Industry
Gaylords for medical devices and electronics
Light loads and fussy rules. The boxes stack well; the work is proving where they have been.
- Jobs
- The Twin Cities had 36,050 computer and electronic product manufacturing jobs in 2023, and minnesota ranks second in the us in medical device manufacturing
- Usual box
- 3‑wall, full flap
- Usual grade
- A for staging; B for scrap and returns
- Towns
- 11
Device and electronics sites move light, valuable and often odd-shaped loads: housings, reels, cables, subassemblies, trim and scrap. Light loads let a gaylord stack, if the board is dry. The proof is the history: a box that sat in a heated warehouse is a different box from one that spent January on a dock.
What the trade usually asks for
| Item | Usual spec |
|---|---|
| Box | 3‑wall, full flap |
| Grade | A for staging; B for scrap and returns |
| Bottom | Full flap so small parts do not sift out |
| Stack | Two or three high in a heated room |
Minnesota ranks second in the US for medical device manufacturing, per DEED, and electronics is the largest manufacturing sector in the Twin Cities by jobs. Neither is a heavy-box trade. The requests are small and exact: how many, how clean, and may the box carry old print?
Three stacks, worked
| Scenario | Result | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Components staged inside (400 lb, 3‑wall, Grade A) | Two high | 1 loaded box on top add 430 lb; the bottom box is allowed 765 lb. |
| Parts for 90 days on the floor (350 lb, 3‑wall, Grade A) | Two high | 1 loaded box on top add 380 lb; the bottom box is allowed 630 lb. |
| Returns in a trailer (350 lb, 3‑wall, Grade B) | Two high | 1 loaded box on top add 380 lb; the bottom box is allowed 382 lb. |
Conservative estimates, 30 days unless noted. Not load ratings.
Say on the request whether a printed or labelled box is acceptable. For a device site it often is not.
Where the trade clusters
These towns have a page and a mention of these trades. Named employers are facts about the area, never customers of ours.
| Town | County | Industry named |
|---|---|---|
| Minneapolis | Hennepin | medical devices |
| Bloomington | Hennepin | data storage (Seagate) |
| Plymouth | Hennepin | medical devices (Medtronic, 1,168); telecom (Zayo) |
| Maple Grove | Hennepin | medical devices (Boston Scientific R&D and manufacturing, 3,000+); electronics manufacturing (Nortech Systems) |
| Eden Prairie | Hennepin | hearing devices (Starkey, 2,117); medical devices (Abbott, 617); test equipment (MTS) |
| Brooklyn Center | Hennepin | medical devices (Medtronic PROMEON division, 1,100) |
| West St. Paul | Dakota | medical adhesives manufacturing (TapeMark, ~300) |
| Fridley | Anoka | medical devices (Medtronic operational HQ, 3,366) |
| Coon Rapids | Anoka | medical devices (RMS Company) |
| Shakopee | Scott | card and ID manufacturing (Entrust) |
| Chaska | Carver | lab instruments (Beckman Coulter, 850); medical components (Lake Region Manufacturing); semiconductor materials (Entegris, 925); semiconductor equipment (TEL-FSI) |
See the industries hub, Stack Check, the areas and the buy, sell and recycling desks.
Questions, answered
Do device plants use used gaylords?
Often for staging, scrap and returns, where the load is light and the box stays in a heated room.
Can I ask for unprinted boxes?
Yes. Say so on the request.
Request a quote
Or email info@minneapolisgaylords.com.
Sources and last reviewed
Facts on this page were last reviewed 2026-11-11.
- DEED Twin Cities Manufacturing Profile 2024: Minnesota DEED job counts by manufacturing sector for the Twin Cities metro in 2023.
- DEED: leading life sciences: DEED on the life-sciences cluster, including Minnesota's rank in medical device manufacturing.
- Container Exchanger: the gaylord box guide: A reseller's plain-language guide to gaylord sizes, walls, capacity ranges and bottoms.
- PaperIndex Academy: humidity and corrugated strength: How corrugated board loses compression strength as relative humidity climbs from 50% to 90%.