An Inside Look into Falcon’s Shipping Container Production Process

As the Operations Director here at Falcon Structures, I’m responsible for production, materials, logistics, and I support the early evaluation of potential custom projects. Every day we modify shipping containers for our customers based on their requests. We love putting our expertise to work to create valued, container-based structures to assist businesses across the country.

The Journey from Your Container Idea to Our Production Process

So, you’ve contacted Falcon and discussed your container with one of our sales representatives. You’ll likely collaborate with them to ensure we’re providing the right structure to meet your organization’s needs. Based on our experience with similar customers and projects, our team will help guide you in the right direction, or we may even suggest one of our tried and true standard floor plans.

Internal Launch of the Project

Once you’ve provided us with a purchase order, I get looped into the conversation. We call this a “shop drawing launch,” which includes our materials team, our design and engineering team, and me. We gather to discuss the general concept of the project.

Then, we move into a “production launch,” where we get into the nitty gritty of the project. From there, the design and engineering team details the drawings that the production team follows.

Your Project Comes to Life Through Production

We Start with Fabrication

With drawings in hand, we – as a production team – move into fabrication. Our team of welders begin by building frames, creating both standardized and custom frames as needed. These frames become door frames, window frames, air conditioning unit frames, and other openings in the container. We create similar frames everyday here at Falcon, so we have a standardized process and standard measurements that assist our creation of top-quality structures.

“Hot Work”

When we complete the frames, we move the project into “hot work.” This is the stage where we cut into the containers and weld the steel frames, previously built, into the box. Prior to cutting, our welding team makes measurements according to the drawings created by our design and engineering team.

Carpentry

After our hot work team cuts and welds the container, we move the container into the carpentry stage. In carpentry, we build internal framing as needed to insulate the boxes, then complete rough-in electrical and plumbing if necessary. This is the stage where we see the box transform into your vision based on your insulation, wall, and flooring requests. We conclude this stage with carpentry finishes and trims.

Paint & Finish

At the final stages, we paint both the interior and exterior of the container, finish out the units by installing fixtures, and test the components as needed. The interior paint transforms the container unit into a comfortable and professional looking space and the exterior paint acts as an important sealant to help protect the corten steel against weathering.

How You Know You’re Getting a Quality Container

Throughout the entire modification process, the containers go through quality checks at each stage of production. Each team that works on the container must perform quality checks prior to handing the unit off to the next team. Once the new team receives the unit, they must approve the quality checks before they can accept the structure and begin their stage of work. This method of double-checking ensures that we work together as a team at Falcon to proactively find potential issues prior to the final container quality check before it goes out for delivery.

Working with Falcon Structures

Throughout the design and production stages, we often consult other leadership team members at Falcon who are highly experienced and have great insights and expertise when it comes to shipping container modifications. They’ve worked on countless container projects for over a decade, so they know a thing or two about container modifications. We will do our best to advise our customers based on this expertise to not only help you design your ideal container structure, but to help you avoid potential challenges. If you’d like to get in touch with Falcon and discuss your own project, give us a call at  877-704-0177 or email us at Sales@FalconStructures.com. Let’s get to work!