Food & agriculture
Harvest does not wait. We hold pre-season gaylord pools with FDA-compliant liners, then collect and recondition the same containers after the pack-out.
Quote for food & agriculture
Framed for your sector — mention volumes and season if they matter.
- Liner-ready gaylords held pre-season
- Wax-free, recyclable alternatives
- Post-harvest collection and grading
- Food-contact documentation
Four things we do differently here.
Every industry gets the same grading standard and a different operating rhythm. The rhythm is the part that matters.
Season-aware stock
We hold inventory against your peak rather than our average, agreed a quarter ahead.
Sector-specific grading
The same A/B/C scale, with your acceptance threshold written into the account.
Collection on the same trailer
Wherever possible, delivery and collection happen on one pass. Half the carbon, half the invoice.
Reporting in your language
Diversion statements formatted for the report your team actually has to file.
In almost every sector, the failure is the same: nobody owns the empties. Fix that one thing and the rest of a reuse programme largely runs itself.
Eleven liners, and what each one is actually for.
For most bulk applications the liner matters more than the board. It carries the moisture barrier, the food-contact claim and — for powders — the static behaviour.
| Type | Gauge | Barrier | Relative cost | Suited to | Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Standard poly | 2 – 4 mil | Moisture | 1.0× | Resin pellets, granulate, general bulk | Clear, so fill level is visible from outside |
| Heavy poly | 6 mil | Moisture, puncture | 1.6× | Sharp or abrasive granulate | Resists puncture from angular material |
| Antistatic poly (topical) | 4 mil | Moisture, static | 1.4× | General dust control | Stops working below ~30% relative humidity |
| Antistatic poly (permanent) | 4 mil | Moisture, static | 2.1× | Dry or heated facilities | Additive integral to the film; humidity-independent |
| Static dissipative | 4 – 6 mil | Controlled discharge | 3.0× | Electronics feedstock | Needs a verified grounding path to work |
| Conductive / Type C | 6 mil | Grounded discharge | 4.2× | Combustible dust | Only safe as part of a bonded, grounded system |
| Foil laminate | — | Moisture, light, vapour | 3.4× | Humidity-sensitive powders | Opaque; fill level needs a separate check |
| Multi-layer odour barrier | — | Moisture, odour | 3.8× | Hemp, cannabis, aromatics | EVOH or metallised layer; plain poly will not do this |
| FDA-compliant poly | 2 – 6 mil | Moisture, food contact | 1.3× | Food ingredients, pet food | Supplied with a letter of guarantee |
| Spouted liner | 4 mil | Moisture | 1.9× | Gravity discharge lines | Bottom spout; halves emptying time |
| Vented liner | 2 mil | Partial | 1.5× | Respiring produce and biomass | Closed but not sealed — stops internal humidity build-up |
Eight decks, and what sits on them.
Specify your container to the pallets you actually own, not to the standard. A 48 × 40 GMA pallet in the real world runs anywhere from 47.5 to 48.5 inches.
| Footprint | Construction | Typical use | Note |
|---|---|---|---|
| 48" × 40" GMA, 4-way | Stringer, notched | North American standard | Real examples run 47.5 – 48.5 inches. Measure yours. |
| 48" × 40" block | Block, 4-way true | Automated handling | Better for AS/RS and robotics |
| 48" × 48" drum | Stringer | Chemical, octabins | Suits the 41-inch octabin footprint |
| 42" × 42" | Stringer | Beverage, telecom | Common in soft-drink distribution |
| 48" × 45" | Stringer | Produce field pack | Matches vented produce bins |
| 36" × 36" half | Block | Retail display | Store-level display base |
| 1200 × 1000 mm | Block | International | The closest metric equivalent to GMA |
| 1200 × 800 mm EUR | Block | Europe | Too narrow for most US bulk containers |
| Pattern | Compression retained | Stability | Wrap needed | Use when |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Column (aligned) | Up to 100% | Low | Required | Heavy uniform loads into racking |
| Brick (offset rows) | ~60% | Good | Recommended | Mixed weight, manual handling |
| Pinwheel | ~60 – 70% | Highest | Recommended | Odd footprints with a centre void |
| Full interlock | ~45% | Highest | Optional | Light loads where toppling is the risk |
Six things move the number, and volume is only the fourth.
Used box pricing confuses people because the obvious lever — how many you want — is among the weakest of the six. Spread is the gap between best and worst case on our own quote data.
| Factor | Spread | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Destination lane | 2.8× | Within-Midwest versus a long nationwide haul |
| Size-run consistency | 2.1× | A single matched size versus genuinely mixed sizes |
| Grade | 1.9× | Grade C versus grade A on the same size |
| Order volume | 1.3× | One pallet versus a full truckload, same lane and grade |
| Timing flexibility | 1.15× | Take-it-when-it-lands versus a fixed delivery date |
| Season | 1.1× | March versus October on the same lane |
Seven things about your dock that change the quote.
Declared before the quote these are free to plan around. Discovered on delivery day they are the single most common reason a cheap quote becomes an expensive invoice.
| Item | Specification | Why it matters |
|---|---|---|
| Dock height | 48 – 52" typical | Below 44" a standard trailer needs a leveller or a ramp |
| Dock leveller capacity | 20,000 – 30,000 lb | Loaded gaylords on a pallet truck approach the limit |
| Door width | 8 – 9 ft | Double-stacked knocked-down bundles are wide |
| Apron depth | 100 – 130 ft | A 53-foot trailer needs room to square up |
| Liftgate requirement | If no dock | Add $75 – $150; declare it before the quote, not after |
| Receiving window | 3-day window ideal | Lets us consolidate; worth more than a volume discount |
| Forklift availability | 3,000 lb minimum | A loaded gaylord plus pallet exceeds many electric walkies |
How long each thing actually takes.
Measured from a confirmed order, not from the first email. Artwork approval and procurement onboarding sit outside these figures and are usually the real critical path.
| Item | Lead time | Note |
|---|---|---|
| Graded used shippers, stock size | Same week | Often 48 hours on Midwest lanes |
| Graded gaylords, stock size | Same week | Knocked down and banded |
| Reconditioned gaylords | 7 – 10 days | Bench time plus re-grading |
| Lids, liners and accessories | Same week | Ships on the same pallet |
| Recovered pallets, repaired | 3 – 7 days | Depends on repair queue |
| New stock-size boxes | 2 – 5 days | 60+ sizes held in St. Louis |
| New custom die | 10 – 15 working days | Includes die making and first article |
| Printed new board, 1 – 4 colour | 10 – 15 working days | Plate making included |
| Honeycomb panel, stock | 5 days | Pressed from recovered board |
| Die-cut dunnage to profile | 7 – 10 days | Tooling for non-standard profiles adds time |
| Printed retail display | 10 – 12 days | Artwork approval is usually the critical path |
| Baler placement | 2 – 4 weeks | Site survey, delivery and commissioning |
Five levels, and what each is good for.
No level of cleaning makes a used corrugated container suitable for direct food contact. What it does is make a container acceptable for its actual application, which is a different and answerable question.
| Level | Method | Suited to |
|---|---|---|
| Visual inspection only | Grading station check for residue and odour | General industrial, scrap, internal moves |
| Vacuum and blow-down | Compressed air and industrial vacuum | Resin, granulate, dusty materials |
| Label and residue removal | Mechanical removal at the re-face station | Anything customer-facing |
| Liner barrier | New FDA-compliant liner each cycle | Food ingredients, pet food, produce |
| Secure destruction | Shredding and baling with certification | Branded or regulated containers |