Shipping Containers Have Reached the Final Frontier

Across the globe, cargo shipping containers are filled to the brim with all kinds of important items. Medications, nonperishable goods, tools, and so much more are transported throughout the United States and the rest of the world.

In a single year, an average container trip travels the equivalent of 75% of the way to the moon and back during its regular travel across the ocean. Now — thanks to some innovative technology — some of those cargo shipping containers might actually be able to travel into space, and not just across the world’s oceans.

According to Spaceflight Now, a Japanese cargo ship equipped with more than 10,000 pounds of supplies and equipment was captured by the International Space Station’s (ISS) robot arm during a successful rendezvous.

The HTV-7 “Kounotori” cargo shipping container craft was captured by the robotic arm as the two spacecraft were passing 251 miles above the northern Pacific Ocean.

“HTV capture is complete, the arm is safe. And I just want to say that we’re delighted to see HTV-7 arrive at ISS,” said Drew Feustel, station commander. “Thanks to the JAXA (Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency) teams for working so hard to successfully launch this vehicle in spite of the recent challenges with hardware and weather.”

The HTV’s pressurized hold is loaded with 7,500 pounds of supplies, including 3,300 pounds of research equipment, 2,800 pounds of station parts, 1,300 pounds of food for the crew, and even a new set of solar array batteries.

The powerful lithium-ion batteries will be installed in the station’s port-4 solar array segment, replacing the 12 nickel-hydrogen batteries that have lost power after launching as the spacecraft’s original equipment back in 2006.

The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) is currently in the process of replacing all four sets of solar array batters, now needing only 6 batteries compared to the 12 that were previously needed.

If you want to learn more about the various uses of steel cargo containers or find some quality new or used shipping containers for sale for your own personal or professional needs, give Integrated Equipment Sales a call right away.

Starbucks Constructs New Shop Entirely Out of Shipping Containers

Shipping containers are primarily used to transport goods around the world. In fact, approximately 95% of the world’s cargo is moved by ship. However, there are actually plenty of additional creative ways to utilize steel cargo containers. With the correct modifications, you can transform a shipping container or two into a portable office, an extra storage area for the family, or even… an extremely successful coffee chain?

According to Curbed, a brand-new Starbucks has been constructed entirely out of shipping containers — 29 of them to be exact.

Believe it or not, the coffee chain has actually constructed 40 container stores, but this one is perhaps the most visually appealing and architecturally astounding.

Kengo Kuma, a Japanese design architect has designed museums from concrete and sculptures from air purifying paper — now he’s helping Starbucks with this new project. Kuma arranged 29 used containers into an angular, two-story building equipped with a drive-thru. The project was designed to evoke the “uneven foliage of coffee trees.”

Daily Coffee News adds that the new 3,400-square-foot Starbucks is located in Hualien City, Taiwan.

“The store is designed to help bring people together over coffee,” said a Starbucks spokesperson. “Inside, the containers feature warm and comfortable seating areas for customers. From one end of the container, customers can enjoy views of the beautiful mountain range. The other end is decorated with graphics that tell coffee stories.”

Here are some additional cargo container creations that can be found across the worldwide coffee sector:

Huckleberry Coffee Roasters — Another 29-container development in Denver.

Copa Vida’s Carlsbad Shop — This San Diego-based shop boasts a 40-foot shipping container bar.

Caffe Umbria — At this Chicago shop, all kinds of container material can be found throughout the interior.

Hello Kitty — This San Diego popup shop is made of containers and very, very pink.

Box Coffee — This appropriately-named shop can be found in Miami.

If you want to buy used shipping containers for your own personal or professional needs, give Integrated Equipment Sales a call right away.

It’s Time to Rethink Your Storage Needs: 4 Great Tips

Whether you’re living on your own or with a spouse and a few kids, you could probably use a little extra space. Thankfully, there are plenty of simple things you can do to give yourself a lot more storage space.

Here are some great tips and tricks for improving your storage needs and decluttering your busy life:

Utilizing storage containers — There are roughly 17 million shipping containers in the world, but only about 6 million of them are actually being used. That means there are 11 million steel cargo containers that are currently unused. Utilizing storage containers yourself by renting or purchasing a few and keeping all kinds of items stored safely inside is great for improving your family’s storage needs. Though the sheer amount of storage space is the main benefit of these containers, you can also acquire climate-controlled containers for weather-sensitive items, as well.

Redesign your closet space — Your closets are already used for storage, but are they being utilized fully? If you’re simply hanging clothes and leaving nothing underneath, you’re probably wasting a lot of space. By redesigning your closets, however, you’ll be able to keep a lot more items inside and out of the way.

