New focus
Feb 1, 2008 12:00 PM
Big Changes are underway for the piston tank, a niche product used to transport and store highly viscous bulk cargoes. Changes include a new company name and plans for a new assembly facility.
As of January 1, 2008, the name was changed to Piston Tank Corporation, a subsidiary of Schilli Corporation in St Louis, Missouri. Piston tank assembly operations will continue in South Roxanna, Illinois, where the piston trailers have been put together since the 1980s.
“Our goal is to raise the profile of the piston tank,” says Robert B Schilli, president of Schilli Corp. “We have an opportunity to grow this business, and we're going to work very hard at achieving that objective. We will lease the piston tanks through Piston Tank Corporation, rather than through our Transportation Leasing Corporation subsidiary.
“Schilli Corp began acquiring the piston tank operations in 2000, and we completed the process in early 2007. We believe the product has a very well defined niche with good growth potential, both domestically and internationally.”
Early history
Piston tanks have been in operation since the mid 1970s, and the design was patented in 1974. The designer was George Berry, who also was one of the principals at CBW Transport Services Inc in Wood River, Illinois.
The piston tanks were developed to transport and store a wide range of viscous cargoes. Products that have been handled in the tanks include grease, paint, ink, caulking, peanut butter, and chocolate.
As designed by Berry, the trailers are essentially large grease guns on wheels. The tanks use the combination of an air-driven piston and a pump to unload virtually all of the cargo. Unloading takes approximately two hours, and heels are minimal (generally no more than five to 10 gallons).
In comparison, unloading can take four to 48 hours when viscous products are handled in traditional tank and hopper trailers. Heels can range from 500 to 1,000 gallons. That can mean expensive cleanouts and lost product for the shipper and consignee.
