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Navis Supports the Troops
 Navis Pack & Ship of Dallas (TX-1062) has landed an on-going contract to crate and ship truck axles ordered by the Afghan national army. Axles are in big demand in Afghanistan due to frequent damage from land mines.
The axle manufacturer requested quotes from TX-1062 along with several other companies they found on the Internet. But franchisee Kevin Wortley said the customer quickly narrowed the field to Navis "after we demonstrated that we knew what we were doing with international and military crates." Kevin called fellow franchisee Marc Guttman of CO-1002 for advice on designing the "mil-spec" crates. He had met Marc during training and remembered Marc's experience as a logistics officer for the Air Force Reserve. The Navis Help Desk also helped TX-1062 Operations Manager Marc Oxford quickly locate a supplier of certified heat-treated lumber and design the cradles and bracing that would immobilize the axles.
TX-1062 is shipping the axles to a temporary storage facility in Wisconsin where they will be consolidated with other goods going to Afghanistan. Kevin said he expects to receive jobs of similar size from the axle manufacturer about every other month.
Careful...careful...careful!
 The Navy hired Navis Pack & Ship VA-1048 to build crates and assist in packing two 500 lb. circ 1960 “antique” MK 16-8 Torpedoes that were on display at Dam Neck Navel Facility in Virginia Beach, VA. Ron Reid, VA-1048’s Warehouse Manager and “Master Crate Builder” designed and built the crates in the warehouse, then transported them to the base on a flatbed truck. The Navy was pleased with the work and now has asked for an estimate to crate and pack the two much larger white missiles on display, (seen in the back of the larger photo). That should be a real bomb!
VA-1048 Helps Physicians Group Ship Wheelchair
 Navis Pack & Ship of Dallas (TX-1062) has landed an on-going contract to crate and ship truck axles ordered by the Afghan national army. Axles are in big demand in Afghanistan due to frequent damage from land mines.
This disabled El Salvadoran girl now has a wheelchair, thanks to Eric Lackey's Navis Pack & Ship in Norfolk, VA, and Physicians for Peace, a group that sponsors medical education and donates medical equipment and supplies to developing nations. Eric packed and shipped the wheelchair to Ohio and Physicians for Peace then sent it on to El Salvador with other goods. A thank you note from the girls mother said, in part, "...she was in need of rehabilitation equipment and thanks to the solidarity and support of people like you, she now has what she needs...I send all of you an immense hug
Navis Masters the Art of Packaging
 Navis has proven its fine art expertise for even the most fragile and valuable art items. This $145,000 Michael Parkes original was meticulously packaged and shipped from our Navis location at CA1027 to a collector in Texas. It is the meticulous care we put into packaging that makes Navis the preferred shipping company for museums, galleries, art consultants, and collectors.
Everything AND the Kitchen Sink!
 Navis Pack & Ship of Indianapolis (IN-1050) recently shipped 12 rooms of furniture, including a grand piano, claw foot bathtub and the kitchen sink. Then they shipped the house, too!
Franchisee Sue Craven has a great relationship with the iSold It store that listed this dollhouse for sale on eBay. iSold It published IN-1050's name and phone number right in the eBay listing. The customer posted feedback on eBay saying her experience with Navis was "superb" and sent favorable comments to the iSold It store owner, too.
In addition to furniture, the doll house came with many accessories, including tiny TV Guide magazines, pictures of "relatives," place settings of china and food. Sue said she would have loved to set it all up and play for awhile but Operations Manager Joe Craven and Packer Adam Lyons got impatient with her getting in the way while they packed.
