Over time, this becomes an every day chore using the maintenance people, some of the more expensive personnel in a factory, or a group of people from various areas that have shown some woodworking ability or liked "wood-shop" in high school. This results in creating an adhoc job skill and department in the factory with no real promotional path in and out of the department. It also changes the company's workmen's compensation insurance requirement and before you know it, these changes become a "Real Thorn in your Side" (excuse the wood pun).

Instead of doing the above, a company may have decided to "outsource" this activity from the beginning, but then didn't know where to look for a supplier to do this type of work. First stop may have been the company's packaging supplier, but this would cost more because they too would outsource this activity. Next stop may have been a lumber company or a small woodworking business in your area. The problem with these solutions is that a crate is a very integral part of the product's production process and, by its nature, a very bulky component in that process. A company cannot afford anything else but a "Just In Time" manufacturing process and a supplier that knows how to deliver this result.

Gateway Manufacturing is that supplier. Our crating process area is designed as a typical manufacturing area with routings, process steps, quality check points and cross-trained employees to insure that your crates are there when you need them every time. We have a multitude of nail guns for consistent construction quality, a 7 ½ HP SECO Chop Saw to make precise, repeatable cuts on all structure wood and a CNC CASADEI Panel Saw with air tables to precisely cut all side sheathing requirements with a high degree of accuracy. We have a variety of hydraulic lift tables and power conveyors to insure a safe work environment for our employees. The result of all of this is a quality crate product that provides a cost-effective solution to protect the shipments of our customers' products. The final problem that is taken care of by Gateway Manufacturing is the transportation of these bulky packaging products. We provide "Door to Door" service with our straight-axle or semi-truck to guarantee on-time delivery. If requirements are large, we can "drop and hook" trailers so that our trailers can be used as KanBan storage for our customers' production process.