Wooden packing crates
Custom wooden shipping crates offer a cost-effective, durable way for your business to handle, store, and transport parts and products.
Wooden shipping crates are heavy-duty timber or plywood containers built to protect large, heavy, or delicate items during transit, storage, and international export. They are typically manufactured using a combination of plywood and softwoods such as pine and spruce, and feature a durable structural design. Wooden packing crates can also include integral pallet bases and runners, lids, lifting gear, branding, and a range of inserts (such as foam lining).
At GWP, we provide wooden shipping crates tailored to your specific application, designing and manufacturing them to the exact size and strength that you require. Our custom wooden crates provide the highest level of protection while improving usability for faster packing and easier handling. All wood is ISPM 15-treated for export and sourced from FSC-certified suppliers.
Our wooden shipping crate solutions
Wooden shipping crate alternatives
Benefits of custom wooden crates
Sourcing wooden crates for shipping from GWP means you benefit from:
What our customers say...
The timber crates combined with foam we received have exceeded our expectations, being much easier to use, quicker to pack and unpack, and reusable across many trips. We’re delighted with the service and packaging we have received.
Dan Barnes | Chief Operating Officer | Bright.Blue
Their service is outstanding—reliable, responsive, and consistently exceeding expectations. We couldn’t ask for a better packaging partner.
Phoebe Hobson | Supplier Account Manager | Stannah
The solution that GWP supplied has significantly improved the efficiency of our operations through ease of use, and it looks more professional, too. Everyone who has seen it has been very impressed.
Police Sergeant Tim Rich | Drone Unit Operations Manager | Wiltshire Police
FAQs
What is the difference between a wooden crate and a wooden shipping box?
The terms wooden shipping crate and wooden box often describe the same or very similar products. However, the key difference is that a wooden crate’s frame remains standing if you remove the outer sections (because of its internal structure). A wooden box, in contrast, relies on its exterior walls for structure.
What materials are wooden crates typically made from?
Wooden shipping crates can be made from several materials. Manufacturers commonly use softwoods such as pine and spruce, but they also widely use manufactured materials such as plywood and OSB (oriented strand board).
What is the difference between softwood and hardwood?
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.
Are wooden crates eco-friendly?
Wooden crates are recyclable at the end of their usable life. However, their durability also means businesses can typically reuse. This combined reusability and longevity makes them a sustainable choice for a wide range of heavy-duty packaging requirements.
Are wooden crates a suitable alternative to heavy-duty cardboard?
While cardboard packaging is generally cheaper, timber is stronger and more durable. As such, wooden shipping crates often work 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.
Guides, articles and further reading:
Why work with GWP Protective?
At GWP, we offer one of the most comprehensive ranges of ISPM 15-treated, export-ready timber and wooden shipping cases from a single UK source.
Unlike many suppliers, we manufacture all your wooden boxes, crates and cases in-house. This approach gives us complete control over quality, including using only wood from FSC– or PECE-approved sources. Crucially, it also lets you specify the exact size you require.
Another noteworthy benefit is the range of additional industrial packaging you can source from us. Options include heavy-duty corrugated, foam end caps and inserts, Correx® corrugated plastic, and specialist materials such as Tri-Mite and solid fibreboard.
Beyond sourcing this wide range of products from a single supplier and minimising admin and costs, a key benefit is the ability to source composite packaging that combines several of these materials.
Our 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. Whether you need a large wooden shipping crate or something fully bespoke, we can help.
Disclaimer: Application images on this page may have been enhanced or created specifically to illustrate a products features and/or potential uses. Please see our content policy for further details.
Quotes, technical info and advice
Speak with our UK-based case and foam experts
The information on this page has been collated, checked and approved by several of our case and foam experts:
FAQs
What is OSB?
OSB stands for oriented strand board. Similar to chipboard but stronger and more durable, OSB consists of compressed layers of wood strands bonded with adhesives. It’s available in five different grades and various thicknesses. OSB suits multiple applications, including the manufacture of wooden shipping crates.
Are OSB containers waterproof?
While the adhesives and resins used to manufacture OSB provide some water resistance, it can still be prone to swelling and ‘telegraphing’. However, it’s possible to paint or coat OSB containers to provide improved performance.
Is plywood or OSB better for crates?
OSB and plywood perform similarly, though plywood is about 10% stiffer. This additional stiffness means screws and nails are more likely to stay in place, giving plywood cases greater longevity than OSB equivalents. OSB boxes tend to be marginally lower cost, however.
Can OSB cases include a pallet?
Yes, OSB cases can include an integral pallet if required. For bigger OSB cases, this makes manoeuvrability and handling considerably easier.
Are OSB packing cases suitable for export?
Oriented Strand Board (OSB), and by extension OSB Packing cases, are suitable for export packaging, provided you select the right grade (typically OSB/3 or OSB/4). Manufactured composite wood panels like OSB are generally exempt from ISPM 15 heat-treatment and fumigation regulations because they are processed with high heat and pressure during manufacturing.
Why GWP Protective?
30+ years of experience
We’ve been designing, manufacturing and supplying wooden shipping crates and similar industrial packaging for over three decades.
UK packaging experts
We have an in-house team of knowledgeable experts with a deep understanding of the requirements for successful industrial packaging.
Competitive advantage
We won’t just sell you packaging – we’ll work closely with you to reduce your costs, improve sustainability, increase efficiency and more.
A business you can trust
We are part of Macfarlane Group – offering you the service and support of a small, specialist business with the backing and resources of a PLC.
Disclaimer: Application images on this page may have been enhanced or created specifically to illustrate a products features and/or potential uses. Please see our content policy for further details.
Quotes, technical info and advice
Speak with our UK-based case and foam experts
The information on this page has been collated, checked and approved by several of our case and foam experts:
