Railroad Industry News: Texas Flexitank Company Achieves 'First' - Passes Both Rail Impact and Rail Simulation Tests; Meets AAR Performance Standards, Benchmarks

    HOUSTON, TX, October 29, 2009 /24-7PressRelease/ -- For the first time in the history of the Association of American Railroads (AAR), the 75-year-old organization has awarded a flexitank packaging company a passing score for safety.

The Texas company, Environmental Packaging Technologies, Ltd. (EPT), passed both the Rail Impact and the Rail Simulation tests administered by the Transportation Technology Center, Inc. (TTCI), a subsidiary of the AAR, located in Pueblo, CO.

"The tests are recognized by the AAR and the rail industry as benchmarks for high performance standards that are required to ship via rail in North America", said Nancy Wendrock, president of Houston-based EPT. (NOTE: Wendrock stresses that the AAR does not officially approve or endorse any company. "A company either passes or does not pass," she said. "Passing, of course, allows the company on the railroad.")

"This validates the hard work we've put into designing EPT's flexitank and allows us to offer our customers the greenest and most economical form of ground transportation for bulk liquid packaging, This not only meets our goal of being a technology leader, but of being a good environmental partner," said Wendrock.

"Now, EPT is approved on several Class 1 railroads," she said. "These positive test results have opened a dialog between EPT and the major rail companies in North America."

EPT brands its product the BIG Red Flexitank . Wendrock says it is the only flexitank manufactured in the U.S.

The Tests

The Rail Impact test took place at TTCI's Colorado headquarters on April 28, 2009, and the Rail Simulation test took place during the week of June 27, 2009. The Terminal Handling Procedures were performed at the CN Rail Terminal in Toronto, on September 10, 2009.

Before embarking on the tests, Wendrock said EPT spent more than a year re-engineering their flexitank and performed rigorous internal testing.

"Our goal was to prove that the BIG Red Flexitank surpasses the quality and performance of all other flexitank products in the industry," she said. "To ensure the safety of the cargo and the integrity of the flexitank, we designed a unique bulkhead system specifically designed for rail." The system is called the Rail Swept-Bar Bulkhead.

Wendrock said impact test parameters included:
• Ensuring that a loaded flexitank could withstand the force of multiple impacts, the sort routinely endured during rail transportation.
• Conducting the Rail Impact test in a 20-ft. ISO Container, which satisfied test criteria required by the Container Owners Association (COA), an international trade group

Wendrock said testing authorities would consider the examination to be successful if:
1. There was no leakage from the flexitank.
2. The flexitank and bulkhead were intact after testing.
3. There was minimal side-wall and end-wall deformation.
4. The flexitank's bottom valve did not come in contact with closed container doors.

"Tests conclusively showed that the bulkhead securement system, and flexitank, successfully passed with flying colors. There was no bulkhead movement."

The TTCI continued its assessment in June, said Wendrock, with a series of impact and vibration tests that simulated more than 260 miles of travel over all classes of rail at accompanying speeds.

"They concluded that the flexitank and bulkhead securement system successfully completed Rail Simulation testing," she said. "There was no movement or deflection of the bulkhead and no permanent deflection of the container walls."

Last month in Toronto, during the final test in the rail trifecta, EPT successfully completed a series of terminal handling maneuvers devised to measure the effect of liquid dynamics and G-force on the flexitank and rail equipment. "Out of the testing came new safety standards," said Wendrock, "and a Flexitank Acceptance Policy for the CN."

She said the EPT team is proud that the BIG Red Flexitank is the only flexitank accepted on the CN Railroad today.

For more information about EPT and the BIG Red Flexitank , contact EPT Marketing Director Melissa Chambers in Houston at (713) 713.961.2795.

About Environmental Packaging Technologies, Ltd.
Environmental Packaging Technologies, Ltd. (EPT) is a privately-owned company that provides innovative bulk packaging solutions for the transportation and storage of non-hazardous, flowable products. EPT's BIG Red family of products results in a significant savings in shipping costs, an increase in efficiency and a minimal negative environmental impact. Website: http://www.eptpac.com

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