Want to ship a large or fragile package to its destination safely and securely? You’ll need to find the right crating company offering the crating services to suit your requirements.
In this post, we’ll look at why you should use a crating company and how to find the right one. We’ll also answer some of the most common questions people have about crating services. Let’s dive in!
What is a Crating Company?
Crating companies specialize in getting large, uniquely shaped, and fragile goods to their destination intact by using specialized wooden crates. Crating is the most effective way to protect important items on their journey, whether on land, air, or sea.
Why Use a Crating Company?
A whopping 1.5 tons of goods per person are shipped every year, so it’s more crucial than ever to get products from A to B with no damage. Crating companies make your life easier and offer peace of mind with the knowledge that professionals are managing your products.
Here are just some of the reasons to use crating services to ship large or breakable items.
Convenience
For a small business or individual, it’s time-consuming to purchase, package, and ship a crate by yourself. In addition, if you lack experience in shipping, it can be confusing to figure out the size of packing materials and shipping paperwork needed for a particular item.
Crating companies offer convenient crating services, including on-site packing, removal, and shipping. Using a crating company to transport your valuable goods frees up your time to focus on other vital projects.
Customization
If you’re shipping an item that’s particularly large or uniquely shaped, you’ll need a custom crate. Custom crates are especially useful for high-value commodities such as sculptures, antiques, or furniture.
Custom-built crates have better longevity and a better chance of keeping your item protected in transit. Reputable crating companies should also offer custom pallets and skids, making your item easier to load and unload onto a vehicle.
Item protection
Using a crating company to transport your items gives you peace of mind that the products will arrive safely, all in one piece. Shipping items via air or ocean can cause moisture damage, so look for a crating company that wraps your products in a foil bag and vapor barrier for extra protection.
This protection safeguards your valuables from the harsh conditions found at sea or in the air. Especially fragile items should be shipped with foam to act as a shock absorber and provide extra cushioning.
Reputation protection
Keeping your clients and customers happy is crucial for business longevity. If you’re using crating services for a commercial purpose, choosing a crating company that produces reliable results is vital. A recent survey by Voxware found that 30% of customers are less likely to buy from a retailer who has previously delivered items late.
With this data in mind, it’s more important than ever for your products to arrive at their destination intact and on time. You could waste days of valuable delivery time trying to box your items in unsuitable packaging, or you could work with a reliable crating company for a stress-free crating and shipping experience.
Crating Services to Look for
When choosing a crating company to support your crating requirements, keep in mind the services you’ll need for every step on your crate’s journey. For example, you’ll benefit from on-site packing if you store large and breakable items in your warehouse.
If you want to ship an expensive, breakable item that you’ve won at auction, you’ll need a crating company that specializes in transporting these packages. Here are the services you can expect from a reliable crating company:
Custom crating
Items such as lab equipment, antiques, and heavy machinery, require custom crates for maximum protection when being shipped. Custom crates ensure that your items are packaged in the safest and most efficient way possible, with special adjustments for any items with an unusual size or shape.
On-site packing
If you’d prefer to keep an expensive or fragile item on your premises, you’ll need on-site crating services. On-site crating involves a team member coming to your premises to assemble your custom crate, pallet, or skid.
Auction
So, you’ve won an exciting item at an auction, but there’s a deadline for removal, and the item comes without packing. That’s where crating companies can help.
A crating company’s job is to arrange pickup of the winnings, create customized crates or pallets (on-site or at their facility), and prepare items for delivery to the destination. These services take the stress out of your winnings, meaning you can get excited about your auction pieces without worrying about how they’ll get to you.
Hazmat
If you’re shipping a hazardous package, you’ll need to pack the contents to meet IMDG, DOT, and IATA requirements. A knowledgeable crating company can help you properly package your item and ship it with the correct paperwork.
Some crating companies can take up to two weeks to pack hazardous material. Meanwhile, the most efficient crating providers offer a same-day packaging service for these specialized items.
Warehousing
Once your item is crated, you may need to store it temporarily before it’s ready to be shipped. Opt for a crating company that offers a secure warehouse to store your cargo, giving you peace of mind while you wait for a shipment date.
Ocean container loading
Ocean containers are large shipping containers made of steel with corrugated sides and floors. These containers are used to ship items on long journeys.
Choose a crating company that can safely load and unload your crate from an ocean container using strapping, blocking, and bracing. A proper ocean container loading facility should have a DUNNAGE stamp, so check the credentials of any crating company before trusting them with your goods.
International shipping
If you regularly ship items to global customers and clients, you need to know your products will be in safe hands on their journey around the globe. Choose a company that makes crates that are suitable for long-distance travel, with features such as foam or foil bags to avoid any damage to your product.
