Zip Screen Export: Packing and Lead Time

Made-to-measure zip screens and pergola kits are produced per opening, packed per opening and labelled so that installers can match each carton to a wall. Lead time depends on fabric and motor availability, order complexity and the shipping lane, which is why it is quoted per project rather than published as a standing figure.

How are zip screens shipped for export?

The route is the same one the manufacturer's published pages describe for every order: the system is configured from your dimensions, built, assembled once as a complete unit and tested — motors, sensors and drainage where fitted — before it is taken apart again for packing. What leaves the factory is documentation plus parts, arranged so that a local team can install from the labels and drawings alone.

Three decisions shape the shipment before anything is wrapped:

Delivery term. EXW, FOB or CIF are agreed per project because they depend on country, volume and the point of delivery; the freight forwarder under each term is a different party. The starting table for that conversation sits on the export and project supply page.

Whole order or partial release. A dealer restocking two openings and a hotel fitting out forty terraces are different logistics problems: the first suits a consolidated shipment, the second usually follows the construction programme in batches.

Who receives and who installs. The manufacturer builds and exports; installation is carried out by the dealer or a local team from the manuals and exploded drawings, with remote technical support. Plan for a certified installer in your market before the order is placed, not after the container arrives.

None of these is a formality: each one changes the packing, the labelling and the documents that end up in the folder.

Packing

Each component fails differently in transit, so each is packed to its own risk. The table below is the checklist a buyer can hold a shipment against:

Table A: component, protection, labelling, typical risk

Component	Protection	Labelling	Typical risk
Cassette (headbox)	End protection and a rigid face; keep flat, do not stack loads on it	System, width and opening number	Dents and scratches on the visible face; a bent cassette misaligns the whole unit
Side guides	Bundled and taped along their length, ends protected	Opening number and side (left/right)	Bowed or kinked profile — unusable as a straight guide
Fabric roll / finished unit	Rolled, not folded; the finished zip unit travels with the fabric protected from creasing	Opening number, colour and fabric reference	Creases and pressure marks that read as defects after installation
Motors and receivers	Individual boxes, cushioned, kept with the electrical part of the order	Opening number and motor position	Impact damage to the motor shaft; a motor in the wrong carton delays commissioning
Remotes, sensors, small electronics	Small-box packing in a separate inner carton	Count per opening, sealed separately	The most frequently lost items; mixed into bulk freight they disappear
Brackets, fasteners, small parts	Bagged by opening with a parts list	Opening number and parts-list reference	The classic cause of site delays: parts present but not matched to an opening
Manual and drawings	In a document wallet taped inside a main carton, plus a copy by e-mail	Project name and document revision	Site working from an outdated revision

Two principles run through the table. First, labelling by opening: every carton carries the opening number it belongs to, and the packing list repeats the same numbering, so the site can check the delivery against the drawing rather than against memory. Second, small things travel separately: remotes, receivers and sensors are the items most easily lost in a mixed load, and they are also the items without which nothing can be commissioned.

Container loading and mixed orders

Loading is where packing meets weight and volume, and the honest position is that the numbers are the forwarder's to confirm: how a shipment is stowed depends on the mix of cassettes, long profiles and cartons, and on whether it travels as part-load (LCL) or as a full container (FCL).

What a buyer can usefully decide:

LCL for trial and small orders. A part-load shares the container with other cargo; it is the sensible route for a first order, a sample unit or a single facade's worth of screens, and it avoids paying for empty space you have no cargo for.

FCL when the order fills it. A full container is loaded to the project's own plan — heavier items low, profiles lengthwise, cartons stacked only where the box design allows.

Mixed pallets per opening. For phased fit-outs, packing per opening means a pallet can serve a floor, a terrace block or a villa, and the site does not have to sort a bulk delivery before it can start.

Weight distribution and lashing are the forwarder's call. Long aluminium profiles must not cantilever past a support; how that is achieved — blocking, strapping, load bars — depends on the container and the cargo, so ask for the loading plan when the booking is made.

A practical request that costs nothing: ask for photographs of the loaded container before sealing. They settle later arguments about how the goods were stowed, and they are the first thing a claim needs.

What drives lead time?

Lead time for made-to-measure work is an assembly of variables rather than a number, and every variable below is a question the order has to answer before production can start:

Order data completeness. Dimensions per opening, site conditions, colour, fabric, motorisation level — an enquiry missing one of these stops at engineering, not in production.

Fabric and colour availability. The specified fabric in the specified colour has to exist as stock or as a production slot; a project colour or a narrow fabric choice can move the start date on its own.

Motors and electronics. Motor type, receivers, sensors and controls are sourced and configured per project; a specific control requirement can lead the whole order.

Engineering and approval cycles. Structural calculation and drawing review happen before release, and any change after release restarts part of the queue — which is why the published guidance says to lock dimensions and finishes before confirming the order.

Production queue and test assembly. Every system is assembled and tested once before packing; that step is what makes faults factory-side rather than terrace-side, and it sits in the schedule like any other operation.

Packing and shipping lane. Packing follows the order of the site programme, and the lane — destination port, service, and any transshipment — sets the transit part.

