Crating a 600-Pound 'Orange™' Is No Problem for Navis Pack & Ship

Posted on October 02, 2007 by Bill Dube

Riverside, CA —You just never know what Navis will pack next. Last week the city of Riverside, Calif. turned to its local Navis Pack & Ship to engineer and build a custom crate for a 600-pound fiberglass “orange.” The city was shipping the sculpture to Sendai, Japan, in honor of their 50th Sister City anniversary.

            The sculpture is similar in size and dimensions to other giant oranges that have decorated Riverside; but its porcelain, mosaic tiled surface, which portrays local landmarks and the area's citrus-growing heritage, is unique.

            So, too, is the 5 x 5 x 6-foot crate that Navis franchise operators Winton and Leslie Mattison donated to the city. Inside, a custom bracing system immobilized and cushioned the sculpture for the 5,000-mile journey without marring its delicate surface. All wood components were heat-treated to meet stringent international import regulations. Navis Pack & Ship is the city’s preferred vendor for all custom packaging and crating work.

            The Navis team partially assembled the crate at their warehouse, then moved it to an upstairs gallery at the Riverside Art Museum where the orange was on display. The night before a September 18th  send-off ceremony, Navis packed the sculpture in the crate. It took a crew of nine people to move it down a staircase. The total weight, including the crate, was close to 1,000 pounds.            

About Navis Pack & Ship

            Navis Pack & Ship specializes in packaging, crating, transportation and logistics services for items that are difficult to ship.  The company’s diverse clientele ranges from art galleries, auction houses, estate settlement professionals and interior designers, to companies that need to move large, sensitive electronic equipment and machinery. 

            Navis also serves residential consumers who are moving furniture, art or household goods, but have less than a mover’s minimum load.  Navis ships across the country and internationally.

            Franchise operators receive extensive training in handling fragile, large, awkward and valuable goods, assistance in site selection and build-out, and support with marketing, sales, operations, hiring employees and technology.

            With 68 existing locations, Navis Pack & Ship territories has territories available in key markets across the U.S. and Canada.