Pallet Shipper Saves Freight

By Greenhouse Grower staff|September 12, 2007

Northwest Horticulture’s new Pallet Shipper has helped the perennial propagator pass freight savings onto its grower customers.

Based in Mt. Vernon, Wash., the company ships nationally from the Northwest corner of the United States and is always looking for ways to drive down delivery costs. Ranked at No. 21 on our Top 25 Young Plant Growers, Northwest Horticulture produces perennials, groundcovers and landscape roses in more than a million square feet of greenhouse space and 600 additional acres of outdoor production.

The company’s new Pallet Shipper program has made truck shipping a viable option for growers looking for high quality plugs at a cost-effective price. The crush-resistant packaging system is stacked on pallets, delievering dormant trays to growers’ doors.

“The Pallet Shipper stacking system allows air to circulate through the plants during shipping,” says Richard Gigot, Northwest Horticulture’s director of sales and marketing. “Traditional boxed shipments don’t allow this.”

Since the spring of 2006, the company has sent 70 percent of its truck shipments via the Pallet Shipper system. “It’s been a phenomenally successful program,” he says. “It works extremely well for the plants, our customers really appreciate the quality of the product, and it’s been working really well for us, too.”