Quality Shop Equipment
Container Day
Shop Tools Outlet receives a few containers of product each month. These containers are brought into the United States by boat, loaded onto a train making its journey to Omaha. Once in Omaha, the containers are loaded onto a truck to begin the final stretch to Marshalltown, Iowa. That’s when the hard work at STO begins.
The container finally arrives at the loading dock. Everyone is antsy to get started with the unloading process. The first step is to break the heavy-duty container seal which was put on in China. This guarantees that the container has not been tampered with throughout its entire journey. We then start the unloading process. The containers are huge, and the products inside can weigh up to 40 tons. This makes the unloading process dangerous and time consuming.
The number one rule to follow when unloading the container is not to step inside; only the forklift operator is able to go inside the container. This is because in rare incidents containers have collapsed or the product, which is sometimes stacked three lifts high, has fallen and severely injured people. The forklift will slowly maneuver into the container to pick up the first item. The first product is the hardest as all the products are tightly packed.
Once the first product is out, the rest are easier. After the container is unloaded, the last step is to check all the serial numbers. They are uploaded into a tracking system, so we know how long the product has been in our warehouse, when the product ships, and for keeping track of warranty information. After we have broken the seal, unloaded the container, and collected the serial numbers, it is time for the product to be shipped out