Product Focus Packaging & Pallets
Wooden warning F
ollowing a recent incident where a major UK supermarket was faced with £2.5m worth of damage after a wooden pallet racked 10-pallets high broke in its auto- mated storage system, Jim Hardisty says: “How can you be sure that a wooden pallet is capable of bearing the weight of your goods? The truth is, you can’t. “The reason for this is that the strength of timber
varies. Make 100 wooden pallets one month and test them and they might all have the same loading capacity, but make another 100 pallets a few months later and there is no telling how the capacity of these pallets might differ. “Choosing pallets that have stated loading capacities, like plastic pallets, not only offers companies the reassur- ance that their products are being stored and handled in the safest possible way, but can also avoid costly incidents.
Safe bet: Plastic pallets offer companies the reassurance that their products are being handled in the safest way.
Touch wood: Plastic pallets are strong, durable and less vulnerable to damage than wooden pallets.
“Businesses invest a huge amount of time and money into selecting the safest and most effi cient racking, computer systems and han- dling equipment for their logistics operation, so why compromise all this effort by using pallets with unqualifi ed loading ca- pacities?”
60 June 2012 Storage Handling Distribution
www.shdlogistics.com
GET IT RIGHT WITH PLASTIC Plastic pallets have three stated loading capacities – static, dynamic and racking. These capacities help operatives choose the right plastic pallet for a particular load so there is little risk of getting it wrong. Using plastic pallets can, in fact, help businesses eliminate other safety hazards in their logistics operation. Jim continued: “Firstly, plastic pallets are moulded under extreme pressure which produces a high quality product and ensures the consistent dimensional accuracy and loading capacity of each plastic pallet – particularly benefi cial in automated systems, as they won’t twist or get stuck. “Plastic pallets are strong and durable and less vulnerable to damage than other types of pal- lets – a standard plastic pallet has a lifespan of up to 10 years, offering an excellent return on investment. Once a plastic pal- let reaches the end of its working life, the plastic still lives on, as the pallet can be recycled and the plastic can be reground to produce new plastic products. “Finally, as plastic pallets have no nails, sharp edges or splinters and there is no risk of loose component parts breaking free under manual lifting condi- tions, they are far less likely to damage product packaging or cause injury to operatives than wooden varieties.”
Goplasticpallets.com has published a Buyer’s Guide, which includes com- prehensive advice on pallet selec- tion and is available for download on the company’s website. n
www.goplasticpallets.com
UK businesses could be compromising the safety of their products and warehouse operatives by using wooden pallets with undefi ned loading capacities, warns Jim Hardisty, managing director of
Goplasticpallets.com.
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