CUSTOM CRATING · WOODSTOCK WORKSHOP
Custom Crating — Built On-Site at Our Woodstock Workshop
ISPM-15 plywood and timber crates, made to measure for art, furniture, ceramics, and luxury goods. Use the estimator below for instant pricing — we follow up with a confirmed quote.
JLog is a Cape Town-based 3PL (third-party logistics provider) and specialist crating workshop that designs and builds custom protective crates for fine art, designer furniture, ceramics, and other fragile, high-value goods. Founded in 2019 and based in Woodstock, Cape Town, JLog is the official carrier for the Investec Cape Town Art Fair.
JLog builds custom wooden crates and ISPM-15 heat-treated export crates at its Woodstock, Cape Town workshop for fragile and high-value goods — fine art, sculpture, designer furniture, ceramics, and glassware. Each crate is built to the dimensions of the piece, with internal bracing, foam cushioning, and moisture protection; export crates are built from ISPM-15 heat-treated timber required for international shipping. JLog handles collection, crating, documentation, and onward domestic or international transport via FedEx and DHL direct accounts. Crating can be booked as a standalone service or as part of a full white-glove shipment.
Related: See our designer-furniture export crating hub — the specialist commercial-export proposition for South African furniture makers and galleries.
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Custom Crating in Cape Town — Built On-Site, Built to Survive the Journey
TL;DR. JLog builds custom wooden crates on-site at our Woodstock, Cape Town workshop. Every crate is constructed from ISPM-15 heat-treated timber, sized to the millimetre for your specific item, and fitted with the right internal protection — foam, bracing, acid-free tissue, climate barriers — for what’s inside. We crate paintings, sculptures, ceramics, designer furniture, antiques, mirrors, lighting, and electronics for domestic and international shipping. Use the crate estimator above for an instant cost range. Final quotes are confirmed promptly. Crates from R1,500. No contracts, no minimums.
What does JLog crate?
JLog’s crating workshop is built for high-care, high-value, museum-quality items. We don’t run a production line. Every crate is custom-built to your item’s dimensions and fragility profile by an experienced crater.
We regularly crate:
Artworks — paintings (framed or canvas), prints, photographs, mixed-media works. Acid-free tissue, corner protection, climate barriers, foam-in-place where required. We’re the official carrier for the Investec Cape Town Art Fair, so this is core work for us — see how we ship art from South Africa internationally.
Sculptures — bronze, ceramic, mixed-media, large-format installations. Internal bracing, custom foam blocks, weight-distributed mounting points. We’ve crated single sculptures over 200kg for international shipping.
Designer furniture — chairs, tables, lighting, cabinetry. Often disassembled, individually wrapped, and crated with internal compartments. Common shipments include designer furniture and décor exports to the UK, EU, USA, and UAE.
Ceramics & glass — high-fragility items requiring egg-shell (convoluted) foam, double-walled crates, and “fragile this side up” protocols. We’ve shipped ceramic planters to London in four days with zero damage.
Antiques & collectibles — pre-shipping condition reports, climate considerations for delicate finishes, SAHRA permit support for cultural-heritage items.
Mirrors & glass panels — corner protection, double bracing, “glass” stamping for handler awareness, extra-thick foam interior.
Electronics & equipment — anti-static lining, foam-in-place fitting, moisture barriers for international transit.
If you’re shipping something fragile, valuable, or oversized, custom crating is almost always cheaper than the cost of damage. Standard courier boxes fail at sea-freight transit pressure and rough handling. A properly built crate doesn’t.
What makes a specialist crate different from generic packing?
According to international cargo damage surveys, uncrated fragile shipments fail at rates exceeding 30% on long-haul international routes. Insurance claims on damaged artwork average 70% of declared value once handling, documentation, and replacement costs are included.
Three things kill a shipment in transit: handler impact, vibration, and humidity change. A custom crate addresses all three:
- Impact protection — rigid plywood walls absorb dropped-corner and side-strike forces that destroy cardboard
- Vibration dampening — internal foam and bracing prevent the contents from shifting against the crate walls during 18-22 day sea freight or 8-12 hour cargo flights
- Humidity barriers — plywood with internal moisture barriers protects against the 60% RH variance between Cape Town departure and humid destinations like Dubai or Singapore
Beyond protection, custom crates carry compliance value. International couriers (FedEx, DHL, air cargo lines) charge dimensional weight rather than actual weight on most freight. A crate built tight to the contents minimises dim weight, often reducing shipping costs by 20–30% compared to oversized standard boxes.
| Feature | JLog specialist crate | Generic packing |
|---|---|---|
| Build | Custom-built to the exact dimensions of the piece | Off-the-shelf box, void-filled |
| Export compliance | Built with ISPM-15 heat-treated timber for international shipping | Usually non-compliant; risk of customs hold |
| Internal protection | Bespoke bracing, foam cushioning, moisture barrier | Loose fill, limited immobilisation |
| Suited to | Fine art, sculpture, designer furniture, ceramics, glassware | Low-value, non-fragile goods |
| Documentation | Condition notes for insurance | Typically none |
| Reusability | Built to be reused for return or onward shipping | Single-use |
How does JLog’s crating process work?
