How to Pack Marble and Quartzite Slabs for Sea Freight Without Breakage

A 20 mm slab is a thin, heavy plate with no forgiveness. Breakage in a stone shipment is almost always a packing or loading decision, not bad luck. Here is how stone leaves our factory, step by step, and the reasoning behind each step.

1. Why stone breaks in transit

When slabs are loaded flat, the full weight of the stack presses down on the pieces at the bottom, and any shift of the container at sea converts that into point loads - chips, cracks and hidden delamination. Stone that arrives "fine on the outside" can hide a hairline that only shows when your fabricator cuts it.

We run two dedicated packing lines - one for cut-to-size tiles (a six-step process) and one for stone products and slabs (a five-step process). The step photos are on the Packing & Loading section of our homepage.

2. Packing cut-to-size pieces: crate by crate

Foam padding goes between every layer and on all four sides; PET strapping holds the pattern; and everything is enclosed in an X-braced wooden crate.

The X-brace is the critical element: it stops the crate walls from flexing under stack load, which is what protects the stone in the bottom crates. Each crate is labelled with variety, slab number, piece count and dimensions - the label is what makes arrival checks and claims possible.

3. Packing and loading full slabs

Full slabs are never stacked flat on top of each other in a container. They stand upright on purpose-built racks, separated, then the set is film-wrapped and cross-braced before the door is sealed.

Upright loading means the racks carry the weight, not the stone; the film wrap keeps dust and moisture out and holds the set together through container movement.

4. Moisture and the small things

Desiccant goes in the container where appropriate; crates keep wood moisture away from the stone; and nothing touches bare container steel. The container itself is checked before loading - dry, leak-free, clean floor - and that check belongs in your inspection photo set.

5. What to verify on arrival

Photograph the container before it is opened: seals, exterior, interior. Count crates against the packing list and unpack in order. Any damage is documented with photos against the crate label before the carrier is released - and compared with the numbered pre-loading photos. That is where the pre-loading inspection pays off.