Pallet Observations

This morning I spoke with a potential customer who said he was shipping his product out of the country and needed to use heat treated pallets for the products going to China, but not to the rest of the countries to which he shipped.  I told him I thought it was a good idea to heat treat pallets going to any destination overseas.

Don’t Let your Shipment get Quarantined in Port

According to the NWPCA there are some countries that may be enforcing ISPM 15 (a regulation satisfied with heat treated pallets) that are not on the official, published list of countries.  The last thing a shipper wants is to have his product quarantined in port because his wood packaging does not have the ISPM 15 stamp on it.  Heat treating only costs about $1 extra per pallet and that is much less expensive than having a load quarantined.

ISPM 15 Compliance

For wood packaging to be ISPM 15 compliant "Wood packaging material should be heated in a schedule that achieves a minimum core temperature of 56ºC for a minimum of 30 minutes."  Pallets should also be marked with the IPPC stamp.  Below is a list of countries that are enrolled in the program.  

From the NWPCA website:

Washington D.C. September 20, 2011

Last week I traveled to Washington DC for NWPCA committee meetings in conjunction with Federal Legislative Fly In. At this event, NWPCA members come to Washington to lobby lawmakers and make them aware of issues affecting our industry. This year forty attendees came from all over the country to participate. For me the most exciting news of the meeting was that the newest version of Pallet Design System (PDS 5.0) will be available in late October 2011. 

PDS 5.0 Improvements

This new PDS is 3D and allows the user to design the unit load and pallet together.  Whether you are putting bags, pails, boxes or blocks on the pallet, we will be able to show you how the load fits on your pallet and the pallet's capabilities. This is different from versions past that only allowed for the user to design the pallet without the unit load on it.  PDS 5.0 will also design and analyze larger pallets than previous versions that only allowed for design, but no analysis.

At Dominion Pallet, we are excited to employ this new technology to create and deliver better pallets to you.

New pallets are designed and manufactured specifically for your company’s use.  The weight, the length and width, and species of wood have all been talked about by the buyer and the sales person. The need for heat treated pallets has been evaluated, depending on your product and its destination. When you buy new pallets, you know what you are getting every time.  The specs are consistent and you do not have to worry about the quality of the loads you receive.

Who Knows What was Shipped on Used Pallets?

As the buyer of a new pallet you know exactly where your pallets are coming from.  You don't have to worry if your pallets have been contaminated or damaged in a previous use.

Branded Pallets for Easier Retrieval and Reuse for the Same Product

Pallets could also be a form of advertising, not just something that carries your product.  Your company’s name can be branded or painted (in your colors) on the load.  This is good for brand recognition and also makes retrieval easier for re-use of the pallet carrying the same product.

Recycling pallets is a good thing for the environment and for the economy, but if you want a consistent pallet, made for your special shipping needs that can double as an advertisement, then buying new pallets is the right choice for you.

By Matt Yancey, General Manager and Sales Director

I was recently asked by a customer what makes our business and industry "green".  In my opinion, the wooden pallets are the "greenest way to ship."  This is what I told him.

At Dominion Pallet, our manufacturing process makes every effort to let nothing go to waste.  Wood waste and scrap lumber never end up in a landfill.  We find a use for every bit of wood we have on our lumber yard.  During the sawing of the lumber, saw dust and shavings are collected using a blower system. That dust is later sold for animal bedding, boiler fuel or to wood pellet manufacturers.  While making the pallets, wood that is not up to standard is put in racks and either cut back to fill another pallet's spec, chipped to be used as bedding or sent to a pallet recycler.

Wood pallet manufacturers use industrial graded lumber.  If this lumber was not used in pallets it would be chipped into mulch, or boiler fuel immediately.  Wooden pallets are the "greenest" way to ship. 

From cradle to grave, wooden pallets are better for the environment:

• Use the least demanded part of the tree
• Used repeatedly to ship goods and are repaired to extend life
• Can be recycled and when it is not practical to repair the pallet anymore are chipped and used for mulch

We went out on the road yesterday and met with four of our customers in four unique industries.  One customer was extremely busy.  They are working 24/7 and still struggling to meet all of their orders on time.  One had just come out of their busy season and was looking forward to a less hectic schedule and two companies were slower than they would like to be.
    
We had created a new design for our first visit of the day.  The base of the new pallet will be built on our state of the art Viking Turbo 505 and then additional parts will be added by hand.  The new design will keep the customer’s product off the floor, which was how they were storing the product prior to shipping and will help reduce some of the product damage they were experiencing.  

Our second customer voiced his displeasure of having to use IGPS plastic pallets in some instances rather than our standard new wood pallets.  He told me the plastic breaks easier than wood when hit with a forklift and then they end up in the dumpster. Does that sound "green" to you?

At the end of the day, all four customers were happy for the face to face contact and our willingness to listen to their problems and design solutions to meet their needs.

Are you are considering the use of plastic shipping pallets instead of wood? If so, here are just a few things you should know before you make that decision. 

1. Wooden pallets come from an unlimited stock of renewable timber and are easily recycled.  Plastic pallets come from a non-renewable petrochemical feedstock, and repair is not economical because of the energy and cost required.  
2. Wooden pallets come in unlimited size configurations.  Wood pallets can be customized to the customer's specific unit load requirements.  Plastic pallets are only available in the most standard sizes due to the cost of the mold design. 
3. Finally the price of wooden pallets are, at a minimum, three times less than any plastic pallets. 

Knowing that wood pallets are more environmentally friendly, more flexible in their use and cheaper, why would anyone use plastic?

Here is a sample of the quality pallets that are custom made to your specifications at Dominion Pallet

Wooden Pallets are defended by the National Wooden Pallet and Container Association.
For more information, please see these two articles from:
Fierce Pharma Manufacturing
CNN