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An industry term for a wooden shipping container is either Wooden Crates or Plywood Boxes, or a combination of the two. Both have significantly different meanings but nonetheless are products that offer the same function – protective outer packaging.

So let’s compare wooden crates to plywood boxes:

Wooden Crates

1. Low Price: The purchase price is lower than for most other material which may offset some of the higher costs for the increase in volume when transporting.

2. Easy to produce and acquire: A wooden crate demands much lower investments in the manufacturing process due to simpler design. Wooden crates are generally easy and efficient to produce with customer specified measurements.

3. Anti theft proof: Due to the manufacturing process of nailing the boards together, opening the crates are sometimes harder which decreases the risk of unauthorized access to the goods.

4. Good stacking properties: The relatively thick walls of wooden crates increase stacking possibilities. Wood often exhibits a high tolerance for vertical pressure if evenly distributed.

1. Low strength/weight ratio: Depending on the wood used, wooden crates have a lower material strength than plywood. This is partly due to the manufacturing process of plywood where the fibres are put in different directions to increase strength.

2. More material needed: To get the same strength as other materials such as plywood, plastic or metal, more volume is needed. The increase in packaging volume may increase transportation cost.

3. Low material flexibility: Non-engineered wood generally has a lower material flexibility than for example plywood. This may result in damages from excessive pressure. With more flexible materials, pressure on the material can be spotted and decreased before damages occur.

4. Can seldom be reused: After opening most wooden crates, the solid wood material often has to be disposed of. This increases environmental impact and, if boards are not used for other purposes, requires resources for material disposal.

1. Uniform strength is high: Wood is much stronger along the grain than across the grain, usually up to 45 times as strong. To equalize the strength in all directions, adjacent sheets are positioned 90 degrees relative to each other.

2. Minimal shrinking, swelling and warping: There are almost no shrinkage or swelling in a longitudinal plane in the wooden grain, although solid wood often exhibits considerable movement across the grain. The way the layers are positioned tends to equalize stress which in turn reduces shrinkage, swelling and warping.

3. No splitting: Due to the crossed laminations, plywood can be nailed and screwed near the edges without damage from splitting. Solid wood splits fairly readily along the grain.

4. Large sizes available: Plywood can be sold in sizes up to 6 ft * 25 ft and by the scarf jointing of small sheets up to 6 ft *40 ft, however 8 ft*4 ft is the most common size. Timber can be obtained in fairly long lengths but only in relatively narrow widths.

5. Utilization of figured wood both economical and effective: Up to twenty sheets of veneer can be sliced from one inch of solid wood. A high grade panel can be produced by attaching the face to less expensive core material which decreased cost of using solid more valuable woods while retaining the same decorative result.

6.  Low sensitivity to acids and natural chemicals: The Plywood’s exterior surface is often not sensitive to acids and alkalis in the pH range 3 to 10. The chemical resistance of the glues used are regularly also very good and usually better than the wood itself. Plywood’s resistance properties make it well suited for many industrial applications.

7. Reduction of waste: Plywood eliminates the waste which occurs in sawing e.g. sawdust. This effectively saves timber. Waste is confined to the small core which remains after peeling, from the veneer which is lost in rounding up the log, and the elimination of defects such as splits and knots.

1. More resources demanded in production: When being manufactured, plywood requires more primary energy than non-engineered materials like solid wood. 

2. The required adhesives may be toxic: One possible concern with some resins is the release of harmful chemicals like formaldehyde in the finished product. This is often seen with urea-formaldehyde bonded products. Cutting and otherwise working with engineered wood products can expose workers to toxic constituents. To determine what formaldehyde impact your packaging has, please consult with your supplier or manufacturer.

3. Higher price: Since the wood is engineered by humans, often large investments are needed to manufacture plywood boards – both in capital assets and in labour. This in turn increase cost for the end customer.

 

Just one part of our Complete Packaging Solutions!

Which would your customer prefer?

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