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Sean Clancy is the CEO and president of Container Technology in Las Vegas. He and Ron talk about the company's hard rule against selling used totes to food-grade customers, and what fuel costs mean when you're "shipping air." Sean also shares the story behind the 4ocean partnership.

CHAPTERS

00:00 Intro

01:01 Customer challenges and costly mistakes

03:43 Reusable packaging and the food-grade rule

05:32 Fuel costs and shipping air

07:45 How RIPA works with the EPA

10:13 Technology and customer experience

15:18 Leadership and the next five years

19:45 The 4ocean partnership and giving back

ABOUT THE TOTE GUYS

The Tote Guys is hosted by Ron Althouse and produced by Container Technology Inc., a liquid packaging distribution and recycling company supplying new and reconditioned IBC totes since 1990. Each episode, Ron sits down with leaders across the industry for straight talk on totes, drums and the business of liquid packaging.

Website: https://www.containertechnology.com

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/container-technology-inc/

Hey! I'd love to hear your thoughts, send me a voice note.

Kyle Stavig is CEO of North Coast Container, a steel drum maker founded in 1917 that he bought with his brothers. He and Ron talk about Europe's new packaging waste rules and how tariffs raise U.S. steel costs. Kyle also explains why drum reuse gets tricky with hazardous materials.

CHAPTERS

00:00 Intro

01:17 The big shifts in liquid packaging

03:10 Supply chains and steel tariffs

05:19 Sustainability and the limits of drum reuse

11:02 Technology and the future of packaging

12:48 Industry groups and the Las Vegas conference

17:12 How Kyle and his brothers built North Coast

19:32 Opportunities and one challenge for the industry

ABOUT THE TOTE GUYS

The Tote Guys is hosted by Ron Althouse and produced by Container Technology Inc., a liquid packaging distribution and recycling company supplying new and reconditioned IBC totes since 1990. Each episode, Ron sits down with leaders across the industry for straight talk on totes, drums and the business of liquid packaging.

Website: https://www.containertechnology.com

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/container-technology-inc/

Hey! I'd love to hear your thoughts, send me a voice note.

David Levine chairs RIPA, the Reusable Industrial Packaging Association, and his family business, Ted Levine Drum, traces back to 1906. He and Ron talk about why reconditioned drums and totes meet the same standards as new ones. David also describes visiting the Army depot where packaging is drop-tested.

00:00 Intro

00:24 How Ted Levine Drum began

02:38 How the industry has changed

09:43 Leading RIPA and working with Washington

16:32 Common misconceptions about reconditioned packaging

18:18 RIPA collaboration and the Army drop-test depot

23:26 RFID, AI and automation

30:01 Legacy, and the one thing David would change

ABOUT THE TOTE GUYS

The Tote Guys is hosted by Ron Althouse and produced by Container Technology Inc., a liquid packaging distribution and recycling company supplying new and reconditioned IBC totes since 1990. Each episode, Ron sits down with leaders across the industry for straight talk on totes, drums and the business of liquid packaging.

Website: https://www.containertechnology.com

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/container-technology-inc/