Expert Tips To Buy The Best Wood Plastic Combo Recycled Pallets in Texas, Arkansas, Louisiana

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How do you know what is the best pallet for your specific application? There are so many choices and options it can be overwhelming to the person responsible for buying pallets. Stringers, blocks, hardwood, pine, plastic, export, heat treat, new, recycled , combo, scrap, etcetera....so many options. Many times companies just continue using the pallet that has been used in the past which can lead to product damage and inefficient handling.

A proper design review could increase functionality and potentially lower total costs.

Optimized pallet design involves balancing five interactive parameters. Changing one parameter can greatly affect the others. Review your pallet application for the following parameters.

1. Strength – is the load carrying capacity of the pallet. Insufficient strength leads to broken pallets, damaged product and unsafe conditions. Wood species, board thickness, spacing, stringer quantity and other factor contribute to pallet strength.

2. Stiffness – is the ability of the pallet to resist deforming under loaded conditions. In this situation the pallet doesn´t break but due to lack of stiffness, your product is damaged. Many times loaded pallets are stacked several high so the stiffness must be adequate to withstand the total load or it may deform and damage your product.

3. Durability - is the pallet´s ability to handle the extremes of the shipping and handling environment. Consideration should be given to whether the pallet will be for a single shipping trip or multiple stops along the supply chain. If you plan to reuse the pallets for multiple trips, the durability of the pallet needs to be increased. Discuss with your pallet supplier if a program can be created for repair of pallets at a reduced cost versus new. With proper design up front, this can potentially provide considerable savings.

4. Functionality – is the pallet´s ability to protect a load of product through the material handling process. These are parameters like board spacing to ensure your product is supported properly; proper openings for forklifts or jacks; proper empty pallet weight for your environment (mechanical or manual loading), etc.

5. Cost - always an important design consideration (especially in this economy) but keep in mind the total true cost of the pallet. Inefficient handling due to design and / or damaged product, handling equipment and personnel from an improperly design pallet or from a poor quality supplier will quickly out weight the initial lower cost.

For a review of your pallet application and specifications click here