FedEx #11 Pit Crew Gets Pumped Up for Charity

What do you get when you mix the FedEx #11 Pit Crew, the Charlotte, North Carolina Fire Department, FedEx Office packing pros, and an oversized race car tire? We recently combined all of these to debut FedEx Pack Plus in a “Pack Off” with WCCB-TV reporter, Jon “Wilson,” catching all of the action on-camera.

FedEx Pack Plus is a new in-store packing solution at FedEx Office designed to pack those large, bulky and fragile items. From electronics to sporting equipment and oversized pictures, FedEx Pack Plus offers customers specialty boxes and packing services to accommodate any of their packing and shipping needs.

The pack off began with a FedEx Office packing pro demonstrating the proper techniques for packing the racing tire in a FedEx Pack Plus custom built box.

The packing pro also offered the following packing tips for the holiday season:

• Never use towels or clothes to protect an item from breakage. Use at least 1 inch layers (preferably 2 inches) of packing peanuts or other cushioning around the item — top, bottom and all four sides.
• Secure the item in the box and ensure it is free of any movement once packing is completed.
• Tape the box securely. The packing pros do this by taping all corners and seams in the formation of an “h” to prevent the box from coming apart as it travels to its destination. Use proper packing tape that is at least 2 inches wide. No duct tape or masking tape.

Once the proper packing methods were demonstrated to the teams, the competition really revved up. Each team was judged based on following the packing procedures and the quality of the shipment.  FedEx #11 driver, Denny Hamlin, was on hand to support his pit crew and the fire department had a team of firefighters cheering them into action.

…and the winner is….

The Charlotte Fire Department! The firefighters packed, protected and taped their tire almost as well as the FedEx Office packing pros.  When it comes to charity though, everyone is a winner.  The firefighters took home a $5,000 donation for a local children’s charity and the runner up received a $2,500 donation for their selected charity.

Both teams put their best foot forward for worthy causes, but the end result demonstrated it might be better to leave the packing up to the pros at FedEx Office.  Check out the competition here.  

FedEx Pack Plus is currently available in 11 U.S. markets.  To learn more about Pack Plus, visit FedEx Office.