Crating and export crates in Milwaukee

Lake Michigan's western shore

Port Milwaukee sits on Lake Michigan and handles bulk, breakbulk and project cargo; the Seaway reaches it during the shipping season. General Mitchell International Airport is the local cargo airport, with Chicago O'Hare a short drive south for bigger needs. I-94 runs south to Chicago and west to Madison and the Twin Cities, I-43 goes north to Green Bay, and I-41 and I-894 handle the local loops. Canadian Pacific and Union Pacific serve the city by rail.

A load starting in Milwaukee may well finish at a foreign port by way of Chicago's rail yards, so a Milwaukee crate often meets the same handling as a Chicago one, after an earlier trucking leg.

Machines that Milwaukee is known for

Milwaukee builds mining and construction machinery, large industrial engines and power-transmission gear, electrical controls and automation, foundry products, brewing and food-processing equipment, and motorcycles. The foundries and machine shops produce the castings and gears that go into all of these.

The weight per cubic foot is high. A casting or a gearbox can be small and extremely heavy, which pulls the crate design toward short, deep skids and bolted bases.

• Mining machinery parts: heavy solid-lumber crates, bolted skid
• Gear sets and drives: skid-base crates, VCI, blocking
• Control cabinets: sheathed crates, tip indicators
• Motorcycles: cradle crates with wheel chocks

Castings, gears and rust

Machined iron and steel parts rust in the time it takes to cross a lake. Wrap exposed faces in VCI film or oiled paper, close the bag around the part, and add a desiccant sized to the bag's volume. Repair shops that receive worn parts for rebuilding want a crate that protects the mating faces and keeps the bearings clean.

We block gears and shafts so they cannot roll or knock into one another. Wood contact with a machined bearing surface is avoided with film or foam.

Motorcycles and finished vehicles

Milwaukee is home to a major motorcycle maker, and bikes bound for dealers and customers abroad ride in crates that hold them upright on the wheels, with the forks and bars protected. A motorcycle crate carries chocks, tie-down points and a roof clear of the mirrors.

Ask about the motorcycle crate page for the build in detail, and send the model's overall length, width and height.

Winter shipping and the Seaway season

The shipping season on the Great Lakes ends in winter, and shippers planning a lake route need to book before the closing. Out of season, Milwaukee freight goes by rail and truck. Cold trailers and sudden warmth cause condensation, so a barrier bag with desiccant is standard for metal.

Snow and road salt on the dock are hard on labels. We stencil marks on the crate and not on stuck-on paper.

Delivery across the Milwaukee area

Crates are built to order and delivered to the shipper's dock in Milwaukee and the surrounding counties, from West Allis and Waukesha to Racine. We hold no facility or yard in the area. If your dock is crowded, a knockdown kit with a numbered base, walls and lid goes in quickly and your crew closes the crate.

Give us the date needed and any cut-off for rail or airport pickup, and we confirm what is possible.

Brewing, food and controls equipment

Milwaukee's older industries still ship worldwide: brewing and bottling equipment, food-processing machines, and the electrical controls and sensors that run them. Tanks and vessels are crated on skids with cradles, and any stainless is kept apart from bare wood by film or foam. Control panels travel upright, in sheathed crates with tip indicators on two sides.

Panels with glass faces or displays get a protective sheet over the face and padded blocking around it.

What a Milwaukee request should list

Begin with the load's inside dimensions in inches and its gross weight in pounds, then the destination. Add how many crates and by what date, and say whether the load goes by lake, rail, truck or air.

Mention the receiving dock's lifting gear. A plant with an overhead crane wants sling points; a plant with a forklift wants fork pockets.