufactured industry-wide – the answer is unfortunately no.
It seems every container manufacturer in North America has a different style. Some industrial storage bins have smooth sheet metal sides and base. Some have corrugated steel sides and base. Some have pin feet, some have angle feet and some have heavy duty feet. Some have runners and some don’t. The different styles and accessories are endless – Unless you are talking about automotive bins.
Automotive bins are typically the same no matter who manufactures them. That is because they are manufactured to exact specification that are spelled out by the Automotive Manufacturer. We have hand drawn General Motors manufacturing drawings of the GM-5131 that date back to 1964. These rigid steel and wire bins are the ultimate in quality and consistency. Although it has become a recent trend that Tier 1 and Tier 2 suppliers are asking us to modify and customize our standard automotive bins with special features.
The Big Three Automotive bins consist of the GM-5131, The Chrysler CC and CS series and the FORD ZE and SMF series bins. And Big Four if you want to throw in the popular and tank like BMW M-1 thru M-8 series bulk bins. Their popularity seems to be regional. We supply a lot more GM 5131- and FORD SMF bins in Michigan and more BMW M1 bins in South Carolina.
We also typically have a good supply of used wire and steel bins. Our used industrial storage bins typically have surface rust but are structurally sound. At an additional cost we can sand blast, repaint and refurbish our used containers. Used containers can typically be purchased for half the cost or greater of new bins.
Just a word of warning. If you want us to quote anything but an industry standard automotive bin (like the GM-5131) we will need you to send us detailed manufacturing drawings or a sample to our factory so we can reverse engineer it. It’s surprising how many customers don’t have drawings of their own steel and wire bins. For a reasonable cost we can even provide you with engineered drawings of your own bulk bins that you can share with other manufacturers. It all starts with a call out our friendly and knowledgeable sales people at 800-763-9020 or email sales@rackandshelf.com.