B is for Bag…

Got Sandbags?

It’s that time of year again. As the weather warms and spring approaches, the possibility of flooding looms in the back of the minds of the folks living in the Red River Valley and throughout the Upper Midwest. In preparation to service the region, Northern Bag & Box Company stocks and sells a large quantity of the area’s sandbags at the most competitive prices around. The inquiry call most often heard of late is, “Got sandbags?”

Sandbags are typically made from burlap or polypropylene but can be made at home if necessary using any strong cloth. Northern Bag & Box stocks woven polypropylene sandbags at the industry standard size of 14”x 26”. The recommendation is to fill them with no more than 35-40 pounds of sand for ease of use but they can hold up to 50 pounds. The warp and weft (the weave) of the material is 10 x 10 per square inch. Denier is the measure of the bag density—the higher the denier the stronger the bag. Deniers stocked range from 700 to 850 with the majority of sandbag inventory at 800. All bags come with built-in closure ties to keep the sand inside and 1600 hours of UVI protection allowing the bags to maintain their strength while exposed to the sun for long periods of time. The sandbag color traditionally stocked is white; however, bright colors are also available which tend to be requested mostly for highway construction jobs but serve the same purpose for flood protection.

The emergency managers from various cities and counties continue to call upon Northern Bag & Box to provide the product necessary to protect their communities. On-demand stock allows for exceptionally quick turn around time—necessary in crisis flooding situations. Individuals have called as well to secure sandbags to protect their private properties—farmsteads, lake cabins, and the like. There have also been inquiries for larger sized bulk bags for similar use. Whatever your flood protection needs, Northern Bag & Box Company is ready and waiting to help.

“Got sandbags?”

“Yes!”

B is for Bag…

Are You Down with BOPP?

One of the latest trends in the packaging industry is the BOPP bag. You’ve likely heard the term, but do you know what it means?

B:        Biaxially

O:        Oriented

PP:     Polypropylene

 “Biaxially Oriented” means that the polypropylene film is stretched in both the machine direction (MD) and across the machine direction (AMD). When polypropylene is manipulated in this manner, it becomes clear and serves as an excellent packaging material for artistic and retail products.

 Why are BOPP bags becoming so popular? These films offer a unique combination of properties such as better shrinkage, stiffness, transparency, sealability, twist retention and barrier. In addition, an exciting technique using BOPP film has been developed to enhance the printing of a woven polypropylene bag. By reverse printing the BOPP film, it can then be laminated to an already strong woven polypropylene bag. This allows for the same high quality graphic printing on woven bags previously only found on multi-wall paper and polyethylene bags.

BOPP bags are taking more and more of the market share from the multi-wall bag industry. The glossy, slick, professional print of the BOPP film along with its economical pricing and legendary strength gives it strong shelf appeal and the reputation of becoming the overall printed bag of choice.

Perhaps it’s time for you to give this revolutionary bag a try. Next time you’re looking for a printed bag, you might consider this product. Contact us today to speak with one of our highly qualified sales team about this new option.

Are you down with BOPP?