Things To Consider While Choosing Suitable Pallets

A pallet inverter from Top Industries is rapidly becoming a crucial handy equipment across the pharmaceutical and warehouse sector across the United States and even in many countries. You get to choose from stationary, portable/mobile, automatic, semi-automatic, manual, and new patented models. The pallet flippers, changers, or inverters offer flexibility and versatility, which improves productivity and safety. Investment in the right kind of pallet also matters.

Buying pallets sounds easy, but soon things will get complicated. You don’t want to learn the hard way that palletizing tinned products on wet pallets in summer, unfortunately, produced rusty cans, pallet molds, and chaos. There is a lot to consider for making your task as a pallet buyer more efficient.

Do you want to buy or rent pallets?

To get more clarity let’s understand the benefits of both pallet rental and purchase.

Rental pallet benefits

• Pay per use rather than investing significantly in buying. It thus reduces upfront costs for better or similar quality pallets.
• Flex pallet inventory to fulfill seasonal surges. It eliminates the need for holding unnecessary inventory in the slow season.
• Affordable and less vulnerable to wood price volatility in comparison to buying a replacement every time.
• Cheap freight rates instead of backhaul or exchange pallet programs.
• Better customer compliance because some consumers request to use rental pallets.

Buying pallet benefits

• Customized design options rather than forced to use limited options rental service providers offer.
• No hidden charges or costs because a few rental providers have complicated billing formulae that can include heat-treating fees or issue fees or lost pallet fees or transfer fees.
• Participating in a closed loop pallet program helps to reduce the cost.
• Supply flexibility because events occur suddenly and rental providers cannot supply.
• Single-use pallets allow the receivers to reuse them.

Which pallet type is better – block or stringer?

Pallets are the foundation of unit load. It protects the products, makes moving loads easy, and keeps production lines running efficiently. It doesn’t matter if you are strapping, shrink wrapping, shipping or just storing.

Block pallet is called 4-way pallets because pallet jack tines or forklift can get in and lift easily from all 4 sides. Stringer pallets use stringers sandwiched between the bottom and top deck to support the unit load. They are called 2-way pallets because pallet jack tines or forklifts can access and lift on 2 sides but the non-accessible sides allow for 4-way entry.

The guidance for a better pallet type will depend on several factors –

• Product to be shipped.
• The location or country it is being shipped.
• Product weight.
• What pressure will the pallet encounter while shipping?
• How will the products be transferred – pallet jack or forklift?

There are lots of things to evaluate while choosing between block or stringer pallets. Even the pallet manufacturer will make a difference in pallet dependability.

Pallet treatments – ISPM-15 or Mold

The pallets to be shipped to other countries from the US, except Canada needs to mandatorily have an ISPM-15 stamp. It was intended to avoid wood-borne pests to spread and damage forests in other countries.

Mold-treated pallet means they are heat-treated to reduce mold development but there is a possibility that the heating process makes green pallets more susceptible to pests. There are some FDA-approved treatments for commercial use. Find more about the different wood treatments before committing.

Check out the different Top Industries demonstration videos on YouTube to understand how inverters or changers work!