The time has finally come. This year’s face-to-face marketing budget includes funds for a new custom trade show exhibit and, after a collaborative effort with your exhibit house, the new booth is exactly what your program needs to achieve a new level of success. The next step is to ship this beautiful structure and its components to the first event on the schedule.
Understandably, nerves set in as you realize the booth will leave your exhibit house loading dock disassembled. The thought of the potential harm that could occur as these components are packed and loaded into a tractor-trailer truck, transported many miles on the nation’s sometimes bumpy highways filled with distracted drivers, and then unloaded with forklifts at the other end of the journey, is mind-boggling.
To avoid harm during pre- and post-show shipping and handling, it is imperative an exhibit house put the same care into building custom shipping crates as it does in designing and fabricating the exhibit. Although the initial investment may cause some raised eyebrows upfront, it is important to understand the cost-savings and other benefits over the life of an exhibit that custom crates offer.
Here are three benefits to consider, each of which helps control costs as well as lowers the stress of exhibiting at an event.
Damage Prevention
Well-designed and well-constructed custom crates helps prevent damage to an exhibit and its design elements. For the external structure, wood is the recommended material due to its durability and ability to protect properties from shock, vibration and moisture. In addition, using wood checks the box as a sustainable resource.
Wooden crates, used as trade show exhibit storage, can be customized internally to securely fit each piece of an exhibit, as well accommodate storage compartments and shelving for organizing electrical equipment and trade show promotional materials. Customizations like built-in-braces ensure that the contents are secured properly to remain in place and unharmed during transit.
Transportation Savings
Over the long term, using custom-built crates can help reduce the high cost of transportation.
Well-designed crates can pack more pieces securely into less space, reducing the number of containers needed to house the materials. Also, with proper reinforcement, shippers can stack crates on top of each other, minimizing the floor space required inside a truck. Making room for other shipments might not change your company’s bottom line, but any decrease in the number of trucks on the road is definitely good for the environment in the long run.
Installation & Dismantle
When crates containing an exhibit are delivered to the trade show floor, it is the job of the installation & dismantle (I&D) crew to carefully unpack each crate and make the exhibit a 
reality. For certain individual pieces that are heavy and/or awkward to manage, a well-designed crate should include rollers or a pulley system to assist with moving the pieces in and out of the crate, for the benefit of both installation and repacking ease.
Custom crates require that I&D crews follow a step-by-step process dictated by the internal structure, guaranteeing that all of the safeguards envisioned in the original designs are respected. Having specific instructions based on a crate’s design saves time, and thereby labor costs associated with I&D, as crew members do not have to guess where to store each piece safely.
Custom crates, when designed specifically for your exhibit, offer investment protection, reduction in transportation fees and installation/dismantle expenses. Looking to partner with a qualified exhibit house to design and fabricate your trade show exhibit, and then ensure that it is shipped safely to the next event? Contact Exhibitus today and learn how we can help your trade show program.