Zodiac Stuck in Port, Saddles Too Big for Plane
"Canadian Yachtsman John Greedon was at port in Hampton, VA, one stop on his way back home to Nova Scotia. He purchased this Zodiac while at the Bluewater Yachts Marina. However, it's 690 lbs proved to be too heavy for his yacht's lift. As an off-shore tropical storm was looming off the southeast coast, he was pressed for time to get back to the ocean, ahead of the storm. He called numerous places to ship his Zodiac with no luck. He found Navis VA-1048 online. We were able to borrow a boat trailer and pick up the Zodiac, letting him make his way. With the help of instructions from Dan [Taylor] and Brent [Monson], we constructed a special cradle and slat crate for the craft and sent it via Yellow Freight up to Nova Scotia.
First and Last Mile Delivery Shows The Strength of the Network
When we say we ship large items, we mean really big! AZ-1082 Franchisee Reggie Dye and Operations Manager Terry Martin got a little help from Field Support Rep Rusty Johnson to pack up this huge hot tub. AZ-1082 shipped it from Phoenix to Baltimore. Then MD-1075 franchisees George Mackertich and Paul McDermott received the shipment and handled the final mile delivery, straight into the customer's back yard.
Navis Chips In For Charity
Marc Guttman and his crew at CO-1002 were included in radio, print and TV publicity surrounding "Operation Beanie Baby." A local radio personality collected 40,000 of the stuffed toys from listeners after hearing a story about how much Iraqi children loved them. According to CNN, a child who had been given a Beanie Baby by a soldier even warned a US patrol that terrorists had planted a bomb along the patrol's route.
When Marc heard about the collection efforts, he volunteered to arrange shipping. He is a US Air Force Reserve officer and was able to use his contacts at US Pacific Command to send the shipment to Iraq with a deploying US Marine unit. The shipment weighs more than two tons, and it took months of preparation, paperwork and approvals to get it ready. Marc donated all his time and materials and Yellow Transportation donated shipping from Denver to Camp Pendleton in San Diego. From there, the shipment will travel to Iraq through military channels. After arriving in mid January, the Beanie Babies will be given to Iraqi children by individual U.S. and Iraqi soldiers while on patrol, as well as by medical and public affairs personnel.
Crate a 600 Pound Orange? No Problem!
Navis Pack & Ship CA-1089 engineered and built a custom crate for a 600-pound "orange" sent by the city of Riverside,
California, to honor its 50th Sister City anniversary with Sendai, Japan. The fiberglass sculpture is similar in size and
dimensions to other giant orange sculptures that have decorated Riverside; but its porcelain, mosaic tiled surface,
which portrays local landmarks and the area's citrus-growing heritage, is unique.
So, too, is the 5 x 5 x 6-foot international crate that Winton and Leslie Mattison donated to the city in exchange for publicity. They designed a custom bracing system to immobilize and
cushion the sculpture without marring its delicate surface. The crate was partially assembled ahead of time at their warehouse,
then moved to an upstairs gallery at the Riverside Art Museum where the orange was on display. They packed the sculpture in the crate the night before a send-off
ceremony. At the end of the event, held at the front entrance to the museum, they secured the final wood bracing and
the crate's front.
DHL donated $25,000 in air freight and local transportation for the project, and a local mover, Burgess North American,
pitched in to help Navis move the massive crate outside.
"We had six guys there and North American had three. It took all of us
to get the crate down the front stairs," Leslie said. The total weight,
including the crate, was close to 1,000 pounds.
The send-off was a huge success, Leslie said. She made sure the event yielded great visibility for Navis Pack & Ship,
which is a preferred vendor for the city. All four sides of the crate were emblazoned with the Navis Pack & Ship logo,
and three 2x4s secured to the crate for extra support were painted black to suggest the Navis "N." Leslie also contributed information on Navis Pack & Ship to the city's press materials and
is following up with the chamber of commerce and a local business journal to write about Navis' packaging and
crating expertise.
Navis Pack & Ship CN-1005 was in high-profile company this month as a sponsor of Art with Heart, a prestigious charity art auction in Toronto.
 Ray Friedman and his team mingled with more than 1000 collectors, artists, gallery owners and other corporate sponsors at three glittering events.
They also made personal contact with more than half of the successful bidders by delivering their purchases.
