What to Remember When Having Shipping Crates Custom Made for Your Facility

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Custom made shipping crates can allow you to easily pack and ship a variety of items and know they'll arrive safely and securely. Custom crates can also be used as displays for retail stores, trade shows, and the like. When you're ready to have custom crates made for your facility, you want to ensure you're not overlooking any detail about its design or construction. Note a few things to remember so you know you'll be happy with your crates, and the manufacturer you choose, for years to come.

Production lead times

When having custom crates designed for you, you need to consider the production lead time. The more customized the crate and the more specialized the wood you choose for its production, the more time your manufacturer may need to produce it. It's often difficult to predict production and shipping cycles for any business, and if your production cycles are somewhat unreliable, you may want to consider this needed lead time when it comes to your crates. If they take days or even weeks to produce and ship out to you, this can slow down your delivery times or stop you from being able to offer rush shipments. Be sure you note the production lead times and consider a more generic crate that is faster and easier to manufacture, if necessary.

Storage 

If you order a certain number of crates far ahead of when you expect you'll need them to avoid delays in their production as mentioned above, you may then have nowhere to store them.  It can be good to note how easily crates can be stored at your facility, particularly if you'll be ordering large quantities. Ask about sides that remove and fold flat or if you can remove inside dividers so that various crates can nest inside each other.

Insulation

Don't assume that wooden crates cannot be as insulated as plastic shipping containers; a manufacturer can add foam or fiberglass insulation to the inside of wood crates and even temperature controls with a running fan or heater if needed. These crates can also be designed with areas to hold dry ice for packing food and medicinal products. Crates can also be designed with vents and fans for ventilating out heat, odors, moisture, and the like. This can be necessary for long-term storage of perishable goods as well as overseas shipments where the temperature of a cargo hold area cannot be guaranteed or controlled. 

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