Here at Bulk Connection, we’re not doctors – we’re bulk freight specialists. This hasn’t stopped us, however, from developing a cure for a very common bulk-freight-industry headache: finding the right tank wash facilities for your operation. This cure for this headache is our new online Tank Wash Finder and, in this article, we’ll see its power in action.
Bulk Connection’s Tank Wash Finder is an online tool that resides at tankwashfinder.com. With this tool, truckers, carriers and other transportation professionals are able to quickly access detailed information of over 400 tank wash facilities in North America. We’re not just talking about facility names, addresses and phone numbers – we’re talking about vital details important to bulk shipping professionals.
As bulk experts, we fully understand the importance of tank washes, as well as all the things that can go wrong when you can’t find the right tank wash facility. Here are some of the most common symptoms of tank wash problems – and the ways that the Tank Wash Finder can help.
Headache #1: Tank washes are hard to find. In certain parts of North America (e.g., the Houston metro area), tank washes are plentiful, giving you a multitude of options to choose from. In other areas, however (e.g., New England), they are extremely hard to come by. And, even when you have a facility’s address, it can be relatively meaningless unless you know which area of the state it’s in.
Your Rx: The Tank Wash Finder includes details of over 400 facilities in the U.S. and Canada – all displayed within an interactive map that shows you precisely where they are. These facilities have been contacted directly by our team in order to weed out locations that no longer exist.
Headache #2: Facility services are unknown. You don’t want to drive 100 miles to a tank wash only to arrive and find out that it doesn’t provide the services needed.
Your Rx: The Tank Wash Finder not only contains basic address and contact information (which is all that most other directories contain), it also contains detailed information on the services the facility performs. These details are invaluable for drivers hauling food products, Kosher-certified food products, hazmat, chemicals and other bulk materials that are associated with very specific wash requirements. Not every location will meet your needs, so it’s imperative that you research a location before heading out to it.
Headache #3: It’s difficult to compare facilities. Previously, if you wanted to compare certain characteristics of tank wash facilities, you had to first hunt down the locations and then contact each to get specific details on hours of operation, costs, services provided, and other key details. The time-consuming nature of this would sometimes lead drivers to skip the research and simply head for the washout closest to the next loading site. The problem is that, on the way to that washout, the driver could have passed a handful of different wash facilities that were better suited to his or her needs and budget – without even knowing it.
Your Rx: The Tank Wash Finder places just about all this information at your fingertips within one interactive tool. In addition to the services provided (as mentioned above), the Tank Wash Finder provides you with hours of operation, driver amenities (e.g., overnight parking, kitchen, showers) and maintenance services. In short, you get the information you need quickly – and can ‘comparison shop’ across multiple facilities – without having to call each individual location.
The only information that this tool doesn’t place directly at your fingertips are costs and wait time estimates. For these items, you can use the Tank Wash Finder to narrow down your choices and then make 2-3 calls to determine the best option. Or, you can often access a facility’s website from the tool (if one exists, it’s likely listed) and obtain the information there without having to spend time on the phone.
As you can see, a big reason why the search for tank wash facilities results in so many headaches is the high degree of uncertainty involved. Uncertainty over where the facilities are located and what their offerings are. The Bulk Connection Tank Wash Finder largely removes this uncertainty and instead provides you all the information you need in one, easy-to-use, web-based tool. To learn more about the Tank Wash Finder, check it out for yourself.