Retail Display and Palletized Transport
Shelf-ready retail presentation
The raised deck elevates the product for better visibility on the store shelf, while the cutouts keep individual units facing forward. Store staff can place the entire tray directly on the shelf without unpacking individual items.
Interlocking pallet loads
The four corner posts extend above the product height and slot directly into the base of the tray above them. This transfers the vertical weight of the pallet through the corrugated posts rather than through your primary packaging.
Individual product separation
The die-cut holes act as an integrated partition system. By suspending each item in its own cutout, the tray prevents glass bottles or plastic tubs from colliding during transit.
Staging for secondary inserts
When configured with a solid deck, the elevated floor provides a clean, flat foundation for custom foam or molded pulp inserts, keeping the presentation level near the top of the tray.
Industry Fit: Dairy, Horticulture, and Cosmetics
Dairy and beverage producers
Yogurt cups, sour cream tubs, and specialty beverages use this tray to prevent fragile plastic or foil seals from bearing top weight during transit.
Horticulture and potted plants
The cutouts secure individual plant pots, preventing them from tipping and spilling soil, while the open top allows for airflow and watering.
Cosmetics and fragile cylinders
Tall, narrow bottles that are prone to tipping on standard flat trays remain upright and evenly spaced when locked into the suspended deck.
When to Consider a Simpler Tray
High-speed automated packing lines
The complex corner tucks and 180-degree roll-over deck require significant manual dexterity. Unless you have highly specialized tray-erecting machinery, a standard glued tray with a separate drop-in insert will be much faster to pack.
Mixed-carrier parcel shipping
This is an open-topped display tray. If you ship through parcel networks, products will fall out during handling unless you place this tray inside a sealed master carton.
Board Choice, Cutouts, and Assembly Planning
Board thickness and fold clearance
The deck panels must roll over 180 degrees and step down into the tray. If you specify a thick double-wall board, these hinges will bind and the locking tabs will pop out. Fine flutes or standard single-wall board yield the crispest folds.
Internal stripping waste management
Cutting 20 circular holes creates 20 pieces of scrap cardboard per blank. Your converter must have excellent die-cutting capabilities to strip this waste cleanly, or the loose pieces will cause machine jams during production.
Manual assembly planning
Because the tray relies on intricate friction locks and step-down folds, it requires two-handed manual assembly. You must account for this pack-bench labor when evaluating the total cost of the display.
Master carton pairing for transit
If these trays are not shipping on a wrapped, interlocking pallet, you will need to specify an outer shipping box to contain the tray and protect the exposed products during individual transit.
Adjusting the Deck and Cutout Array
Deck height positioning
You can adjust how high the false floor sits above the base to match your product's center of gravity, ensuring tall items do not tip out of their cutouts.
Cutout diameter and spacing
You control the diameter of the holes and the spacing between them. However, leaving too little board between cutouts will cause the deck to sag or tear under the weight of the products.
Corner post height
The corner stacking legs can be extended higher to accommodate taller products, ensuring the tray above never rests on the primary packaging.
Board and packing details
Blank sprawl and material usage
The extended flaps required to form the suspended deck and hollow corners consume an exceptionally large rectangular sheet of corrugated board. This design uses significantly more material than a standard slotted box of the same volume.
Solid Deck vs. Pre-Cut Holders
FEFCO 0446.1 (Solid Deck)
Uses the exact same interlocking corner posts and suspended floor, but leaves the deck completely solid. This works well as a staging platform for bulk goods or as a base for custom foam inserts.
Additional notes
Physical friction testing
Always request a physical prototype cut from your exact production board grade. You need to verify that the locking tabs seat firmly without popping out under the board's natural spring-back tension.
FAQs
Assembly and Packing
Does this tray require glue or tape?
No. The tray relies entirely on mechanical friction locks. The deck panels roll over and snap their tabs into slots in the base, holding the entire structure under tension.
Can we run this on a standard folder-gluer?
No. The tray ships completely flat and unglued. Because of the intricate corner posts and step-down deck, assembly is manual unless you invest in specialized multi-axis plunger equipment.
Product Fit
How many holes can we put in the deck?
The default template shows 20 holes, but the exact number depends on your product diameter and the overall tray footprint. You must leave enough corrugated board between the holes to maintain the deck's structural strength.
Shipping and Route
Can we ship this directly via courier?
Not on its own. Because the top is open and the deck relies on friction locks, courier transit requires placing the loaded tray inside a sealed outer shipping box.
Production and Tooling
Why does this tray require a larger corrugated blank?
The extra cardboard needed to fold inward, step down, and create the raised floor means the flat layout is massive. You get fewer trays out of a single sheet of corrugated board compared to standard designs.
Board and Material
Can we use heavy-duty double-wall board for extra strength?
It is highly risky. Thick board resists the tight 180-degree folds required to form the deck. The hinges will likely crack, and the locking tabs will fail to seat properly.
Palletizing
How do the corner posts interlock on a pallet?
The four raised corner legs extend above the product height. The base of the tray has corresponding die-cut holes. When you stack them, the legs of the bottom tray slot directly into the base holes of the tray above it.
Delivery
Does the tray ship assembled or flat?
It ships completely flat to save space on inbound freight. Your packing team will erect the tray, form the corner posts, and snap the deck into place before loading the products.
