All Creatures (or Containers) Great and Small

Think of a box. Any box.

 

Got one? Good.

 

Chances are, the box you’re thinking about is probably mid-sized, right? Somewhere between a shoebox and a classic, two-foot, cube-shaped moving box. If you were playing the Family Feud you’d probably do pretty well, because the most typical box sizes are somewhere in that range.

 

At Western Industries, however, we don’t do much that’s typical. When our customers come to us, it’s because they’ve got something that’s outside of the norm.

 

In fact, if we’re doing our job right, our projects are focused on particular products and geared towards solving very specific issues that normal, market-ready containers just can’t handle.

 

If we’re honest, that’s our favorite kind of project, because it lets us really flex our muscles to see what we can come up with to solve these unconventional issues.

 

But you’d like to see some examples, right? You’re in luck because we’ve got some stuff we’re excited to show off!

 

Custom Crates by Western Inudstries

 

What you see here is a couple of simple solutions we’ve provided for an HVAC manufacturer. On the left, we have wood brackets that help them stack their units. The second picture is a large chiller unit all wrapped up in heavy-duty shrink-wrap that’s ready to travel.

 

Even when these oversized pieces seem like an oversized challenge, it’s really about knowing your options, what your materials can do, and not being afraid to think big. After all, what you see here are standard solutions scaled up to fit some pretty large pieces.

 

Now, let’s get small. Below you’ll see a pair of boxes, each configured to hold some very specialized pieces. On the left, we have a packing solution designed by one of our competitors, and on the right, we’ve got the same objects housed and protected in a container created by Doug, one of our designers.

 

We wanted to present this one visually because when you see them side-by-side, the benefits of a WIC packing solution are pretty obvious. Doug used a smaller space with less foam, which is obviously going to cost less than the large, foam-filled box. The real savings in this design are going to be found in the reduced storage and shipping costs provided by this slim and trim container.

 

 

It’s about to get reel.

 

Cables, cords, hoses, and wires of all sizes, shapes, and dispositions easily turn into a tangled mess, but with a little time and effort, a reel can get you all sorted out. We’ve made a number of them for our clients, and like children, every reel is different but we still love each and every one.

 

For smaller packages and finer materials, we thought a bit of foam and corrugated plastic was the way to go for one client.

 

 

As the materials get bigger, the reels get bigger too. Here’s a heavier plastic reel that we constructed for a client a few years back. Note that multiple reels are designed to fit on this spool, with the stack of reels going nicely on their own pallet. Easy to store, easy to ship!

 

 

A reel discussion wouldn’t be complete without the classic large wooden or plywood reel, and we’re masters at building those.

 

 

Just like everything else we do, they’re custom-built for our clients. Each one addresses a specific product and need. One-size-fits-all might work for other companies, but at WIC, we know certain problems require specific solutions.  We’re not shy about putting a laser-like focus on challenges until they’re solved.

 

What’s troubling you in your facility? Do you think that it’s something that could be addressed with a WIC-designed container?

 

We love trying new things, so if you’ve got a product or process that seems a bit outside the norm, we hope that you’ll let you us show you what we can do.

© 2024 Western Industries Corporation