Supplies for Moving Companies

If you're a moving company, whether large or small, you need the right materials to be competitive and offer your clients the most safe, secure move possible.  Most of that revolves around having the right materials to safeguard your client's belongings.  Following are some of the supplies that moving companies most often use, or could use.

Stretch Wrap

Stretch wrap is a stretchy, clear plastic film that can be used for a variety of applications within the moving industry.  There are two types of stretch wrap that are most common:

• Hand Stretch Wrap - 12", 15" or 18" wide on a standard 3" core, and 20" and 30" on a 1" extended core
• Bundling Stretch Wrap - 2", 3" and 5" widths.  The 2" and 3" films are on a 3" core and the 5" can ship on a 3" core or a 1" extended core.

Typical applications for stretch wrap in the moving industry:

• Protecting furniture from nicks and dings (typically hand wrap)
• Keeping furniture doors and drawers closed (typically bundling film)
• Consolidating items so multiple items can be loaded/transported as one

Stretch wrap is easy to use, will not mar furniture - whether wood, leather or fabric, leaves no adhesive residue like tape can, is clear, and has strong, reliable hold potential to stand up in the many demands that the moving industry places on the items in its care.

Plastic Poly Bags
Plastic poly bags and related products can be used for a variety of purposes and can often be re-used as well (unlike stretch wrap).  Some of the most common poly products used are:

• Furniture Bags - these come in sizes specific for chairs, loveseats, and couches.  Where standard poly bags open on the width, furniture bags will often open on the length, so instead of having to pull a poly bag over the couch from one end to the other and to lift it off the ground to do so, you can simply pull the bag over the top of the couch, allowing both ends to be protected and for it to be relatively easily lifted and moved while covered.
• Garment Bags - these are designed for hanging clothes and are much like what you would get at a dry-cleaners.  These will ensure that your client's hanging clothes are protected as much as possible during the move, even if they are in a garment box.
• Mattress Bags - these are sized for standard and pillow-top mattresses in all the common sizes - twin, full, queen, x-queen, king, and x-king.  These will protect your client's mattresses and/or box springs in transit and, depending upon the thickness you choose, can provide a handhold when carrying.
• Reclosable Bags - these are zip-top bags that come in a wide variety of sizes.  The most common use of these is to store parts for when items have to be disassembled for transport.  Some reclosable bags also come with a white write-on block so they can be easily labelled and read.  These can be put in drawers or cabinets during transport, taped underneath the furniture, or simply carried separately.
• Poly Sheeting - this comes in a wide variety of sizes and are simply long sheets of poly on a roll.  They range in width from 3' up to 20' and typically come in lengths of 100'.  For items too large to bag or to protect floors, for example, poly sheeting can be a useful option.  It can also be used to protect items that need to be set aside in a lawn, for example, or to cover them in the event of inclement weather during the move.
• Poly Tubing - stocked in various thicknesses, it comes in sizes as narrow as 1" and as wide as 60", and in lengths from 300' to 4000', depending upon the width and the thickness of the tubing.  This product is used most frequently for protecting rugs/carpeting that are rolled up for transport, but can be used for many other applications as well.  Since it is a tube, it can be cut to length and taped or tied at each end to protect the item.

Carton Seal Tape
Tape is something every moving company needs.  But there is more to tape than just how wide or how long it is.  For a standard move, the type of tape (acrylic, hot melt, natural rubber) is generally not as important as is the thickness/grade of the tape.  The heavier and larger your boxes are, the thicker your tape should be.  The chart below helps illustrate the differences:

And just to be thorough, the following chart details the differences in the different types of carton seal of tape available:

For most moving applications, hot melt tape will be quite sufficient and it is also the most cost effective of the three carton sealing options.  For extreme cold weather moves or for items going in to long term storage, acrylic tape is recommended.  The most likely moving application for natural rubber tape would be if you're using recycled cardboard boxes, in which case natural rubber would provide the most reliable seal.