General FAQ's

Q: What are your office hours?
A: 7:00 A. M. and 3:30 P. M. PST, Monday through Friday, except holidays.
Phone: (866) 449-2882    Fax: (619) 448-7095     E-Mail: click here

Q: Is there a minimum order?
A: For Corrugated products a minimum bundle/case quantity will apply. For Manufactured products no minimums apply.

Q: Is there a "shipping & handling" charge added to my order?
A: Shipping & handling charges are dependent on the services you purchase and the method of shipping used.

Q: Why don't you list pricing?
A: All our packaging is custom built specifically to our customer's specifications. Therefore, we don't carry stock sizes of our wood containers or material handling equipment. We do supply stock sizes for corrugated boxes, minimums apply. 

Q: Can I get a drawing without a PO?
A: We can provide standard and basic box drawings free of charge.  However, custom designed drawings which require longer amounts of engineering time will require a purchase order from the customer before the drawing can be released. Since Valley Box does not charge for engineering time all drawings are considered the proprietary property of Valley Box Co. Inc and may not be disseminated or distributed to parties unrelated to the entity in which the drawings were intended. 

Q: When can I expect to receive my order?
A: Our answer depends on the distance of your location from our warehouse and on the carrier that you selected. The level of carrier service can also have a direct bearing on delivery.

Q: Do you offer Heat Treatment for export shipments?
A: Yes! In fact ALL of Valley Box's wood products are Heat Treated and certified by the USDA. Heat Treated Wood Materials are required for certain international transit by the USDA. Learn More: www.aphis.usda.gov.

Q: Can we buy lumber or dunnage with ISPM 15 stamps?
A: Unfortunately we are not legally allowed to sell lumber featuring our permitted ISPM 15 stamp meeting the standards for Heat treated lumber as regulated by the International Plant Protection Convention (IPPC) and American Lumber Standards Committee (ALSC) under the USDA and Department of Agriculture’s guidelines for international shipment of wood boxes.

However, you have some options:

• We can sell you our lumber stamped “dunnage” which can be used for internal blocking and bracing (not exterior additions) within an ISPM 15 stamped crate.
• Our pack crews can come to your location and perform the modifications, blocking, or bracing with ISPM 15 stamped lumber.

Q: What types of payment do you accept?
A: We accept most major credit cards, including: MasterCard, Visa, American Express. We can ship C.O.D. (limited to small orders). Open credit terms are available based on prior credit approval Download Credit Application

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Corrugated FAQ's

Q: Can I get a corrugated sample?
A: Most stock sized samples are free, however charges may apply for custom sizes. In some cases a shipping charge will apply.

Q: What is the minimum box quantity a mill will run?
A: It depends on the style of box requested. Most mills’ minimum run is no less than 50 boxes for kraft and one side white. It does vary on chipboard style boxes, which is typically nothing less than 1000. If the board is something the mill has to order in such as 2 side white the minimum order could be as many as 10,000 depending on the box size.

Q: Stock boxes vs custom?
A: Stock boxes are readily available and come in varying bundle counts depending on the size. Custom boxes require a longer lead time and depending on the style there could be a onetime cutting die charge or if the boxes are printed there could be a onetime print plate fee.

Q: What is the best corrugated board test to use?
A:It depends are what you are packaging. It also depends on what is being a packaged, sharp edges, weight not being evenly distributed etc. Below is the weight limitation to each board test.

Q: What is the difference between Bursting (Mullen) Test and Edge Crush Test?
A: There are currently two tests used throughout the corrugated industry to determine strength.

• Historically, the long time industry standard has been the Bursting (Mullen) Test, which is related to the rough handling durability of corrugated material. Bursting Test is a measure of the force required to rupture or puncture the face of corrugated board and is measured by a Mullen Tester. This force is indirectly related to a carton’s ability to withstand external or internal forces and thus to contain and protect a product during shipment. Bursting strength is reported in pounds (for example, 200#).
• A newer standard that has achieved widespread acceptance is the Edge Crush Test (ECT). This is a true performance test and is directly related to the stacking strength of a carton. ECT is a measure of the edgewise compressive strength of corrugated board. It is measured by compressing a small segment of board on edge between two rigid plates perpendicular to the direction of the flutes until a peak load is established. This is measured in pounds per lineal inch of load bearing edge (lb/in), but usually reported as an ECT value (for example, 32ECT).

Q: What is a Nuna Flap?

A: A nuna flap is a piece of corrugated on the top flap that keeps the flaps open until customer cuts it out. The nuna flap helps the mills in production to keep the box straight, it gives strength when passing through the folder/gluer section. 

Q: What are "Litho Labels"?
A: Lithographic Labeled Boxes Litho Labels (short for Lithographic Label) are used for high end graphics on corrugated packaging printed on separate sheets of usually 70 # C1S paper. The process used to print litho labels is capable of printing higher line screens than flexographic processes can. This provides higher resolution graphics on corrugated packaging. The litho label can be process printed (Cyan, Magenta, Yellow and Black), PMS ink color matched with additional colors or both. The litho label is trimmed and is fed through a machine that applies adhesive and places the label on the corrugated sheet. Labels that cover the entire corrugated sheet are called full label. Labels that do not cover the entire corrugated sheet are called spot labels.

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Material Handling FAQ's

Q: What is your Custom Material Handling quoting process?

A: click here

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