Fleet & pooling program
Buying totes forever is a strange way to run a packaging line. In the pooling program you hold a float of containers, we keep them clean and whole, and the ones that fail get replaced without a purchase order.
- Sheet
- 48
- Revision
- 2026-10
- Scale
- 1:1
- Drawn at
- Peoria IL
Your float, our maintenance
Size the float
We count your fill cycles, transit days and customer dwell time, then set a pool that will not strand you.
Seed the pool
Reconditioned, serialised totes delivered and logged to your account with a grade and a birth date.
Swap on schedule
Standing route brings clean units and takes dirty ones. Your yard never accumulates empties.
Report quarterly
Turns, losses, repair spend and avoided CO₂e per quarter, in a format your ESG team can paste.
- Pool minimum
- 25 totes
- Billing
- Monthly per tote in service, repairs included
- Loss policy
- Shrinkage allowance of 3%/yr, then replacement cost
- Wash standard
- Cycle 1 included, cycle 2 or 3 at a per-unit rate
- Serialisation
- Laser-etched internal ID plus QR placard
- Exit
- 90 days notice; you can buy the float at residual value
Where pooling wins and where it does not
| Scenario | Buy outright | Pool |
|---|---|---|
| Stable, year-round fill schedule | Competitive | Usually cheaper after year 2 |
| Seasonal spikes (ag, de-icing) | Expensive idle capacity | Clear winner |
| Totes travel one-way to customers | Works | Poor fit — pool needs returns |
| Strict food-grade documentation | Heavy admin burden | Winner, we hold the records |
| Fewer than 20 containers in motion | Simpler | Below our minimum |
Who owns the totes in a pool?
We do. You pay for availability and condition, not for assets on your balance sheet. At exit you can buy the float at residual value if you would rather own them.
What if a customer keeps one of my pool totes?
That is normal shrinkage. The first 3% per year is built into the rate; beyond that we invoice replacement at the reconditioned price, not new.
Can the pool carry my branding?
Yes — printed placards, cage tags or full wrap. We keep the artwork on file and reapply it after every wash.
How many containers a pool actually needs
A float that is too small strands your fill line; a float that is too large is a monthly invoice for containers sitting still. The calculation is simple and almost nobody runs it before asking for a quote.
- The formula
- (fill rate per week) × (days in the loop ÷ 7) × 1.15 safety
- Days in the loop
- Your dwell + transit out + customer dwell + transit back + our turnaround
- Our turnaround
- 4–7 working days including wash and inspection
- Typical total loop
- 24–38 days for a regional customer
- Safety factor
- 15% — covers a late return and a failed unit
- Worked example
- 20/week × (31÷7) × 1.15 ≈ 102 containers
| Profile | Fill rate | Loop days | Float needed | Turns per year |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Syrup distributor | 18/week | 26 | 77 | 5.0 |
| Seasonal ag retailer | 60/week in season | 21 | 207 | 2.0 |
| Brewery, monthly swap | 6/week | 34 | 34 | 4.2 |
| Municipal brine | 12/week in winter | 18 | 36 | 1.8 |