Your chosen crate company should also be familiar with international shipping processes such as an ISPM 15 stamp. This stamp means the wood has been heat-treated or fumigated to reduce the risk of pest infestation.
How to Find the Right Crating Company for You
With multiple crating companies on the market, knowing which company will best serve your needs can be tricky. However, if you’re running a business, ensuring your products arrive on time in perfect condition is vital for successful customer service.
The crating company you choose should understand the importance of transporting your products to customers efficiently and safely. If you’re shipping an item with commercial or sentimental value, you need a crating company that makes a serious commitment to protect your items.
So how do you choose the best crating company to use? First, establish the services you require before searching for a crating company that can provide those services reliably. Here are a few things to consider:
The item you’re shipping
You’ll need to establish the type of crate, pallet, or skid that your item requires. For the best chance of finding a crate to fit your item perfectly, choose a company that offers custom crating with no limit on the item’s size. That way, you’ll be able to ship items of any size or shape with no hassle.
The service you require
If you’re transporting a specific item, such as an auction win, you’ll want a crating service that has experience crating similar products. Search for a company with proven results in that industry. If the item you’re shipping is too bulky or fragile to take to the crating provider yourself, choose a company that offers on-site packing services to save you from making a risky journey with your items in tow.
The type of crate
If you’re working with a budget, save costs by choosing a company that offers reusable crates. It’s also worth considering which crate material you want to use.
While metal crates can provide strong protection for your goods, they’re expensive. Wooden crates offer the perfect combination of good value for money and sturdiness.
The company’s reputation
When it comes to shipping valuable, delicate, or sentimental goods, working with a company that understands the importance of keeping your items safe is crucial. Look for a crating company with a good reputation and experience dealing with items like yours.
The provider you choose should have a wide variety of customizable products to choose from, so they can provide a crate that’s specific to your needs. Some crating providers have size limits on the crates you can choose, so check for any limitations before committing.
If you plan to ship overseas, you’ll need a company that creates crates suitable for long-distance travel. The company should meet ISPM 15 standards—the corresponding ‘wheat stamp’ shows that the wood has been treated for overseas shipping.
FAQs on Crating Services and Custom Crating Companies
With so many factors to consider when choosing a crating company, it’s natural to have questions, especially around some of the terms and jargon used. Here’s a quick run-through of some of the most common questions we regularly receive on the topic.
A shipping crate is a four-sided container of any size. These wooden crates are typically used for shipping fragile or heavy-duty commodities, so they’re larger than regular crates or boxes. Wooden shipping crates are an upgrade from the cardboard box because they're sturdier and can withstand difficult shipping conditions.
You can ship almost anything (of any size) in a wooden crate. Items, large and small, complicated or bulky shaped, and made of various materials can be crated.
Crates are usually utilized to transport breakable or high-value items such as sculptures, paintings, antiques, medical/lab equipment, machinery, motorcycles, furniture, TVs, computer systems, and so on. Basically, any item you want to protect during transportation.
The cost of a custom shipping crate depends on many factors, with larger containers needing more materials, meaning they cost more. Adding other products, such as foam, vapor barrier, or latches, will increase the price further. While shipping crates cost more than cardboard boxes, their protection makes them well worth the price.
Most average-sized crates take around one day to build, with unusually large crates taking slightly longer. Of course, you're always welcome to get in touch to discuss any unique requirements you might have.
Yes, wooden crates are eco-friendly since they're sturdy enough to be used repeatedly for multiple shipments or in tradeshows. Additionally, tradeshow crates can be customized with ramps and latches for easy access to your products and foam for optimal protection as the crate travels from show to show.
These crates are also made of timber, a sustainable material because it can be re-used and re-grown. The eco-friendly credentials of wooden shipping crates mean you can save your valuable items and save the planet simultaneously.
Wooden crates are an excellent choice for anything being shipped via ocean, air, or ground. They’re durable enough to withstand all forms of transportation and the harsh environments your valuables can encounter, such as extreme temperature fluctuations, intense humidity, and rough terrain.
In some cases, you don’t need an entire crate, but you need a solid base to carry the weight of your goods while in transit. Pallets and skids provide a sturdy alternative to crates, as they’re stackable, inexpensive, and quick to build. They are also reusable, making them perfect for the eco-conscious!
Making the right crating company choice can mean the difference between your item arriving safely or ending up broken. Depending on what you’re shipping, broken items can lead to unhappy customers, compromised tradeshow appearances, or damaged sentimental items.
SSCP boasts high-quality lumber, reliability, and years of crating experience. We understand the importance of getting your shipment from A to B on time and intact.
We also understand what can go wrong when a shipment isn’t protected, so we’ve foolproofed our crating services so this won’t happen. At SSCP, we use only the best materials and provide you with friendly and transparent service, removing your crating concerns so you can focus on your priorities.
Contact us today to begin your crating journey with us.