Rent a few storage units — Sometimes even after utilizing storage containers and adjusting your storage space around the home isn’t even enough. That’s when it’s best to actually head out to a storage garage and rent a large unit or two. These storage rental units are great for keeping all kinds of items, including large machinery and lawn care products inside during the cold winter months.

Construct an under bed drawer — Think about all that extra space of your room that you’re not using under your bed. You can utilize wasted space underneath your bed by building a large drawer from MDF that slides directly under the bed. Simply attach casters to the bottom, as well as a handle on the front to allow it to slide in and out. You’ll then be able to keep all sorts of items safely underneath your bed instead of just leaving them randomly around your house, stuffed inside bedroom drawers, or spread out on your floors.

Don’t let your lack of storage overwhelm you — there are plenty of options available. If you want to check out some quality storage containers for yourself, give Integrated Equipment Sales a call right away.

4 Practical Military Uses For Storage Containers

No matter what industry you’re involved in, you can buy used storage containers and improve your company in a variety of ways. Whether you’re running a small business of your own and want to keep some of your valuable items in a secure storage space, you’re delivering products across the world, or want to work remotely from a mobile shipping container office, it’s important to look at these containers as creative canvases.

You can buy used storage containers and perform all kinds of modifications to accommodate for whatever practicalities you’re hoping to implement for your personal or professional life. As long as you’re working with professionals who know exactly how to perform these storage container modifications like HVAC additions, window cutouts, and more, you’ll have so many options available to you and your organization.

There are currently over 17 million shipping containers in circulation across the globe, but the number of active containers sits at 5 million, meaning that 12 million containers are just sitting there, unused, ready to be better utilized. The U.S. government and military already take advantage of these containers for their shipping purposes, but there are plenty of practical uses for these durable metal boxes, as well. Here are some excellent ways storage containers can benefit the military and government:

Recycling purposes — Though plenty of these unused containers should be used for various reasons, the sheer amount of steel that these containers possess could help improve other important sectors. For each recycled shipping container, approximately 7,716 worth of steel can be gathered to use for other military purposes.

Carry ammunition and UN Hazard Class 1 (IMDG) explosives — Since the majority of containers are water-tight and structurally sound, they can both deliver and store powerful explosives and ammunition. Additionally, these containers can be climate controlled, allowing its contents to be protected year-round.

Laboratory and scientific use — The military is full of scientists and researchers working on some of the most revolutionary developments in the world. These researchers need protected areas to work in and custom-sized durable containers are the perfect match.

If you want to learn more about better utilizing these unused storage containers across the globe or buy used storage containers, give Integrated Equipment Sales a call right away.

3 of the Strangest Items Found Inside Steel Cargo Containers

There are millions of steel cargo containers across the globe that are used for a variety of purposes. Primarily, however, they are used for shipping goods across oceans. Some of these containers are filled to the brim with all kinds of items like food, tools, and other materials. Standard TEU continuers can even hold approximately 3,500 shoe boxes — that’s a lot of space for shipment.

Not all of these steel cargo containers are filled with standard shipping items, though. There have been some extremely weird and fascinating things that have been discovered inside steel shipping containers. Here are some of the strangest and coolest things found inside steel cargo containers:

James Bond’s Car — The Lotus Esprit, the submarine car that Bond and Anya Amasova used to escape from Jaws and his henchmen in The Spy Who Loved Me,” was found inside a container that was purchased for only $100. The two brothers who purchased the container opened up and discovered a pile of blankets inside — underneath was the famous Bond ride.

“They had no idea how valuable their discovery was,” said Doug Redenius, co-founder of The Ian Fleming Foundation.

The car was sold at an auction in 2013 and bought by Elon Musk for approximately $1 million.

Muse’s Music Gear — Muse is one of the biggest bands in the entire world. They travel the globe with 25 shipping containers, each of which is 40 feet long, full of music equipment. That means that the three-man bad needs to have 25 separate trucks to move all their gear every time they dock. When traveling with that many containers for that long, there are bound to be plenty of guitars, drums, and basses inside containers lost at sea.

Plastic Bath Toys — Bath toys ended up washing up on beaches across the world and they came from shipping containers. The rubber ducks, green frogs, red beavers, and blue turtles can from a Chinese manufacturer dubbed “Friendly Floatees.” There were 28,800 Floatees inside the container that was lost during a massive storm in 1992 over the Pacific Ocean.

If you want to find some quality shipping containers for sale without anything inside, give Integrated Equipment Sales a call today.

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