No day counts appear on this page, deliberately: a date promised without the order data in hand is a guess. Send the RFQ with sizes and destination, and the answer comes back as a schedule attached to a quotation, which is a document you can hold someone to.

Export documents

The folder that travels with the shipment should match what the published documentation list already promises for a normal supply package:

Commercial invoice for the shipment.

Packing list by opening, so the invoice quantity and the physical numbering can be reconciled against the shop drawings.

Bill of lading (or the corresponding transport document), issued to the agreed delivery term.

Proof of origin, where the destination requires it.

CE / Declaration of Performance and test reports where applicable — for external blinds the performance standard is EN 13561, and any fire classification needed for the fabric comes from the fabric's own test report; ask at quotation stage which documents your authority or client requires so they are prepared with the order.

Manuals and exploded drawings, in the language your installers work in, and a copy by e-mail before shipment.

What is deliberately absent: customs tariff classifications for the goods, which depend on destination and exact configuration and belong with the forwarder's classification work, and any insurance wording — insurance obligations follow the delivery term agreed in the contract.

Installation instructions, labels and spare parts kits

The installation package is what turns a shipment into an installed system: a system-specific manual with the assembly sequence step by step, exploded drawings and part lists, and remote technical support when a question comes up on site. Label discipline is part of the same package — labels per opening mean the crew opens the right carton at the right wall, and the parts list lets them check the delivery before tools come out.

A spare parts kit is ordered the same way as the system: by list, per opening or per project. What belongs in it is driven by what can be lost or worn:

Consumable small parts: fasteners, gaskets, end caps, clips and the fixings that disappear into the first installation.

Wear items: components that see movement or weather — runners, seals, and the fabric's own fixation points where applicable.

Electronics that can be damaged or lost: receivers, remotes and sensors, each matched to the motor configuration on the order.

One-off spares named on the drawing: brackets, guides or cassette parts specific to the system, referenced to the parts list so a later order can name them exactly.

Ask for the parts list at quotation stage rather than after the first season: the drawing already shows what exists, and pricing a named part later is far cheaper than reverse-engineering a broken one.

Warranty claims and spare parts logistics

Warranty and after-sales follow the written terms that accompany the quotation — the published position is five years on the motor and two years on the mechanics for bioclimatic systems, with terms for other product groups given in writing. Claims are handled as documents first: which system, which opening, what failed, photographs, and the order reference, because a parts shipment for a claim needs the same identification a spare order does.

The logistics of a claim are a smaller version of the original shipment: identify the part against the parts list, confirm it against the motor or system configuration, pack it protected and labelled to the opening, and ship it to whoever receives on site. The process, the terms and the parts route are set out on the warranty and service page; for branded supply where the parts and labels must carry your identity, the OEM and private-label page covers that side.

Frequently Asked Questions

How long does a zip screen order take?

It depends on the order data, fabric and colour availability, motors and electronics, the production queue and the shipping lane — the six drivers above. Send the RFQ with dimensions per opening, destination and delivery term, and the schedule comes back attached to the quotation as a commitment rather than an estimate.

Can pergola kits ship knock-down?

Yes — knock-down shipping is how kits travel when transport volume matters: profiles, rafters, gutters and fittings packed by section, with the assembly sequence and part lists doing the work on site. Whether a specific system ships fully or partly knocked down is a question for the producer at quotation stage, because it interacts with the test assembly the factory performs before packing.

Are zip screens shipped assembled?

Systems are assembled once and tested at the factory, then taken apart for packing and shipped so that a local team can install from the manuals and drawings. The finished fabric unit travels with its fabric protected from creasing; how much arrives pre-assembled depends on the system and the transport envelope, which the producer confirms with the order.

What goes in a spare parts kit?

Fasteners and consumables, wear items, electronics that can be lost or damaged — receivers, remotes, sensors — and one-off spares named on the drawing, all referenced to the parts list. The kit is built from the list, not from a guess, which is why asking for that list at quotation stage matters more than any generic "spare parts" line item.

How are damaged parts replaced?

Report it with the order reference, the opening number and photographs of both the part and its label; the part is then identified against the parts list and the system configuration, protected and labelled to the same opening, and shipped to site. The claim route and the terms are on the warranty and service page.

Can several openings ship in one container?

Yes — mixed loads are normal, and packing per opening exists precisely so that a container can carry several terraces, floors or villas without the site having to sort bulk freight. Weight and volume limits are the forwarder's to confirm for the specific mix; ask for the loading plan at booking.

Sources and standards

The process, documentation, delivery-term and installation statements on this page follow this site's published pages — export and project supply and manufacturing and quality — which describe factory-direct supply: configured to your dimensions, assembled once and tested, then packed ready to install, with manuals, exploded drawings and remote technical support.
EN 13561 (external blinds — performance) is named as the standard relevant to CE and Declaration of Performance questions for the finished blind; fire classification of fabric is answered by the fabric's own test report. Confirm the current edition with the producer.
No lead times, production capacities, container capacities, factory sizes, insurance terms or customs tariff classifications are stated on this page. Weight and volume for any specific shipment are confirmed by the freight forwarder; dates are confirmed in writing with the order.

Zip blinds · Export and project supply · Manufacturing and quality · Warranty and service · OEM and private label · Request a quote