Crating and export crates in Minneapolis-St. Paul

Rivers, lakes and rails

The Twin Cities stand at the head of Mississippi River navigation, and the Port of Saint Paul handles barge freight. Duluth-Superior, on Lake Superior to the north, is the westernmost seaway port, with Great Lakes and ocean-going vessels. BNSF, Canadian Pacific and Union Pacific all serve the metro by rail. Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport handles air cargo.

I-94 runs east-west through both cities, I-35 splits into 35W and 35E around them, and I-694 and I-494 form the ring road. A shipper here has more modes to choose from than most inland cities.

Medical, food and agricultural equipment

The metro is known for medical device manufacturing, food-processing and packaging equipment, agricultural machinery, electronics and industrial controls. Many companies in the area build for customers worldwide, and shipments leave through Chicago, the Gulf or Pacific ports.

Each product family gets its own crate. Devices go in clean sheathed boxes; processing lines go in skid-base crates; ag equipment goes in heavy open frames that a forklift can lift from the side.

• Devices: sheathed crates with indicators and desiccant
• Food-processing machinery: skid-base crates, wrapped stainless
• Ag equipment: open-frame crates with sling points
• Controls: cleated plywood crates

Condensation in cold weather

Minnesota winters test every crate. Steel pulled from a cold trailer into a warm building sweats, and a closed crate traps that moisture against the load. Pack with a barrier bag and the right quantity of desiccant, and ask the receiver to let the crate sit closed until it warms.

Wet snow and road salt rot paper labels, so we stencil marks on the sheathing and keep any paper labels under a clear cover.

Wrapped stainless and sanitary loads

Food and beverage equipment is built from stainless steel, and its surface finish counts. Contact between bare wood and stainless leaves marks and can transfer iron, so we separate wood from the metal with film or foam. Sanitary fittings are capped before wrapping.

These crates are often built for repeat shipments to the same plant. We write the spec down and reuse it.

Barge, lake and rail export

A forwarder may route a heavy load by river barge down the Mississippi, by lake vessel from Duluth, or by rail to a coastal port. Barge and lake vessels use cranes; rail uses ramps. The crate should carry its lifting points on the frame and its lashing points on the skid.

Say which route applies in the quote request so we can place the points correctly.

Delivery across the Twin Cities

Crates are built to order and delivered to the shipper's dock in Minneapolis, St. Paul and their suburbs, including Eagan, Plymouth and Maple Grove. We keep no yard or facility in Minnesota. A knockdown kit fits when the load must be crated in a cleanroom antechamber or a narrow bay.

Tell us the dock hours; winter deliveries can slip on icy roads, so allow a margin for the date needed.

Ag and processing machinery bound for overseas buyers

Farm equipment, grain-handling components and processing machinery leave the metro for customers in Latin America, Europe and beyond. These are bulky loads with awkward shapes: augers, hoppers, drive assemblies, control cabinets. Many ship in pieces, and the parts must all reach the destination or the machine cannot be assembled.

A packing list stencilled on the lid and a matching letter on each crate keeps a multi-crate order together. We number the crates in a set, one of five, two of five, so the receiver knows when the set is complete.

What a Twin Cities quote needs

Send the inside dimensions of the load in inches, its gross weight in pounds and the destination country. Add the quantity and the date you need the crates, and the route if you know it.

If the machine comes apart for shipping, tell us which pieces go in which crate. We would rather build five accurate crates than discover on the dock that one is two inches short.