Invented half a century ago, the container has become a key element of the global product distribution network.







However, shipping containers last only 10 to 15 years. The chief executive of Tex, the world's biggest container leasing company, once said that between 2004 and 2008 sea containers alone produced about 3m TEU(international equivalent unit) a year. At the same time, about 1 million TEU containers have been withdrawn from the market due to aging and other reasons. How to deal with these waste containers efficiently has become a serious problem.







SG Blocks, a company founded in New York in 2007, saw an opportunity: containers could be used as containers as well as a means of transportation.

"SG Blocks wants to make this form of housing accessible to the mainstream," said Founder and CHIEF executive Paul Galvin.







According to Galvin, container buildings have the following advantages: depending on where they are built, their construction costs are usually 10-12% lower than those of traditional buildings; Construction time is 40% lower; And more resistant to extreme weather, such as hurricanes. Each container weighs 8,000 pounds, is 40 feet long and can hold 50,000 pounds. Containers can be stacked one on top of another if the customer needs them.







The company's emergence is seen as a response to two trends: the growing acceptance of prefabricated construction; The world economy is increasingly emphasizing green environmental protection.