Plastic or Wood?

Plastic Pallets Changing the World Both have their place

Which is right for you?

AUTHOR PAGE:

Paul Goldstein, Owner B&G Industries

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TABLE OF CONTENTS:
Forward: What You Need to Know 4 1. Most Common Uses of Plastic 2. Industry Scope 3. Types of Application 5 6-8 9 - 11

Conclusion

12

Forward: What You Need to Know

Plastic pallets . . .
are becoming more and more popular in manufacturing when the application is for a closed loop system and shipping products for export. are solid one piece injection molded, where wood is nailed together and can splinter. No wood chips to contaminate production areas. can weigh less than wood pallets, (CPP130-PE weighs 20 lbs. compared to 45 to 50 lbs. for wood pallets). Thus reducing back injuries when lifting a pallet will provide cost savings in a closed loop system; 100 to 200 or more turns per pallet. Wood typically will provide 5 to 10 turns. Thus dramatically reducing the cost per turn for the pallet. meet ISMP 15 regulations and do not need to be heat treated. are resistant to insects, bacteria and fungus. can be re-ground and made into pallets or other products. nestable pallets provide cost savings by being able to ship 2 to 3 times more pallets than wood per truck load.

Wood pallets have their place in one-way shipments where cost of plastic is too expensive. The proper wood pallet is determined on weight load the pallet needs to hold which determines thickness of deck boards.

Factors for proper style of plastic pallet determine how pallets will be used in the each facility. Factors to consider; will the pallets be put in a pallet rack, will they be used on a conveyor system and if so what type of conveyor, and other potential factors.

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1: Most Common Uses of Plastic

The most common uses are for in-house storage and movement of work in process and finished goods. The other common application is for closed-loop systems, moving products (work in process), from one plant to another or parts/products that are used in the production system that are made by an outside vendor. Shipping finished products to a distribution center or using plastic pallet to store products in racks until they are ready to ship out, in which the DC will then put the finished products on a slip sheet for shipping. This is more common in the food industry.

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2: Industry Scope

Plastic pallets are used in many different industries, even one-way shipping for exporting products. The AIAG (Automotive Industry Action Group) has established several guidelines for the automotive industry to help standardize shipping container sizes for all OEMs of automotive parts whether they are a tier 1, 2 or 3 supplier. Plastic pallets for the automotive industry are 48 x 45 and can be supplied with or without a seat belt to secure the product. This size, 48x45 are the inside dimensions of the pallet to fit totes that are needed for shipping parts. The toes are also made to the AIAG standards to maximize the space on a truck when shipping product.
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2: Industry Scope (Continued)

In the Pharmaceutical, Chemical and Food industries, plastic pallets are becoming very popular for several reasons: Certain types of companies require pallets made from FDAapproved materials, such as virgin plastic, which ensures contamination will not occur. Plastic pallets will not absorb potential contaminates. When plastic pallets get dirty they can be washed easily with a power washer or in a pallet washing system (using plain water or added cleaning fluids if necessary). Plastic pallets are durable and less likely to break. Broken pallets, such as those run over by a fork truck, can be recycled and used to make other products.

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2: Industry Scope (Continued)

Plastic pallets have their applications in general manufacturing as slave pallets or storing & moving work in process. One of the largest usage for plastic pallets is closed loop systems to move super sacks of products, raw material or even products made at an outside vender (ex. Plastic or glass packaging/bottles) to a production plant to be used or made into a finished product. Exporting plastic pallets is becoming more common. It eliminates the need for heat treating, a requirement for shipping wood pallets out of the US. Heat treating eliminates bugs and fungus from growing as long as pallets are kept dry. Some countries no longer accept wood; plastic is the only other option. There are corrugated pallets but it these may get wet as they are not always water tight. Pallets can be reused, sold for scrape, ground into regrind and used in other products or be re-used as pallet material.
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3: Types of Application

Plastic pallets can be used in a variety of applications, Slave Pallets for in-house storage, Closed Loop Systems and exporting of finished goods. Some of the other advantages of plastic pallets being used in one-way shipping are light weight and nestable. Being light weight helps reduce weight load limits on trucks and shipping containers. As for the nestable factor, you get more pallets in a stack thus being able to ship more pallets per truck.

For a typical 48x40 wood pallet, you can max out a 53 truck at 630 pallets compared to approximately 1800 pallets for a nestable plastic pallet. This amounts to a cost savings of 2 trucks, by being able to load 3 times as many plastic pallets as compared to wood on one truck. Additionally there is the reduced environmental impact by using less fuel by reducing the number of trucks needed to move the pallets, thus reducing your carbon footprint on the environment.
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4: Types of Applications (Continued)

Another application is using the plastic pallets as a Slave Pallet for in-house storage and movement of products. In the food industry, ingredients may come in on a slip sheet or in super sacks and need to be placed on a pallet to store in fixed racking, move raw materials to production areas and even move finished products from production line to the warehouse to store before shipping. The storage of parts leads into using plastic pallets for Closed Loop Systems has the potential dollar savings in the right situation. Many companies are using plastic pallets to have product shipped to them from their vendors. If the product needs to be stored in fixed racking a heavy duty plastic pallet will have to be used to hold the product in a rack with out deflection of the load.

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4: Types of Applications (Continued)

Plastic pallets cost anywhere from $65 to $100 depending on need; more expensive than wood, but the life span of a heavy duty plastic pallet can out weigh the cost. For products that do not need to be stored in fixed racking, a nestable plastic pallet can usually be used and is less expensive ($12 - $30). You can double stack the loaded pallets on the floor and when empty the pallets can be nested.
When determining whether to use plastic or wood, it is important to ensure that using plastic is feasible and that the pallets will be returned by the end user. You should also know how the manufacturer will be using/handling the pallets on their end.

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Conclusion

There many positive reasons for using plastic pallets. Plastic pallets can help you do the following: Reduce your carbon foot print. Remember, plastic pallets are recyclable and when you use nestable pallets, you can ship 2-3 truck loads of plastic pallets in one truck. Reduce the risk of injury among workers who must lift or throw pallets; plastic pallets weigh 13- 30 pounds, compared with 45 50 pound wood pallets. Easily clean your pallets, as they do not absorb liquids and are resistant to insects, bacteria and fungi. Conform to ISPM 15 regulations

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