Pallets are used to transport goods and must be sturdy, manageable, and affordable. Wood, metal, plastic, and cardboard are common materials. Companies are realizing the importance of repairability, reusability, and recyclability. Wood is the most common but causes excessive waste. Metal is durable but expensive. Plastic falls in between in cost and strength. Cardboard is disposable and inexpensive.
Pallets are platforms used to move goods throughout their life cycle; they accompany the cargo they transport to factories, trucks, warehouses and shops. To be effective, a pallet must be sturdy, manageable and, perhaps most importantly, affordable. There are all sorts of different types of pallets; wood, metal, plastic and cardboard materials each have their own advantages and disadvantages.
Many companies are starting to realize the importance of pallet repairability, reusability and recyclability. A disposable pallet may be less expensive until replacement costs are factored in; their overall expense is often greater than the expense of their higher quality, reusable counterparts. The companies that were the first to invest in more durable pallets that don’t end up in landfills have revolutionized the business.
Traditionally, most pallets were made from wood. Wood is plentiful, strong, flexible, and easy to assemble. They travel with the goods in one trip and, once unloaded, are repaired or disposed of. When US industry realized that pallets used more American wood than any other single product by volume, excessive waste became a problem. If a third-party materials manager can’t repair a wood pallet, fortunately it can be recycled as wood pulp. Despite the drawbacks, this is still the most common type.
Metal pallets have strong advantages in terms of durability, strength and repair ability. However, they are very expensive to produce and so heavy that they significantly increase shipping costs. Some industries, however, will always need this type to transport particularly heavy or oversized goods.
Various processes and mold materials can be used to create different types of plastic pallets. In general, plastic falls somewhere in between in cost and strength compared to other types. For example, injection molded pallets are stiff and lightweight, but they can’t handle too much impact. Those made from structural foam are stronger because they are both flexible and can support a significant amount of weight. Raw materials can be partially reused, but are not recyclable.
Pallets can also be created using a vacuum thermoforming process. The plastic sheets are heated and drawn into a mold where they cool into the desired shape. This process is less expensive than other methods, but unfortunately thermoformed pallets tend to be weaker than other varieties.
A newcomer to the scene in the late 1990s is the cardboard pallet. Entirely disposable through recycling and very inexpensive to make, this type almost functions as extra packing for boxes. They are basically corrugated cardboard with structural reinforcements. The best part is that they are so light that they hardly affect your shipping costs.
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