We're Proud To Supply
Container Lifting Jacks
Bison container lifting jacks provide a fast, safe and economic way to lift shipping containers on and off truck trailers. C-Lifts are a convenient alternative to cranes, and a fraction of the cost to own and maintain compared with traditional container handling equipment.
T&G Global
"Bison C-Lifts have kept my costs down, and made my staff happy, so everyone's on a winner!"
Barrie Aberhart, Site Manager
Trusted to perform
Bison combines first-class engineering, industrial strength components and rigorous manufacturing, to deliver quality equipment you can trust to perform in the toughest conditions.
Putting you in control
With Bison you'll get more self sufficiency and control over your operations, and the freedom to lift and weigh containers without relying on contract cranes, truck scales and heavy handling equipment.
From solutions to support
Working with Bison means exceptional service at every touch point, from our multi-lingual sales team, to our comprehensive training and global support network.
"Bison's support has been remarkable. They flew half-way around the world to make sure we were happy."
Marcus Oliver, Global Asset Manager, HPA USA
Trusted By These Great Companies
From July to December 2022
Bison USA Container Lifting Demo Days
Kansas, North Carolina, Michigan, Pennsylvania, Massachusetts & Texas
Talk to us about taking charge of your container operations
Christa Klein
Vice President of Sales, Americas
Schedule a Meeting
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Call: +1 888 480 0122
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How heavy is a shipping container? How can I weigh my container?
Typically an empty 20 foot shipping container weighs between 1,800 - 2,200 kg (that’s 3,970 - 4,850 lb) and an empty 40 foot cargo container weighs 3,800 - 4,200 kg (or 8,340 - 9,260 lb).
The tare weight depends on what kind of container it is. Just as there are many different names for containers - such as sea box, sea can, conex, reefer, high cube, and ISO tank - there are several different types of intermodal containers, all used for different purposes.
Bison weighing systems are used by shippers in more than 60 countries to weigh export containers. Based on over 100,000 VGM records, we can say that the average weight of loaded containers measured by our clients is 22,447 kg or 49,487 lb.
If you want to weigh your containers to maximize the payload, or to check the load distribution, or to comply with the SOLAS VGM international shipping regulations, we recommend our portable container scales, known as Bison C-Jacks, along with our VGM App.
Bison shipping container scales are a more accurate and cost-effective alternative to truck scales and weighbridges, and can weigh shipping containers on the ground or on the truck chassis - anywhere, anytime, at a lower cost than these alternatives.
Check out the customer stories & testimonials from our satisfied customers, including NASA, Hexion, Ikea supplier Vilnius Baldai, Kuehne & Nagel, Cook Islands Port Authority and US Army.
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What type of businesses unload or load cargo containers on the ground?
We find that importers and exporters of big or heavy equipment, such as manufacturers, often prefer to load or unload the container at ground level, because it is not practical to move the cargo across a loading dock. Here are two good examples - a manufacturer of agricultural machinery and a freight forwarder specializing in classic cars.
Also, operations that take more than a few hours or days to load or unload the container will often look for ways to take the container off the chassis to avoid paying for chassis detention. Businesses that fall into this category include industrial gas processors (hydrogen, helium, etc) with cryogenic tanks or MEGC, and bulk liquid shippers, especially those with highly viscous liquids such as paraffin wax.
Another category that often places containers on the ground are businesses that own their own containers. Often these are modified containers, where the container might be used in say the construction or oil and gas sector to provide field services. Or the container might house an energy system, used for power generation, or storage or as an uninterrupted power supply.
Finally, in some countries - mainly Australia, New Zealand and South Africa, grounding the container is more common than others. In the United States and Europe these operations tend to occur at a loading dock, making container lift solutions expensive and harder to find - especially when the container is longer or heavier than average.
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What type of shippers and container owners use Bison container jacks?
Just as containers are used across a broad range of industries, Bison container jacks are used to lift and weigh shipping containers by operators in many different sectors.
Two broad user categories are people handling containers for international imports and exports (“shippers”), and owners of containers used for domestic purposes (“owners”).
Shippers come from a huge range of industries, including manufacturers, military, bulk liquids, freight forwarding and the industrial gas sector.
Container Owners include defense contractors, aid and emergency management organizations, containerized energy developers, contractors and field service providers and companies who modify or customize or inspect and repair ISO containers.
The range of applications for modified containers is mind boggling - from containerized defense, radar, vacuum and energy systems, through to container medical clinics, modular container farms, container kitchens, and tiny container homes.
What all of our users have in common is a motivation to be self-sufficient. Instead of relying on a transport company to weigh the container at an offsite truck scale, or a crane contractor to come on site and lift the sea-can on or off a trailer, our clients get value from the independence and time and cost savings that only Bison container jacks deliver.
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Can Bison container jacks replace loading dock ramps, dock levelers and other loading dock equipment?
It all depends on your shipping container operations, volumes and container loads.
If you currently load some containers on the ground or use external container lift suppliers (e.g. cranes, winch trucks, or swing lifts), we can certainly offer independence and eliminate delays.
Our C-Lift F Series is a ground based loading solution and a great alternative to building a dock, raising the plant floor level or investing in loading dock ramps. In this blog post we analyzed in details loading dock alternatives. We have customers who move into new facilities without loading docks and use multiple F-Series container lifting hoists to position containers for loading or unloading. This option eliminates the need for loading dock equipment.
Both transportable and fixed Bison container jacks work well in industrial facilities without loading docks, and in tight spaces, indoor spaces or when containers are heavy.
Check out this international shipper who sends 20 containers a day and cut haulage costs by 30% after installing the Bison F-Series container lift.
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How do you move a shipping container without heavy equipment?
In residential or rural settings, people sometimes need to move a storage container from place to place or within a property. There is obviously no point investing in heavy lifting equipment in these cases and it is better to use a service provider with a container crane, swing lift, side loader or tilt deck trailer. Some people have been known to use a helicopter in some cases.
In the commercial and industrial sector, there are not always enough containers to justify investing in a heavy container handling machine. One alternative is to contract in a container lifting service, who may also provide container transport services as well. However container lifting vendors are not always available at the time and place required. Often they don’t have the capacity to handle long or heavy sea cans. And charges for crane hire can be very high.
In cases where it’s not practical to contract a lift service, or invest in big, heavy container handlers, Bison container lifting jacks provide a cost effective and self sufficient alternative. We reviewed in this blog post all possible shipping container movements without heavy equipment.
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Can you lift shipping container homes or container storage units?
Yes, Bison container lifting systems can lift all containers as long as they have standardized ISO container corner fittings.
Some container lifts, such as the C-Lift M-Series and C-Lift A-Series, only require the bottom corner fittings to load containers. This is handy for flat rack containers, low MEGC containers or some heavily modified container homes. The X-Series and T-Series container legs attach to both the bottom and top container fittings.
For lifting containerized homes and storage units, the best model depends on the site conditions, the size, weight and construction of the container, available power supply and man power and, of course, your budget.