Safety imperative pushes up demand

BOOMING DEMAND for crating has seen bigger and heavier consignments secured in wooden crates despite lengths shortages from the mills. “Many people do not realise you can put a 21 ton piece of equipment into a wooden crate,” says Trevor Nel of crating specialists Tusker Packaging Solutions. “Ensuring that cargo arrives safely and intact is paramount, and crating offers enhanced protection against pilferage and physical damage.” Supply issues, however, present a problem for Nel and his team, who only use SA pine, kiln-dried and fumigated according to ISPM15 regulations. Lately there has been a shortage of timber for lengths over 6m, says Nel. “There never used to be a problem sourcing 6.6m lengths of timber, but much of the longer structural timber has been absorbed by the building industry.” Tusker designs and fits the crate based on the requirements of the trip. “We need to anticipate the type of handling that goes on at the ports and distribution centres,” says Nel. “We put in narrower slats or use a full crate to keep fingers out.” The company's staff has 30 years of combined experience, but new methods are continually being implemented to provide the strongest configuration as the requirements get heavier. "We steal with our eyes when we get a look at crates packed overseas," says Nel. "The base is key to the crate," he added. A three ton weight may snap a beam in one instance, but turn that beam, and it will be good for another few tons. “We are targeting the freight forwarders and manufacturers, who keep coming back to us with heavier requests,” says Nel. “But we are ready for the challenge and anticipate a strong 2008.”