Cartons, Crates and Protection
Cabinets travel well in double-wall cartons with corner protectors, foam or board on finished faces, and doors and drawers secured so they cannot swing or slide in transit. Hardware and loose components go in a labeled bag inside the same carton, not in a separate box that gets separated from it. Tops are packed on edge or flat with edge protectors and interleaving, and an integrated basin needs a protective insert so nothing rests on the bowl. Mirrors and mirror cabinets go into rigid crates, upright, braced against movement, with the glass face marked. For a bulk order it is worth asking the supplier for a packed sample carton to review before production, and for photographs of the packing method on the first units.
- Double-wall cartons, corner protectors and face protection for cabinets
- Doors, drawers and loose hardware secured inside the same carton
- Edge protectors and basin inserts for tops
- Rigid, braced crates for mirrors and glass
- Review a packed sample and packing photographs before the full run
Moisture and ISPM 15
Wood cabinets absorb moisture, and a container crossing from a humid port through changing temperatures can produce condensation inside it. Pack against that as deliberately as against impact: sealed poly wrapping on cabinets, desiccant where the route justifies it, and cartons kept off the container floor on pallets. Ask the supplier what moisture protection is standard for the destination and season.
The pallets and crates themselves fall under ISPM 15, the international standard for wood packaging material. Solid wood pallets, crates, cases, skids and dunnage must be treated — heat treatment (marked HT) or methyl bromide fumigation (marked MB) — and stamped with the IPPC mark showing the country code, the treating facility's number and the treatment code. Manufactured panels such as plywood and oriented strand board are exempt because their processing makes them low-risk. The consequence of non-compliance is severe: at the US border, for example, shipments with non-compliant wood packaging are not allowed to enter and may have to be re-exported or destroyed. Confirm before booking that every wooden pallet and crate in the shipment carries a valid mark.
- Seal cabinets against moisture and keep cartons off the container floor
- Solid wood pallets, crates and dunnage must be ISPM 15 treated (HT or MB) and IPPC-marked
- Plywood and other engineered panels are exempt from the ISPM 15 rule
- Non-compliant wood packaging can mean refusal, re-export or destruction at the border
Palletizing and Labeling
Palletize for forklift and pallet-truck handling at both ends, and agree stacking limits so the bottom cartons are not carrying the weight of the stack above them across the whole voyage. A container loading plan — which pallets go where, and in what order they come out — is worth having before the truck arrives at the factory.
Then label for the site, not for the port. Each carton should carry the room or floor it is going to, the item inside, and its position in the installation sequence, agreed with the supplier before production so the labels are applied at packing rather than on site. A packing list organized the same way lets the receiving team check the delivery against rooms rather than against SKUs, which is the difference between a morning and a week of sorting.
- Palletize for forklift and pallet-truck handling
- Agree stacking limits and a container loading plan
- Label per room and floor at packing, agreed before production
- Organize the packing list by room so receiving matches installation