Art With Heart is an annual event that benefits Casey House, a supportive care organization for people suffering from AIDS and HIV.
This year's auction of 86 paintings raised more than CN$400,000. "Ray donated art packing and delivery services, including set-up at two preview events, at the auction itself, and delivery to buyers within greater Toronto. The works ranged in value from CN$1,000 to CN$27,0000.
CN-1005's long-time client and referral partner, Ritchies Auctioneers, recommended Navis Pack & Ship to the Art With Heart organization.
In exchange for the sponsorship, CN-1005 received exposure through the event's website and promotional materials.
Most importantly, they were able to include a packet of information about Navis Pack & Ship with each work they delivered.
"This was an expensive exercise, but it gave us direct access to important art collectors in Toronto," Ray said. "It was worth the investment.
We will be doing it again next year for sure."
It's hard to find a better example of "fragile" than this $52,000 work of art in glass by contemporary artist Dale Chihuly.
Navis Pack & Ship MI-1095 in Grand Rapids packed and shipped it for customers who were moving from their summer home in Saugatuck, MI, to a winter home in Florida.
 Franchise operator Pat Valykeo and her team protected the surface of each piece, then bubble-wrapped and suspended each piece in peanuts in individual boxes. Each box was then suspended in peanuts inside a crate. The largest piece went into a crate by itself and all the others traveled in a second crate.
The shipment also included a large, museum-style pedestal with a square black enamel bottom and a Plexiglas cover. The artwork is displayed on a piece of glass illuminated by a light shining up from the base.
"To save the customer money we shipped the pedestal LTL, but the crates went by UPS next day air," Pat said. The customer was delighted and quite relieved when the entire shipment arrived safely.
Laser Measurement System for NASA
Accumetrics Associates is the leading manufacturer of digital rotor telemetry systems for measurements on rotating machinery.
When the Schenectady, NY, company sold a laser-based system to the NASA Ames Research Center in Northern California, they needed a shipper that would insure the $200,000 value. Yellow Transportation referred them to Navis.
 Because we don't have a franchise location serving Schenectady, NLS Operations Manager Brett Monson handled the shipment for Accumetrics.
He obtained insurer approval for the manufacturer's crates and packaging and booked Yellow Transportation as the carrier.
The system included five components, all individually crated by the manufacturer, 18 spools of cable and spare parts.
From Pin-ups to Spycams,
Navis Can Pack and Ship It!
Pin-up girls were all the rage in 1943 when these two paintings were done. But what made them unique today, said Mary Berenyi, franchise operator at SC-1071, is that she picked them up from the daughter of the brunette!
 
SC-1071 also recently packed this high-value surveillance unit for a local manufacturer. The bubble wrapped parts are the fragile camera units and lights. 
Because it was being shipped to an international buyer, SC-1071 Operations Manager Cory Long built a crate for the unit using heat-treated ISPM 15 stamped lumber. Notice how the crate just fits in a 20-foot container. No chance for a measuring error here!
According to Mary, they have a good opportunity for repeat business with the customer.
 
Flywheel Pushers: 900 Servers Later, Navis Still a Standout
 What's in a name? For our team in Baltimore, their biggest job ever and a happy new customer.
NaviSite is a global company that provides web-hosting and other IT services to more than 1400 businesses. Last October, it acquired a Baltimore firm and needed to move 900 servers to Andover, Mass.
“Our NaviSite contact admitted that she picked Navis from the Internet search because our names were so similar,” said George Mackertich, co-franchisee at MD-1075. After the first call, however, it was Navis' responsiveness that won the job. “We were the only company that would meet their timeframe,” George said.
Big Job, Tight Timeframe
NaviSite called on October 22, asking if Navis could pack and ship an IT center housed on the 13th floor of a downtown office building. The building lease was expiring on October 31. And, oh yes, most of the work had to take place over the next weekend, with overnight delivery, because the servers hosted live websites.
