Progressive Distributor - Soaking up costs

Soaking up costs

by Paul Markgraff

Helping end-users choose the right sorbent for the job can save money and improve productivity...

End-users and purchasing professionals buy sorbents for several main reasons. Sorbents prevent leaking oil and other fluids from creating slip-and-fall hazards. They also protect workers and the environment from dangerous chemicals. And for the most part, sorbents keep factories and job sites clean, keep workers and facilities productive and protect costly and important capital equipment.

At the same time, many end-users and distributor salespeople view sorbents as a commodity product. They see a sorbent as a sorbent as a sorbent. However, there are major differences between sorbent types. Making the correct sorbent choices can boost an end-user’s productivity and can improve long-term indirect material costs. Some sorbent companies are also working on new materials that will improve absorption, allowing end-users to stretch their indirect materials dollar just a little further.

“One of the main points is to make sure end-users are using the right product for functionality and they are getting the right product at the right price point,” says Susan Naser, vice president of sales for sorbent manufacturer SpillTech. “Obviously, all companies are on a certain budget. With these types of products, they want the best product that is going to be the least expensive.”

Like oil and water
Most end-users use one of three types of sorbent: granular, oil-only and universal. The original granular sorbent dating back decades is kitty litter. Spilled fluid adheres to this inexpensive, granulated clay. Adhesion means it sticks to the clay; it is not absorbed.

Manufacturers soon released diatomaceous earth, which is very similar to the kitty litter products, except it is a bit lighter and usually comes in a smaller granule size. The latest loose granular absorbent is made of volcanic ash. It is four times more absorbent than diatomaceous earth and is much lighter. Granular sorbent manufacturer Spill King produces a product that encapsulates oil on the first use. The end-user pours the product over the spill and mixes the oil into the granulated product. Once the product encapsulates the oil, the end-user disposes of it.

“With a granular product, you have to put some work into it, but it will save you some money,” says Bob Irving, president of Spill King Absorbent. “Mom and pop organizations gravitate toward granulars because they would rather put in the elbow grease and save on costs.”

The other two types of sorbents are very similar in shape and size. They usually come in socks, booms or pillows. However they differ in one important way: Universal pads will pick up any fluid while oil-only pads absorb only petroleum distillates. The end-user could throw an oil-only pad outside into a ditch where a fuel drum spilled, and the pad would sit on top of any water, attracting the petroleum distillate and not the water.

“The oil-only pad is generally used out in the field where you don’t want to pick up any water or moisture from the environment,” says Rick Morgando, commercial sales manager for Kafko International. “Say you’re refueling a crane and you have a spill. Oil-only pads contain the spill versus a universal pad which would just get saturated with other water from the environment.”

The other major difference between sorbents is size. Distributor salespeople need to understand that though larger sorbents pick up more liquid, the price of the sorbent increases with size. For this reason, it’s important for the salesperson to do his homework.

Ask and you shall receive
Distributor salespeople can easily understand the end-users’ needs by doing the simple thing: Asking the right questions.

Proper sorbent selection makes all the difference, whether it’s just a grade issue – meaning heavy, medium or light weight – or if it’s the difference between universal and oil-only, says Todd Truedson, director of marketing for SPC.

SPC offers a free environmental survey, where regional reps go to facilities with distributor salespeople and help the end-user understand where to use sorbents. They walk around the plant with the end-user whenever possible and get in the habit of “looking down.”

The SPC rep and the distributor salesperson fill out the environmental survey, take notes on what leaks and drips, analyze their findings and recommend particular types of sorbents.

“Now it’s not so much about the price,” says Truedson. “It’s about the value that they’re getting from the relationship. That’s what it really boils down to at the end of the day. Selling the value. It comes down to one question for them: ‘Why should I add sorbents to the list of items I am already buying from you?’ You’re giving them a reason to do that.”

There are a host of simple questions SPC asks during its environmental survey:
• What types of fluids are spilling or leaking?
• Will the product be used indoors or outdoors?
• Does OSHA or EPA require a spill kit?
• What liquids are in use in the facility?
• How much liquid leaks or spills?
• Are the leaks or spills happening on or under a walkway?
• How often would you like to change the sorbents?

“Price is a concern too,” says Truedson. “Nobody wants to play the price game, but it is a factor. If price is a concern, they may need to take a look at more of a medium weight product as opposed to a heavy weight product.”

Containing costs
Beyond price, there are a number of methods distributor salespeople can use to help end-users improve costs and productivity with sorbents. Often, end-user productivity suffers when something spills and a worker spends too much time cleaning the spill and properly disposing of the fluids. By using the correct sorbent for the job, workers can dispose of the spill faster and get back to work, says Irving.

Spills can also increase the occurrence of slips and falls. By using the proper sorbent to catch leaks or spills, fewer workers will have accidents, which can lower worker compensation costs.

One of the most direct costs applied to sorbents is shipping. Generally sorbents are fairly light, but some come in oversized packages, for which companies like UPS and FedEx charge more. If the distributor salesperson can deliver sorbents using their own fleets, they can bypass any surcharge and pass the savings to their customers.

“We’ve gone out and set up distributors for our degreasers,” says Morgando. “We’ve been able to offer our distributors a much better price initially on their pads because we topload them on our liquid. They don’t add much weight. A case of pads weighs 10 pounds and a pallet of drums weighs 2,000 pounds. So we offer a topload price to our distributors.”

Education is also a key to cutting costs. Distributor salespeople need to teach end-users to use the sorbents to their full potential, says SpillTech’s Naser. She uses an analogy of a paper towel in the kitchen.

“Some people spill a little drop of liquid and they’ll use a whole sheet of paper towel to clean it up,” she says. “They use maybe a tenth of the actual product and then throw the rest away. It’s the same with sorbents. Distributor salespeople need to recommend the right product so the end-user gets the right use out of it. They need to listen to the customer’s pain, then act on it.”

Getting the oil out
Many oil-only sorbents use polypropylene – which is a derivative of petroleum – to collect spills and leaks. With the price of petroleum going through the roof, sorbent makers are trying to figure out new and better ways to keep prices low and keep quality high. Most manufacturers are looking into alternative materials.

“A lot of people are looking at different alternatives with cellulose-based products,” says Naser. “They’ve been around and they are not chemically compatible. They have a lower flash point than polypropylene, so there’s flammability risk.”

But some end-users remain interested in alternatives, says Morgando.

“We’re playing with a renewable resource versus polypropylene,” he says. “It’s showing right now that it absorbs even more than our current pads. There’s an indication that it’s going to happen, but it’s too early right now. We’re not the only ones in this position. Renewables in sorbent pads is going to happen.”