Custom shipping crates
Custom wooden shipping crates provide your business with a cost-effective and durable method of handling, storing and transporting your parts and products.
Wooden shipping crates are used to transport large, heavy or bulky items. They are typically manufactured using a combination of plywood and softwoods such as pine and spruce. Wooden shipping crates are popular for transporting and exporting industrial parts and products.
At GWP, we have extensive wooden shipping crate production facilities. We can design and manufacture them to the exact size and strength you require, ensuring the highest levels of protection for your items. All wood used is ISPM15 treated for export and from FSC-certified sources. You can also select from various options, from adding foam dunnage to full composite packaging solutions.
Wooden packing crates
Source a range of custom-built wooden shipping crates manufactured to your exact requirements.
Other timber packaging
A wide range of alternative timber and composite packaging options can cater to specific applications.
Alternative shipping boxes
Timber crates not quite right for your business? You can source a wide range of alternative transit packaging and shipping cases.
More info on wooden shipping crates
Many businesses use industry-standard-sized wooden crates for their shipping and export requirements. While these can often be a cost-effective option, using custom-sized wooden shipping crates can have a surprisingly significant, positive impact on your costs.
The benefits of using custom wooden shipping crates include reduced material use and lower weight and space requirements during transit. These result in minimised shipping costs and, in turn, help your sustainability efforts through reduced CO2 emissions.
Custom-sized packing crates also typically provide improved protection. By minimising the potential for movement within the crate (or reducing the volume of void fill required) contents are significantly less likely to become damaged. Custom sizes can obviously also accommodate any particularly large or unusually shaped items you need to ship.
Wooden shipping crate FAQs
What is the difference between a wooden shipping crate and a wooden box?
The terms wooden shipping crate and wooden box often describe the same or very similar products. However, the crucial difference is that the frame of a wooden crate remains standing if the outer sections are removed (due to the internal structure/frame). A wooden box, in contrast, uses its exterior walls for its structure.
What materials are wooden shipping crates made from?
Wooden shipping crates can use several different materials. Manufacturers commonly use softwoods such as pine and spruce, but manufactured materials such as plywood and even OSB (orientated strand board) are also widely used.
What is plywood?
Plywood is a manufactured material consisting of two or more layers of thin wood glued and pressed together. The grains are alternated during this process to provide excellent strength and durability. The result is a strong, thin board perfect for various applications (including wooden shipping crates).
What is the difference between hardwood and softwood?
The main difference between hardwood and softwood is that hardwood generally comes from deciduous trees (i.e., trees that shed leaves in winter), and softwood comes from evergreen trees (such as conifers). Softwood is typically lower cost and widely used for export packaging applications, including pallets and pallet boxes.
Can cardboard packaging be used instead of wooden shipping crates?
While cardboard packaging is generally cheaper, timber is stronger and more durable. As such, wooden shipping crates are often better for large, heavy or bulky items. However, some heavy-duty corrugated packaging, including triple-wall boxes, Tri-Mite, and even some grades of double-wall boxes, can provide performance levels approaching that of some timber cases.
Are wooden crates eco-friendly?
Wooden crates are fully recyclable at the end of their usable life. Their durable nature also means businesses can typically reuse them over many journeys. This longevity makes them a sustainable choice for a wide range of heavy-duty packaging requirements.
Who uses wooden shipping crates?
Wooden shipping crates are used by a wide range of businesses in diverse sectors. They are popular in industrial packaging applications, including shipping and exporting large, heavy, bulky items.
Buy wooden shipping crates
At GWP, we offer one the most comprehensive ranges of ISPM 15 treated, export-ready timber and wooden shipping cases from a single UK supplier.
Unlike many suppliers, we manufacture all your wooden boxes, crates and cases in-house. This approach allows us complete control over the quality, including using only wood from FSC or PECE-approved sources. Crucially, it also allows you to specify the exact size that you require.
However, another noteworthy benefit we can offer you is the range of additional industrial packaging you can source from us. This range includes heavy-duty corrugated, foam end caps and inserts, Correx® corrugated plastic, and specialist materials such as Tri-Mite and solid fibreboard.
Besides sourcing this wide range of products from a single supplier, minimising your admin and costs, a crucial benefit is the ability to source composite packaging that combines several of these materials.
A team of experienced, award-winning designers can combine timber, corrugated, foam, and more to create a bespoke pack that provides the optimum level of protection for expensive, delicate, bulky, or business-critical products or parts.
If your business requires any custom wooden shipping crates, please contact us for a free quote and advice today.
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