Powerful Packaging: A Complete Guide for Manufacturers and Distributors of Glass Products

Glass is a delicate item, highly prone to damage during handling and transportation. Even the most minor mishandling or impact can result in costly damage, disrupting supply chains and tarnishing reputations. This prevalent risk makes it vital to choose glass crating solutions that offer sufficient cushioning and protection to prevent damage.

UFP Packaging specializes in glass packaging and knows the industry well. We know that one size does not fit all, which is why we partner with you to understand your company’s unique packaging needs and develop custom solutions to address them. By better protecting your products, you are protecting your employees, your customers, and your bottom line.

 

 

In this guide, we will introduce you to our line of products tailored specifically for the glass industry. Like everything we produce, the products in this guide have been optimized for cost-effectiveness, shipping efficiency, and ease of assembly.

 

Easy-A Crate

Created specifically for the glass industry, our Easy-A crate saves you money on inbound shipping, reduces inventory space, and diminishes wasteful packaging. Easy-A maximizes space in shipping containers or trucks by vertically stacking multiple glass sheets. Compared to horizontal storage on pallets, the compact design requires significantly less floor space. Easy-A also provides robust structural support and protection without needing excessive padding and cushioning materials. The customizable design allows you to modify the length of the A-frame and the number of upright supports. This ability helps optimize packaging sizes, reducing waste to lower outbound shipping costs.

The Easy-A crate ships to you in preassembled components and uses truss plates to add the strength and rigidity you can count on to keep your glass products intact. A key benefit of receiving Easy-A kitted is you receive an average of 10 times more units per truck. This promotes more bang for your buck, and our simple assembly experience keeps operations streamlined.

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Easy-L-glass-crate-ufp-packaging

Easy-L Crate

Love the sound of our Easy-A crate? Meet Easy-L. Easy-L includes all the great benefits of Easy-A but features an L-frame design. The crate’s simple yet effective layout can accommodate products of various sizes and allows for diverse bracing configurations. This advantage ensures maximum stability during transportation.

Easy-L’s design also features truss plates that reduce the use of fiber while adding exponential strength. Ships to you knocked down and kitted with a straightforward assembly experience, allowing you to receive more value for your money.

 

Custom Crating

UFP Packaging is a global manufacturer of crates and boxes, delivering unmatched design expertise without lengthy lead times. Benefit from on-time, innovative solutions tailored to your needs and budget. These solutions excel in protection during transportation, which is essential for shipping glass.

Beyond wood, we specialize in mixed material packaging, with foam, plastics, and steel available. With more than 40 packaging engineers on staff, we customize complete solutions for your unique glass products. Choose UFP Packaging for precision, reliability, and innovation.

 

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Protective Packaging 

 

UFP Packaging offers an extensive range of protective packaging. When paired with our crates, these components provide an additional layer of coverage you can trust. Our roster for the glass industry includes shrink and stretch films, banding, corner protectors, bubble wrap, foam, corrugated board, and cellulose-based fiberboard, popularly known as Homasote. Shrink and stretch films and banding keep your glass covered and intact, while our corner protectors, bubble wrap, foam, and corrugated keep your glass products cushioned and shielded from impact and vibration. Homasote is particularly effective as a padded barrier between a wood or steel structure and your glass product, providing maximum fortification.

By making UFP Packaging your sole supplier for your glass packaging needs, you’ll streamline your supplier network and enjoy rapid service.

 

Testing Services 

Wondering how to assess your packaging's performance? The key is testing. At our in-house facility, we ensure complete protection of your glass products with minimal materials. Services at our ISTA-certified facility include:


  • ISO and ASTM pallet testing
  • Amazon packaging testing
  • Compression testing
  • Vibration testing
  • Incline impact testing
  • Structural analysis testing
  • Drop testing
  • Forklift handling testing
  • Design services
  • Packaging consulting
  • Optimization programs
  • Custom testing
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Our simulated distribution environment validates your packaging's effectiveness and plays a pivotal role in developing new solutions. If it survives the simulation, it is ready for the real world. Staffed by professional engineers and packaging specialists, you can confidently transition to packaging that better suits your needs. Numerous companies in the glass industry, like solar panel manufacturers, trust UFP Packaging to test their products.

In recent years, inadequate packaging has become an increasing issue for the solar panel industry. These high-value items require durable packaging for safe transportation. Unfortunately, correct packaging has not always been a priority. While solar panels and glass items may seem undamaged upon arrival, microcracks have become a prevalent issue. These cracks only worsen over time, compromising your product. Partner with us to prevent damage to your glass products with our customized packaging and testing services, which eliminate microcracks and other damages.

 

Summary 

Choosing the right packaging solutions for the glass industry is crucial for cost-effectiveness and product safety. UFP Packaging offers specialized Easy-A, Easy-L, and custom crates designed to optimize shipping and storage space, eliminate damage during transport, and assemble easily for safer implementation. Our protective packaging materials add an extra layer of safety while our in-house testing services ensure your packaging meets high standards. Our glass industry customers include:

 

  • Commercial and residential glass manufacturers and distributors
  • Commercial and residential window and door manufacturers
  • Solar industry manufacturers
  • Medical glass product manufacturers
  • Automotive, aerospace, and RV glass manufacturers
  • Consumer electronics and more

Click here to request a quote or schedule a consultation.

 

 

Easy-L glass pallets on truck

UFP Packaging is the leading North American total packaging solutions provider. We leverage advanced materials and industry-leading engineering. Our product offering includes custom pallets, crates, skids, lumber, corrugated, labels, films, OEM components, and more. Our in-house ISTA-certified laboratory can evaluate your current packaging solution and compare it to a new one, supporting results-based solutions. With more than 90 facilities worldwide, we are prepared to meet the needs of regional, national, and global customers alike.

Our Capabilities

UFP Packaging is a full-service provider of packaging solutions and OEM components to small and large businesses across a wide range of industries. We design and manufacture the most diverse line of custom packaging solutions available, ranging from wood pallets and crates to highly customized packing solutions with integrated tracking systems. By leveraging advanced materials, industry-leading engineering, and facilities across the globe, we have the expertise and geographic coverage to serve the needs of regional, national and global customers alike.

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