Pallet manufacturers range from small businesses to large-scale production, using plastic or wood materials and various designs. Stringer pallets are common, with four-way or two-way entry options. Wooden pallets for international shipments must be heat treated. Pallets vary in size and configuration, and can be remanufactured or reused. Plastic pallets are durable and efficient, but expensive to manufacture. Manufacturers may also produce crates and boxes for specialized agriculture transport.
The types of pallet manufacturers in the market are determined by the manufacturers needs for efficient packaging and shipping. Pallet manufacturing ranges from a one-person pallet business with low overhead costs and limited production to large-scale production to meet material handling requirements for large industry. Pallet construction materials are usually plastic or wood, and designs range from simple skids and crates to custom pallets.
Stringer pallets are a very common shipping pallet. A pallet company can build four-way or two-way entry pallets, based on the entry options required for the forklift teeth when moving pallets. The dimensions of the crossbar pallets are variable. The most common measures 48 inches (121.9 cm) by 40 inches (101.6 cm) and is often referred to as a “warehouse pallet”.
For international shipments, manufacturers must heat treat the wooden pallets to comply with the international phytosanitary measure known as ISPM 15. This process eliminates invasive or quarantined pests that may be traveling in the wooden pallet by a fumigation process with methyl bromide or heat treatment. Plastic pallets or processed wood, such as plywood, are exempt from this requirement.
In addition to surface size, wood pallets vary in the number and size of deck boards, or boards on the top or bottom surface of the pallet, and the configuration of the stringers, the board to which the deck boards are nailed. A large warehouse pallet might have six or more top deck planks and three bottom deck planks on a rectangular cross member set at the edge. In a block pallet, a pattern of 4-inch (10.2 cm) by 12-inch (30.5 cm) wood blocks replaces the typical crossbar batten to facilitate four-way forklift entry.
Pallet manufacturers vary in size and sophistication of manufacturing methods. Man-operated pallet machines are available for about the cost of a small new economy car. Costs therefore increase, depending on the versatility of the pallet design and the desired pallet production rate.
Remanufactured and reused pallets are generally the most cost effective and many pallet manufacturers repair, remanufacture and resell wood pallets. There are cheap pallets designed and manufactured to be used once and then discarded. The higher the initial cost of a pallet, such as one built to handle very heavy loads, the more economic sense it makes to reuse it.
Plastic pallets are increasingly being used in shipping due to their durability and versatility. A well-made plastic pallet can be used many times without being rebuilt. Once the design is set up and the molds are built, plastic injection molding is an efficient method of manufacturing pallets. The cost of injection molding machines generally puts plastic pallet manufacturing out of reach for the one-person shop.
Pallet manufacturers often include crates and boxes in their product line. The demands of agriculture, especially the transport of fruit and vegetables, require specialized containers. These are generally products from plastic pallet manufacturers and are both efficient and long lasting.
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