Vendor Spotlight: Crating Technologies

By Mark Inboden

Today, I have the pleasure of introducing you to Crating Technologies, a valuable UCEC vendor. Celebrating 30 years of business this year, Crating Technologies designs, engineers and manufactures top quality custom industrial crates and pallets for the Colorado Front Range.

We take a lot of pride in our craftsmanship here at UCEC, so when it’s time to pack up our custom electrical control panels, we must have the highest confidence that our projects are protected. That’s where Crating Technologies comes in.

Building our custom crates starts with Kerry Williams, Branch Manager/Sales Associate. She visits the shop and assesses the items that have to be shipped, from junction boxes to large panels. She takes exact measurements and gathers the shipping requirements.

International shipping requires that crates are stamped with “HT” which means the wood used to build them was heat treated to kill any insects. The “HT” stamp certification must be backed up with a third party, so each month, an independent firm verifies Crating Technologies’ lumber is in compliance with international shipping standards.

In addition to the correct wood materials, international shipping often requires that Crating Technologies consider ocean-going transit where corrosive salt water can wreak havoc on delicate electrical components. So, Crating Technologies makes a custom vapor bag for our crates which looks like a foil blanket (with a fabric interior). This product is created in-house at Crating Technologies and cut to fit the exact dimensions of our panels that are headed by ship to countries such as China.

Kerry also decides how the crate will be packed, perhaps with external straps, blocked and braced with lumber pieces or “picture framing” around the panels. Her choices ensure that our projects travel great distances and arrive in one piece.

Crating Technologies pre-builds their panels at their shop and then brings the pieces over to UCEC. Then, they get to work, build the crates around our projects and then close them up with a pneumatic nail gun. (Most crates are disposed of once they arrive at the client site.)

As expert craftsmen, we share Crating Technologies’ dedication to creating well-made products. They are a vendor we’re proud to work with in our quest to serve our clients well.

From time to time, I’ll share additional vendor success stories in this space. Thank you for visiting the UCEC blog, and if we can help you in any way, please reach out.

Mark is President and CEO of UCEC. Sign up to receive UCEC blog posts by email. We'll send fresh content each time a blog is posted.