Our products do what they promise. But we also naturally do that ourselves. That’s why we always calculate our prices for Spectro cleaning products in litre prices. Litres aren’t always kilograms and vice versa. How does that work exactly? Account manager Bram Maessen explains it.
A kilo is a kilo. Whether it’s feathers or lead. But that comparison falls apart when you compare kilos and liters. A misunderstanding that we unfortunately find hard to get out of the way.
Bram: “Customers often compare our products to their existing range. And then I get the question why we are more expensive. I then explain that we calculate our prices in liters, not in kilograms as many other producers do. That gives a distorted picture. In fact, it’s not entirely fair. Because those ‘kilogram products’ not only seem unfairly cheaper; in reality, there’s actually less in a package. It’s an unethical trick to better market your products.”
Mathematical calculation
“Professional cleaning agents ”They are often much heavier than water,“ explains Bram. ”The specific gravity, or the relative density of a liquid, is regularly higher. With water that is approximately 1.0. A kilogram in that case equals one liter. But with alkaline agents that contain a lot of soap, such as a foam cleaner or soap-like products, that density is 1.2 or sometimes even more. When you fill a kilogram, the liter package is only filled to just over three-quarters.”
“Professional cleaning products
It is often much heavier than water”
Super sin (and not sustainable)
With small volumes, the difference between liters and kilograms is hardly noticeable according to Bram. But with IBC containers of 1000 liters, it makes a big difference. Those are filled to about eighty percent with such a foam cleaner. A huge waste and totally unsustainable, both in transport and storage.
Even with a lower specific weight, calculating in kilograms is inconvenient anyway. “Suppose you order a thousand kilograms of disinfectant hand gel,” said Bram. “Then you receive not one, but two IBC containers. Of which the second is almost empty… Well, that’s not something we at Spectro are involved in. What do we do instead? First, we take into account the product’s specific weight, and always base our quotes on liters. That’s fair and transparent!”