“We scrambled to get the quote together, lined up dedicated fast-track trucks and hired temporary help,” George said. “We were all set to go, but at the last minute the customer decided to wait until they had backup websites in place. They extended the building lease for a month and asked us to reschedule.”
Invaluable Flexibility from Yellow Exact Express
George had booked six dedicated trucks through Yellow Exact Express, plus a few partial loads. The trucks would leave the Baltimore site by 7:00 each evening and arrive in Andover the next morning.
“Yellow got our business because they do a great job of figuring out how to get things done,” George said. “As the requirements changed, I could call them at any hour, any day. They would put me on hold, call the trucking company and rearrange everything on the spot. Because they met our needs, I was able to keep customer happy.”
900 Servers, To Go
 George and his partner Paul McDermott worked alongside their two employees and four to eight temps over two Saturdays and several weekdays to get the job done.
Each of 900 servers had to be disconnected from power and removed from a rack. Fifty extremely critical units were foamed in place; the rest were packed in anti-static bubble, stacked on pallets and shrink-wrapped and banded in place. All the racks, cables, and miscellaneous other equipment also had to be packed and palletized.
“Every day we worked, we got more efficient at it,” George said, “but it still took lots of late hours. You can't do this type of job unless you gear up for it.”
Specific Pricing Protected Profitability
Because there so many unknowns, George made sure his quote was very specific about what the pricing covered. New services were added in as the job progressed, and Navis was paid for waiting time whenever the NaviSite technical team had to finish tasks ahead of them.
As a result, the job was not only MD-1075's biggest job ever, but also one of their most profitable.
“The customer was very impressed with Navis, and not because of our name,” George said. “They said they would call us again anytime they needed packing and shipping in the mid-Atlantic region.”
We Shipped This. Everything But the Boat!
Navis FL1098 in Fort Lauderdale didn't exactly ship this 128 foot yacht, but we did pack and remove all of the contents.
We were contacted by a yacht broker who found us through our local Google ad campaign. He had a tight deadline to remove
all of the owner's personal belongings prior to closing the sale of the yacht. We had to go on board and catalog everything
and were required to work barefoot. Over 70 framed paintings were surface protected and wrapped in cushioning material prior
to removal. Another 200 objects d'art and personal goods were also cataloged, wrapped and removed.
 All pieces were inventoried and temporarily stored in our warehouse prior to shipping to several overseas addresses.
Our Warehouse Manager John Pankonin performed most of the work on the aft deck of the ship, and had to stop working
from time to time to wave to the tour boats passing by.
When TN-1079 put in a rush request for insurance on a $50,000 heart-lung machine pump, it was a good bet that something
unusual was going on.
Franchise Operator Ray Rhea had bid on shipping the pump weeks before, when Miami Children's Hospital was considering
buying it from Vanderbilt University Medical Center in Nashville. Then out of the blue, Ray got a frantic call from Miami.
“They needed the pump the next day for a patient in critical condition,” Ray said. The woman who had negotiated the purchase
needed to choose a shipper immediately, and she was flying up to inspect the pump and supervise the shipping. Could Navis meet
their timetable?
“When I volunteered to pick her up at the airport, the deal was sealed,” Ray said. She was so impressed with the way Ray's team
handled the pickup that she decided she didn't even need to come out to the warehouse to watch the crating.
“My guys performed like champs. From the time they first touched the machine at the pickup to the time they handed it over to the
air freight company was less than three hours,” Ray said. “I heard from the hospital purchasing agent that the buyer said Navis
people were the friendliest, easiest shipping people she had ever worked with.”
That opinion should bring business to at least two other Navis locations, too. Turns out the customer is moving to Charlotte, NC,
to work for another hospital. She also has some personal artwork in Ft. Lauderdale to move. Ray referred her to both NC-1046 and
FL-1098.
“It's the easiest thing in the world to ask a few questions and pass on a customer to other Navis locations,” Ray said. “That's
the way it's supposed to work in a network.”
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