Reusable Shuttle Wooden Crates :
Custom Packaging for Repeated Transport
For over 25 years, JPemBall has designed and manufactured reusable shuttle wooden crates, durable wood packaging engineered to withstand repeated, sometimes demanding transport cycles while also serving as reliable equipment storage.
Every shuttle crate is custom-built in our workshop in Saint-Ay, near Orléans, France, and tailored precisely to your weight requirements, dimensions, and shipping frequency.
Rugged Construction Built to Last
Each shuttle crate's strength comes from a proven design:
- Exterior plywood panels, 9, 10, or 15 mm thick, available in red wood, pine, or Betonnex depending on the desired finish
- Panel fastenings secured with riveted or screwed metal snap latches, or screws alone (though latches are recommended for greater longevity)
- Reinforced panels using 18 mm or 28 mm boards for added structural strength
- Solid wood skids (typically 80 x 100 mm) fixed underneath the crate for easy handling with pallet trucks or forklifts
What Is a Shuttle Wooden Crate ?
A shuttle wooden crate is a reusable transport crate designed for repeated round trips between your sites or during business travel. Unlike single-use wooden crates, it’s built to withstand dozens, even hundreds, of transport cycles. Some of our shuttle crates have been in continuous service with clients for more than ten years.
This type of packaging is easy to recognize: smooth plywood panels wrapped with raised solid-wood battens that act like protective “belts” around the crate.
Shuttle crates are also defined by one or more removable side panels, which can be taken off and reattached as needed, ideal for frequent access to your equipment.
This packaging solution is particularly well-suited to exhibition equipment, trade show stands, and regular shipments between company sites, offering an excellent balance of durability, storage convenience, and cost-effectiveness.
Planning a Shuttle Wooden Crate Project?
Contact our technical team to design a custom shuttle crate tailored to your equipment and transport needs.
Free quote within 48 hours for the best packaging solution for your goods !
Two Crate Types to Match Your Needs
> English-Style Crate
Best suited for goods weighing under 200 kg or with limited dimensions (width/height under 1 meter).
The “English” crate is a simpler, more economical design. Vertical reinforcements aligned with the skids connect the panels to solid wood runners (100 x 75 mm section), simplifying handling and transport. Only the lid opens, secured by screws or metal snap latches.
> Platform-Style Crate
Engineered for heavy loads (over 200 kg) or large-volume goods (width exceeding 1 meter), this large wooden storage crate is designed for easy access.
The Platform crate rests on a reinforced base, strengthened underneath with 28 mm boards or 80 x 60 mm runners depending on load weight. The entire crate then sits on 80 x 100 mm skids for handling.
Side panels and the lid are attached using nails, screws, or metal snap latches, with the option of 1, 2, 3, or 4 opening sides in addition to the lid.
Custom Interior Padding, Engineered to Fit
Our technical team designs interior padding specific to the transported equipment and shipping conditions: solid wood cradles, horizontal shelving, vertical dividers, foam padding, or other custom integration solutions.
In most cases, this padding remains permanently fixed inside the crate so it’s never lost or misplaced during repeated handling.
Wooden Packaging Compliant with Industry Regulations
Every JPemBall shuttle wooden crate is manufactured in accordance with the guidelines of the S.E.I. (Syndicat de l’Emballage Industriel), France’s industrial packaging association, which defines the required wood thicknesses based on load weight, crate dimensions, and packaging category:
- CAT 3: Open slatted crates
- CAT 4: Fully enclosed, lined crates
- CAT 5: Fully enclosed crates with heat-sealed cover
- CAT 6: Crates with an inner secondary crate, with or without cover
This compliance with industrial crating standards ensures every shuttle wooden crate delivers the strength and durability required, whether for domestic transport or international export.
ISPM 15 Certified Wood Packaging
All our shuttle wooden crates comply with ISPM 15 (International Standards for Phytosanitary Measures No. 15), guaranteeing phytosanitary-treated wood approved for international export. The wood used is heat-treated in specialized kilns until it reaches a core temperature of at least 56°C for a minimum of 30 minutes. This heat treatment eliminates pests and larvae that could otherwise harm foreign ecosystems, a mandatory requirement for all export shipments, by sea or by air.
Additional Protection for Your Goods During Transport, Export, and Storage
Beyond its wooden structure, every shuttle crate can be fitted with additional protective features tailored to transport, export, and long-term storage needs:
- Water protection: Tar paper applied to the walls and polyethylene film covering the lid
- Moisture protection: Custom waterproof liners (polyethylene or Aluester) combined with desiccant packs, protecting your equipment during both transport and extended storage
- Shock protection: Optional internal or external shock indicators for rigorous monitoring throughout the logistics chain
These protective options make the shuttle wooden crate a reliable packaging solution, designed to transport your goods safely regardless of your industry’s specific requirements.
Our Shuttle Wooden Crate Projects
Over the years, we have designed and built shuttle wooden crates for clients with a wide range of needs: handling crates for the audiovisual industry, custom containers for industrial applications, and reusable shuttle crates for clients’ internal logistics. Each crate showcased below was developed with our design team and built in our workshops, based on the dimensions, load weight, and specific constraints of each industry.
Discover our other crates
Lost Wooden Crate
Unlike the reusable shuttle wooden crate, designed for multiple round trips, the disposable wooden crate is a custom-built, single-use wood crate, ideal when your equipment doesn’t need to return to its starting point.
Mixed Crate
Unlike the shuttle wooden crate, built entirely from wood, the mixed crate is made from triple-wall corrugated cardboard reinforced with solid wood, a lighter-weight solution that ensures fully secure transport of your goods.