- Collection or drop-off. We collect from anywhere in Cape Town metro (R250–R950 depending on distance). Galleries, designers, and private clients can also drop off at our Woodstock workshop directly.
- Measurement and assessment. Our crater measures the item’s outer dimensions, photographs it from multiple angles, and notes fragility points. For artworks, we record the condition before any handling.
- Material selection. Based on the item, destination, and budget, we choose the crate construction: 12mm plywood (standard for export), 6.4mm or 4.8mm hardboard (lighter domestic options), double-wall carton (smaller items), or PVC tubing (rolled canvases). Foam options range from thin (10mm) for ceramics to convoluted egg-shell for high-fragility items.
- Custom build. The crater cuts plywood to size on our workshop bench, assembles with screws (no nails — they loosen in transit), and fits internal bracing or foam blocks specific to the item’s geometry. Wood is spray-painted with JLog identification and handling instructions. All export crates carry the ISPM-15 heat-treatment stamp.
- Pack and photograph. The item is wrapped in acid-free tissue, aerothene, or pallet wrap as appropriate, fitted into the crate, and photographed in place. The lid is screwed down (not nailed), with crate-opening instructions stamped on the outside.
- Dispatch coordination. The finished crate is weighed, dimensioned, and either dispatched via FedEx, DHL, or air cargo (international), or onto a domestic route through our Bob Go network or our own Volkswagen Crafter for dedicated runs to the Garden Route, Winelands, or further afield.
Build time is typically one to three working days depending on crate size and current workshop load. Rush builds (same-day or next-day) are possible for art fair or exhibition deadlines — contact us directly.
What is ISPM-15 and why does it matter for export crating?
If your crate is leaving South Africa, it must be ISPM-15 compliant. This is an international phytosanitary standard requiring all wooden packaging used in international trade to be heat-treated to 56°C for 30 minutes, killing insects and larvae. A peer-reviewed study in PLoS ONE (Haack et al., 2014) found wood-packaging pest infestation rates fell 36–52% after ISPM-15 was implemented, which is why every major export market now enforces it. The treated timber carries an official stamp showing the treatment.
A non-ISPM-15 crate will be refused entry at destination customs. We’ve seen entire pallets sent back to South Africa from Dubai, London, and New York because exporters used untreated softwood crates.
Every JLog export crate is built from ISPM-15 heat-treated timber as standard. Crating is one piece of export shipping from Cape Town — we also handle SARS customs, SAD 500 docs and direct FedEx/DHL booking under the same roof. The stamp is applied during build. There’s no separate fee — it’s included in the per-sheet plywood pricing.
Fumigation, if required for specific destinations (Australia and New Zealand often request it), is an additional R550 per crate. The crate estimator above auto-flags whether fumigation is recommended based on your destination.
“When a shipment gets held up over the crate rather than the goods, it’s almost always non-compliant timber. Export crates have to be built from ISPM-15 heat-treated wood — get that wrong and the piece can be stopped at the border. It’s an avoidable delay, and it’s the part we control.”
— Gerrit Dyman, Managing Director, JLog
Materials We Use
Material choice is matched to the item, the destination, and the budget. The most common configurations:
- 12mm plywood (R650 per 2.44 × 1.22m sheet) — standard for export crates, art shipping, designer furniture
- 6.4mm hardboard (R520 per sheet) — lighter alternative for medium-fragility items
- 3mm hardboard (R350 per sheet) — domestic shipments, lighter items
- Double-wall carton (R250 per sheet) — smaller items, lower fragility
- PVC tube (R350 per metre) — rolled canvases, large prints
- Grey foam (R380 per full sheet, R240 per half sheet) — internal padding for furniture and large items
- Convoluted (egg-shell) foam — high-fragility ceramics and glass
- Aerothene wrap (R100 per artwork, includes pallet wrap) — protective film for artworks and finished pieces
Internal bracing, corner protection, acid-free tissue, and handling stamps are included in every build.
Crating Plus Shipping — One Quote, One Team
Most clients need both crating and shipping. Booking them separately means coordinating two providers, two invoices, and two points of failure if something goes wrong.
