FREQUENT QUESTIONS

1) What were containers designed for?
The containers have been designed and manufactured to meet the needs of general cargo transportation, by land (truck or rails), or maritime (on or under deck), and they can stand environmental conditions they are exposed to during transportation.
They are ready to resist extreme temperatures ranging from –40ºC to 70ºC with no impact on their structure.

2) What sizes are available? What is their weight? What are their internal dimensions? What are their external dimensions? How much weight can they carry?
There are two standard sizes:
· 20 feet (6 meters long) and
· 40 feet (12 meters long).
Width (2.4m) and height (2.5m) are always the same in either 20- or 40-feet containers.
Forty-foot containers offer an additional possibility, with another category of containers available, the so-called 40-feet HC (High Cube) containers, which are taller than Standard containers. HCs are one foot (30 cm) taller, being the rest of the sizes the same.
The following table illustrates the above:

3) What is the maritime containers’ structure like?
The container is built of a steel frame, corrugated steel side walls and laterals, corrugated roof, wooden floor, corrugated doors and eight corner fittings both for the 20’ and the 40’ containers.
For more detailed structural specifications, please click on question nº 13 in this section.

4) What are doors like?
The container has a 2 opening door on one of the 2.4 meter ends (rear). The door opening has square angled corner fittings (not slanted) and is built of 2-mm horizontally corrugated steel frames.
Each door is adjusted to hold four stainless steel and bronze hinges affixed to the corner posts, and turns approximately 270º.

5) What is the container floor like?
The floor is 28 mm thick and made of wood or maritime plywood or equivalent, chemically treated following Australian specifications, as mentioned above.
Floor panels are properly secured to the structural shapes with galvanized screws.
Panel joints are sealed to prevent water from entering the container.

6) What conditions are Multicontainer containers in?
Containers are OPERATIONAL & FIT FOR CARGO. This means that neither light nor water can come in (completely water- and light-tight). Doors open and close with no problems and they have their weather strips. Floors are in proper conditions.

7) Can the aesthetics of the container be improved?
Yes, this can be done with an antirust treatment and paint. This service is provided by Multicontainer and it involves 3 steps:
1. A high-revolution miller is used to brush the areas presenting oxide with a steel brush, taking steel to its original conditions.
2. The brushed surfaces are first painted with antirust paint.
3. The container is finally painted with two hands of maritime paint.

8) What maintenance do containers need?
The only maintenance is painting, after the appropriate antirust treatment has been applied.

9) What is the containers’ shelf life?
If the mimimal maintenance treatment mentioned in item 8 is respected, i.e., with a minimum paint, the container will last 20 years.

10) Should containers be placed on pillars?
Although this is advisable because it facilitates circulation of air under the container, pillars are not strictly necessary.
If the decision is made to put the container on pillars, the latter are only required on the four corners of the container, even if it is to be kept loaded.

11) What is required to handle a container?
Containers are prepared to be handled as follows:
· Cargo, either full or empty, from the top corner fittings, using slings with end fittings at any angle, minimum 30º with the horizontal plane.
· Cargo, either full or empty, from the top corner fittings, with “spreaders” (fitting elements in the cranes used to handle containers) with hooks, or “twistlock” locks, specially designed for containers.
· Cargo, either full or empty, with lifts, fitting the forks in the container’s forklift pockets designed for that purpose.

12) How should maritime containers be transported?
Containers are built so they can be fit for general cargo transportation as follows:
· By ship: up to 7 units can be stacked in holds and up to 4 on decks.
· By truck: on chassis, secured to the lower corner fittings with locks or equivalent.
· By rail: the same considerations that apply to trucks.

13) What are the containers made of?

BASE STRUCTURE
The bottom frame is formed by two lower side rails and 13 (20’ containers) and 28 (40’ containers) C structural shapes that are butt-welded together as a single component.
Each lower side rail is made of C section steels, with the following measures: 48mm x 158mm x 4.5mm thick, with 25mm x 35mm angles x 3.5mm wide for the wood frame.

BOTTOM FRAMES
Front corner posts are made of a single 6-mm steel piece.
The rear corner posts are made of a special section, made of C-section profiles with fins, 6-mm thick, and a normal C post that is 10mm thick in the inside, to provide reinforcement.
The door sill is made of steel plates and normal steel channels, forming a welded box. A gutter prevents rain from entering the door opening.
The top side rails are formed by 3-mm thick steel semi rectangular tubes.

LATERAL WALLS
The lateral walls are made of, trapezium shaped, vertically corrugated 1.8mm steel plates, except for the plates at the ends, which are 2 mm wide.
Plates are welded to each other and to the side rails and corner posts through seamless welding.

FRONT AND BOTTOM WALLS
The front and rear walls are made of trapezium shaped, vertically corrugated 2-mm steel plates, and seamlessly welded to the front and rear rails.

ROOF
The roof is made of trapezium shaped, horizontally corrugated 2-mm steel plates.
Rain drainage slope is provided for by an 8 mm convexity in the plates.
Roof plates are welded to the top side rails and the front and rear panels with seamless welding.
All the roof corner fittings are reinforced with 3.2mm rectangular steel plates, to protect them from any harm resulting from misalignment of containers when they are lifted.


It sends its questions info@multicontainer.com