Cluster Box Units are the USPS Approved Solution for Pedestal Mailboxes

Cluster box units first entered the commercial mailbox industry late in 20^th Century to replace the outdated neighborhood delivery and collection box unit. The first cluster box was designed by American Locker Group in collaboration with the U.S. Postal Service which was the beginning of the USPS cluster box unit licensing agreement. Under this agreement with the USPS the manufacturers were allowed to submit cluster box units to the USPS for postal certification based on current postal specifications. In addition, the USPS would retain ownership of the cluster box patent and would receive small commission for every commercial cluster box unit sale. This provided another source of revenue for the U.S. Postal Service. The original design of the cluster box unit is commonly referred to in the commercial mailbox industry as the E Series cluster box.

F Series Cluster Box Units Enters the Marketplace

Less than a decade after the E Series cluster box unit was introduced into the centralized delivery marketplace the general public, USPS, some of the commercial mailbox manufacturers began to realize the need for a more heavy duty cluster box unit. Identity theft was on the rise and the pedestal mailboxes were a major target for unwanted visitors. Subsequently, the U.S. Postal Service in conjunction with commercial mailbox manufacturers came out with specification 1118-F as the new governing specification for the postal licensing agreement. It should be noted however that there was transition period while the manufacturers submitted the new F Series cluster boxes for certification and the E Series cluster box was still an USPS acceptable pedestal mailbox solution. The transition period for the cluster boxes lasted about a year and then the F Series cluster box units were and still are the USPS preferred pedestal mailbox solution. The new F Series cluster box featured significant improvements designed to provide a higher security pedestal mailbox. Few would argue that the new and enhanced cluster boxes achieved their goal.

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