PHOTO PROVIDED One of the Craters & Freighters trucks on a work site.

This year marks 30 years Colorado-based Craters & Freighters has been in business.

There are 60 brick-and-mortar locations nationwide. The Cape Coral site has been around for 18 years.

Due to the Coronavirus pandemic, the company won’t be holding a local celebration this year.

Craters & Freighters, located at 1136 Pine Island Road, specializes in handling large, fragile, expensive and hard-to-move assets for businesses.

Some of the industries the company works with include telecommunications, information technology, aerospace, biotechnology, government, healthcare and industrial.

Craters & Freighters also serves residential customers.

“We do everything from exporting art and antiques, commercial industrial type businesses, a lot of estate shipping,” said owner Gary McKinley. “We’ve done everything from move factories to storage.”

Depending on the item and level of service requested, Craters & Freighters can ship by truck, air and water.

According to McKinley, Craters & Freighters is the largest specialty crating and logistics company in the U.S.

The area the international provider of specialty freight solutions covers ranges from Marco Island to Bradenton.

The company handles everything from small shipments to large, dedicated, full container load shipments.

Craters & Freighters ships just about everything except barrels, food/perishable items, alcohol, guns, ammunition and live animals.

It can also schedule an onsite consultation to determine the best packaging, crating and shipping solution for the customer’s unique logistical needs.

Each container is custom-designed and built to fit the needs of the item(s) being shipped. On-site crating can also be provided.

When asked what the 30th anniversary milestone meant for the company, McKinley said a big thing in business is longevity.

“What the 30th really means is security and longevity,” he said.

Craters & Freighters is involved in the process from start to finish.

It will pickup the order, inspect and weigh it, and do all of the work in a crating center. Craters & Freighters also has specialized equipment that helps build accurate and strong crates.

The Cape building has two deep well docks that facilitate the loading of containers and cars for export shipping.

And with 7,000 square feet of open area, its crating center has more than enough room for staff to store, crate and receive items.

“We’re asset-based,” McKinley said. “We do the work for our customers with our own staff.”

When working with Craters & Freighters, the customer will know how their item will be shipped and when it’ll be delivered.

“We’ll call ahead for pickups just like it was Comcast coming,” McKinley said.

“Our people go in and wear gloves and load the items into our truck,” he said. “Whereas if they deal with someone online who has no idea who’s coming and who’s going to do business with them.”

Some customers are picking up very valuable items. McKinley used an example of a gentlemen picking up a $30,000 painting from an auction house.

“He has to have confidence we know what we’re talking about and what we’re doing,” he said.