Picking the right security seal for your business can feel like a big decision. It’s tempting to recommend a seal based on industry, but today’s industries are rarely so straightforward. Take the pharmaceutical industry, for example: it might need flexible seals for its chemical section, shutter seals for warehouses, and bolt seals for logistics. So, instead of recommending seals by industry, let’s go about it differently—let’s look at the seals you need based on how they’re being used.
1. Vehicles – The Go-To Seal: Bolt Seals
- Design – Bolt seals are made to fit the locking hasps of sstandard trucks, containers, and even smaller cargo vehicles. They’re simple to use, quick to remove, and they provide the level of security a moving vehicle needs.
- Purpose: These seals were originally developed as One-Time Locks for marine containers, but their use quickly spread to trucks and other vehicles carrying valuable goods.
- Customization: One of the biggest perks? You can customize bolt seals with your company’s name, serial numbers, logos, or even barcodes. This makes each seal unique, adding an extra layer of security.
Bolt seals really took off with the e-commerce boom, becoming a necessity for nearly any business that’s transporting goods.
2. Bags / Bins – Flexible Protection: Plastic Seals
When you’re moving valuable items over shorter distances—like cash, agricultural produce, construction materials, or minerals—plastic seals are your go-to solution for securing bags or bins.
Here’s an interesting fact about plastic seals: they’re both strong and weak. They’re strong enough to protect your items, but weak enough to show clear signs of tampering if anyone tries to break in. If you need something tougher, though, you might want to go with wire or rope seals instead.
3. Odd-Shaped Locking Hasps – The Solution: Wire Seals
What about securing items that have weirdly small locking hasps? Think electric meters, drums with steel or plastic lock rings, wooden pallets, ballot boxes, or ATM cassettes. That’s where wire seals come in.
Also known as rope or cable seals, these seals are made with wire that’s usually between 1.8 to 3 mm thick. They’re perfect for situations where plastic seals won’t fit or could wear out over time. Wire seals are adjustable too, which means you can tighten them right up, leaving no room for tampering.
One common use for wire seals is electric meters—they’re often installed once and then left alone for years. The wire’s durability makes it perfect for this kind of long-term use. You’ll also see wire seals on machine valves, where they’re only removed after the maintenance period ends.
The strength and flexibility of wire seals make them ideal for locking up items that need high security over long periods. To remove them, all you need is a cable cutter.
How Security Seals Have Evolved
As security seals grew in popularity, their range of uses expanded too. Now you’ll see them used for things like drum caps, barlocks (for vehicle door rods), milk cans, garment trays, and more. As demand increased, new designs and features emerged to offer more variety.
Now, you can find seals with anti-spin features in bolt seals, tear-off tags and metal tooth inserts in plastic seals, fixed-length options in cable seals, and even advanced technologies like RFID, Bluetooth, and GPS for tracking and securing your goods. The options today are endless.
From Industry to Home: The Journey of One-Time Locks
Initially, One-Time Locks (OTLs) were mostly used by government bodies to seal export containers. But over time, businesses across many industries started to use them for transporting goods. Pretty soon, everyone involved in logistics knew what OTLs were and needed them.
Now, these seals have even made their way into homes. Many online retailers use tag loops on a wide range of products, from garments to suitcases, shoes, bags, and accessories. And even individual customers are using customized plastic seals to secure parcels when shipping them through delivery services, ensuring their packages stay safe from tampering.
At the end of the day, choosing the right security seal is about more than just preventing theft—it’s about protecting your assets, ensuring compliance, and maintaining trust with your customers. Whether you’re sealing vehicles, securing bags, or locking down odd-shaped items, there’s a perfect seal out there to meet your needs.
At CONTICARE, we specialize in providing high-quality security seals tailored to the unique needs of various industries. With the right seal in place, you can safeguard your operations, protect your valuable goods, and add an extra layer of security to your business. Ready to take the next step? Contact us today, and let’s find the perfect security solution for you.
