Every manufacturing industry has a beginning or a single activity that sparked the very roots that we can trace back. For the storage tank manufacturing industry, those roots have been traced back to 1859 during the initial oil refining movement to illuminate oil lamps. Of course all of that changed with the invention and mass introduction of electricity.
The history “stories” have it that the early automotive industry really sparked the need to store small amounts of oil for the manufacturing and operating of early automotive machines. Thus the early storage tank manufacturing need arose from this initial oil storage demand.
With the growing need of storage tank manufacturing came the immediate need to establish industry standards and practices. Safety of storing the material was job number one. In early 1916 a group of Midwestern steel manufacturers got together and established the National Steel Tank Association, which today is known as STI. Their initial goals were t
o promote industry safety and manufacturing standards, education, quality certification, and the general promotion of steel to be used as the material of choice for storage of products.
Around 1925, Underwriters Laboratories (UL) published its first storage tank manufacturing edition of their UL 58 publication. Also in the early 1900′s, the National Board of Fire Underwriters initiated industry standards for the protection of the public and firefighters from hazardous fires. Their NBFU 30 document established safety standards for storing flammable materials in less than 250 gallon-sized storage tanks.
The first steel storage tanks actually used rivets to seam the steel together. These tanks were less than 1,000 gallons and were prone to corrosion, especially as they were put underground.
Beginnings are interesting to uncover and interesting to discuss. If your company is in need of stainless steel storage tank design, fabrication and manufacturing, please contact Bendel Tank & Heat Exchanger at 866-596-5112 or email Vince Petrucci or Vivek Patel at Bendel. We look forward to talking with you soon!
