Crating and export crates in Atlanta

The inland hub that ships both ways

Atlanta has no ocean port of its own, but it behaves like one. Containers arrive from Savannah by rail and road, are unloaded in warehouse parks around the perimeter, and are re-shipped by truck, rail or air. Crates in Atlanta see a lot of cross-docking.

A crate that survives repeated transloading carries four-way fork entry, strapping notches and a top that takes stacked weight, and we build all three in as standard options.

Hartsfield-Jackson and aircraft maintenance

The airport is a major airline hub with large maintenance operations. That produces a constant flow of engine components, avionics, landing-gear parts and ground-support equipment, often shipped to and from repair shops overseas.

We crate such parts with strongbacks, soft-contact blocking and tip indicators. Components returning to service often need their own tags and protective caps, so we leave room for them.

Film, television and event production

The region has a large film and production community, and its crew ships cameras, lighting rigs, set pieces, cases and staging gear to location shoots and shows abroad. Those items are awkward rather than heavy, and a crate often opens and closes many times.

Returnable crates with latches, fork pockets and padded interiors suit them. Labels on each face show the unpacking order, and a skid base lets stagehands move the crate with a pallet jack.

The perimeter, the downtown connector and trucking

I-285 rings the metro, and I-75 and I-85 share the downtown connector, so a truck's route depends on the time of day. Distribution parks in the south and north sectors take trailers from every direction.

We note the finished crate dimensions on the order, so a trucker can plan the route and a dock can plan the lift. Docks with no forklift receive crates as knockdown kits sized for pallet jacks.

Rail to the ports

Intermodal terminals tie the metro to Savannah and Charleston, and long-haul rail reaches Memphis, Chicago and the West. Export crates leave Atlanta in a container and ride the train overnight.

Because the container is closed at an Atlanta warehouse, the crate must be right before the door shuts. We check cube and door width with your forwarder before building.

Distribution machinery and conveyors

Warehousing, logistics and packaging machinery makers around the metro send conveyors, sorters and robot cells. These machines are modular, which helps: many ship as sub-assemblies in knockdown crates.

Panels are numbered, hardware is bagged and labelled, and the spec records the order of assembly. Repeat orders are therefore built identically.

Cold chain, beverage and food equipment

Atlanta's beverage, bottling and food-service equipment makers ship fillers, chillers, dispensing systems and refrigeration units. Those machines have coils, copper lines and gauges that crush easily, and they must stay upright.

We build sheathed crates on skid bases with the compressor and coil blocked at the frame, and label the crate with upright arrows and a tip indicator. For overseas lanes, we avoid cardboard fillers that absorb moisture and use wood blocking and barrier film.

Building products, windows and glass

Distribution parks around the perimeter handle building products, and some metro firms export finished windows, doors, stone and architectural glass. Those pieces are flat, fragile and heavy.

Glass travels in an A-frame crate with padded contact points, and stone in a solid-lumber crate with the slab on edge. Both need clear handling marks and a rule for forklift entry. Send the panel sizes and thickness with your request.

Quote notes for Atlanta shippers

Many Atlanta shippers ship the same item again and again to service centres overseas: engine modules, spare machines, display cases. A crate rebuilt from memory each time drifts, and drift means damage.

We write each crate spec down once the first order is accepted: skid size, lumber, cleat pattern, blocking, protection and marks. The next order is built to it. If you change the part, tell us and the spec is revised and dated.

Provide inside dimensions, gross weight, destination country, quantity, the delivery date and whether the crate must be reusable.

Crates are built to order and delivered to your dock in the metro. For overseas lanes, solid-wood parts need an IPPC heat-treatment stamp where the destination requires it, and plywood is exempt.