Packaging glossary
The words that come up in specifications, quotes and freight conversations — explained plainly, and linked to the formats they belong to.
IBC
Intermediate bulk container — a large reusable or single-trip container, usually around 275 or 330 gallons.
FIBC
Flexible intermediate bulk container — the woven bulk bag used for powders, granules and solids.
Gaylord
A common name for a large corrugated bulk box sized to a pallet.
Bulk box
A pallet-footprint corrugated container for dry bulk material or parts.
Open-head drum
A drum with a fully removable lid, closed by a ring and clamp.
Tight-head drum
A drum with a fixed top and threaded bungs.
Conical drum
A tapered steel drum shaped so empty units nest inside each other.
Bung
The threaded opening and plug in the head of a closed container.
Gasket
The sealing element between a lid or plug and the container.
Liner
A bag or insert placed inside a container so the container never touches the product.
Barrier
How well packaging resists the passage of oxygen, moisture, light or aroma.
Dunnage
Material used to fill voids and stop load movement in transit.
Slip sheet
A thin sheet used in place of a pallet, moved with a push-pull attachment.
UN-rated
Packaging tested and marked to a United Nations standard for dangerous goods.
Returnable packaging
Packaging designed to come back and be used again, usually within an agreed loop.
Closed loop
A returnable system where containers travel between known, fixed points.
Reusable
Built to survive many use cycles, not just to be capable of a second one.
Recyclable
Able to be collected, sorted and processed into new material in practice, not just in theory.
PCR
Post-consumer recycled content — material recovered after consumer use and put back into new packaging.
Nestable
Empty units sit inside each other, so empties take much less space than fulls.
Collapsible
Folds down flat or into a smaller form when empty.
Pallet utilization
How much of the pallet footprint and legal height a load actually uses.
Primary packaging
The layer in contact with the product.
Secondary packaging
The layer that groups and protects primary packs.
Tertiary packaging
The transport layer: pallets, stretch film, edge protection, dunnage.
Carton IBC
A bulk container built from a corrugated body, a liner and a pallet base.
If this becomes a real requirement
CAQUIN sources industrial packaging to specification. Send what you use today, roughly how much, and where it ships — a photo is enough to start.