JLog handles both in-house. After crating, your shipment moves directly into our dispatch pipeline. Domestic items go on the Bob Go network (next-day Cape Town, 1–2 days Johannesburg, 1–2 days Durban) or our own dedicated van for Garden Route runs. International shipments dispatch via our direct FedEx and DHL accounts — direct accounts, not reseller rates.
Use the calculator at the top of this page and check the “include international shipping estimate” option to see crating plus shipping in one quote.
Custom shipping & freight crates
Not every crate is an export crate. We also build custom shipping crates and freight crates for domestic road, rail and courier freight within South Africa — where ISPM-15 heat treatment is not required, but the item still needs a rigid, purpose-built timber crate to survive the trip. Typical jobs include machinery and equipment, retail fixtures, event and exhibition gear, and heavy or awkwardly shaped items a carton cannot protect. Whether it is a one-off custom shipping crate or a batch of reusable freight crates, each is built to the item exact dimensions in our Woodstock workshop.
Frequently Asked Questions
How much does crating cost in Cape Town?
Crating starts at around R1,500 for a small item (under 0.05 m³) and can reach R12,000 or more for large furniture pieces, sculptures, or items requiring extensive bracing and foam. The estimator above gives you an instant range based on your specific dimensions and contents. Final quotes are confirmed promptly.
Do you provide a crating-only service?
Yes. If you have your own courier or shipping provider, JLog can build the crate and have it ready for collection. Our crating-only rate is the same as our integrated rate — there’s no discount for shipping with us, but there’s also no premium for using us as a crater alone.
Is ISPM-15 always required?
ISPM-15 is required for international export of wooden packaging to all major destinations (EU, UK, USA, China, Australia, UAE, and others). It’s not required for domestic shipments within South Africa. Every JLog export crate is built from ISPM-15 heat-treated timber as standard.
Can you crate for art fairs?
Yes. JLog is the official carrier for the Investec Cape Town Art Fair and crates for international fairs including Frieze London, Art Basel, Masterpiece London, and Design Miami Basel. For art-fair crates, we also handle ATA Carnet documentation for temporary export.
How long does crating take?
Standard build time is one to three working days. Rush builds for exhibition deadlines or last-minute international shipments are available on request — contact us directly for same-day or next-day rates.
Do you offer reusable crates?
For clients shipping the same item type repeatedly (such as art fair circuits or recurring gallery shipments), we can build reinforced reusable crates with hinged lids and corner protection. Reusable crates cost 30–50% more upfront but pay back after two or three uses.
What if my item doesn’t fit the calculator categories?
The estimator covers most common items. For unusual shapes — large installations, oversized mirrors, vintage cars, taxidermy, or anything outside standard fragile categories — submit the estimator with your best dimensions and contact us directly. Our crating team will quote based on a workshop assessment.
Where are you located?
JLog operates from Unit 12C, Nearby Industrial Park, 10 Railway Street, Woodstock, Cape Town, 7925. Our crating workshop is on-site. You’re welcome to drop off items directly during business hours (Monday to Friday, 08:00–17:00), or we collect across Cape Town metro and beyond.
Crating for National Distribution — Cape Town to the Rest of South Africa
Most of our crating work originates in Cape Town, but the crate often travels further. JLog builds crates for shipments between Cape Town and South Africa’s other art, design, and freight hubs, and coordinates the onward leg whether you use us as the courier or hand off to your own forwarder.
- Cape Town to Johannesburg gallery moves — road-freight transit 1–2 working days; crates dimensioned to standard SA pallet sizes to keep linehaul costs predictable.
- Durban art-fair and exhibition preparation — built with multiple-handling protection because pieces are unpacked, displayed, and re-crated several times per circuit.
- Pre-crating for export forwarders — if you’re using your own freight partner for the air or sea leg, JLog handles the ISPM-15 crate build, delivers the sealed crate to your forwarder’s warehouse, and steps out.
Every national-distribution crate ships with a specification sheet — dimensions, weight, materials, internal protection, handling photographs — which becomes part of the item’s professional record for insurance assessors and exhibition registrars.
Ready to Crate?
Use the estimator at the top of this page for an instant cost range. Final quote follows.
- Email: [email protected]
- Phone: +27 21 300 6099
- WhatsApp: +27 64 794 7396
- Workshop: Unit 12C, Nearby Industrial Park, 10 Railway Street, Woodstock, Cape Town
Official carrier for the Investec Cape Town Art Fair. ISPM-15 heat-treated timber. No contracts, no minimums.
Last updated: June 2026 · Author: Gerrit Dyman, Managing Director, JLog