Replacing Lumber Crates with Cost-Efficient Alternative

Replacing Traditional Lumber Crates with a Cost-Efficient Option

The Challenge

A manufacturer of precision threaded rod products, Keystone Threaded Products faced challenges with their existing lumber crates. The quadrupling of lumber prices, driven by COVID-19 shutdowns, wildfires, and staff shortages, had drastically increased costs. Additionally, these crates provided inadequate protection for their products during transportation. The rod products were exceptionally long and needed packaging to meet specific requirements through the product transportation lifecycle.

The Solution

Signode’s Engineered Solutions design team, in collaboration with Crown Packaging, suggested customized Reddi-Crate® laminated paperboard shipping crates to replace the existing wooden crates.

Reddi-Crate shipping crates, with preformed profiles and end closures, create a container with beam strength and protection throughout the shipping cycle. A thorough evaluation revealed that the Reddi-Crate solution, outperformed their current wooden crates in both protection and cost-efficiency. The lighter weight reduced shipping costs, and its smooth laminated surface allowed Keystone to incorporate company branding. Signode also trained Keystone’s shipping department to streamline the loading process with their new Reddi-Crate containers.

Our Design Center

You see an appliance ready for your customer; our design center engineers see multiple surfaces, corners, and components that can be damaged during transit.

Assess – Together, we evaluate your product packaging requirements.
Design – Our packaging engineers create solutions tailored to your product's needs.
Execute – We produce prototype samples for evaluation.
Manufacture – Local production through 12 dedicated plants across the USA.
Support – We provide ongoing support throughout our partnership.