Litco News

The Unplanned Costs and Penalties of Non-Compliant Merchandise Exportation Due to ISPM 15 Regulations

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Recent Changes that Impact Wood Packaging Material

The penalties for non-compliant ISPM 15 wood packaging materials (WPM) are a serious matter to take into consideration when selecting components for the design of a unit load. Besides penalty costs, the end user will require a duplicate shipment if customs liquidates the product held up instead of denying entry.  With customer delivery late fees becoming a common business occurrence as well, the actual cost of saving a few cents on some pallets could become a costly mistake in the long-term.

WPM is a key component for the transportation and handling of unit loads throughout supply chains in today’s global market. The objects classified as WPM are pallets, skids, crates, bracing, dunnage, and wood components that are thicker than 0.24 in. (6 mm). The shipment and treatment of these items across any major country’s border have been regulated due to the negative impact on forests, from the migration of several insect species across the globe.

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Litco’s Molded Wood Pallets and Core Plugs Achieve Cradle to Cradle Recertification

VIENNA, OH – July 18, 2018 — Litco International, Inc. is pleased to announce its Inca Engineered Molded WoodTM Pallets and Core Plugs have been recertified in the Cradle to Cradle Certified™ Products Program. Litco’s ExporterTM and RetailerTM pallet and core plug line is the first of its kind to be inducted into the program. The line was awarded recertification at the BRONZE level overall while also achieving GOLD in the category of material utilization.Continue Reading…

Pharmaceutical, Food Companies Find Litco’s Engineered Molded Wood Pallets Ideal for BP-Free Transit Packaging

The use of BP-free pallets is particularly important to ensure product safety in the food, produce, and pharmaceutical industries.

Although banned in the U.S., many of the materials used by overseas pallet manufacturers to prevent mold, insect infestations, and fire hazards, including Brominated phenols (TBP), trichlorophenol (TCP) and methyl phenols (MP), can impart strong odors that result in product contamination.  The toxicity of these materials poses significant public health and environmental safety concerns.

Leading pharmaceutical companies, including Abbott and Alcon Laboratories, have approved Litco’s Engineered Molded Wood pallets to meet their BP-free transit packaging pallet requirements. Litco’s pallets are strong, durable, and designed for strength and stiffness.  They are formed in a precision mold, at over 1,000 psi. at sanitizing temperatures that exceed 350° Fahrenheit.

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Litco’s Molded Wood Products Certified Biobased by USDA

Litco International, Inc. announced that Inca brand molded wood pallets and molded wood core plugs have been certified by the USDA’s BioPreferred program. Litco, as a USDA Biopreferred Partner, may begin labelling their products as Biobased.

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New White Paper Released:
A Comparison of Pallet Strength & Functionality

Costs related to products damaged in transit, return shipping, and customer dissatisfaction can swiftly derail a perceived good price on used or rebuilt GMA style pallets. Pallets are the base for unit load design; therefore, they should be properly matched with the demands of the load and the packaging design.

A mismatch in functionality can easily magnify when companies select cheap, rebuilt pallets. Many times, the assumed cost savings on the purchasing side of the equation turns into a financial liability once costs related to product damage, returns, and customer dissatisfaction are factored in.

Modern Materials Handling annually conducts a pallet usage survey to uncover why readers select and use specific pallet types. Since the inception of the survey over 20 years ago, price has consistently been the number one reason. The results of the 2016 survey showed that price continues to hold that place, with 60.9% of the readers in agreement.

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“Molded Wood” Pallet Standard Created by ANSI

Litco International Inc. is pleased to announce approval of the first product standard for molded wood, “presswood” pallets as created by the American National Standards Institute (ANSI.)

Part 14 “Molded, Wood Based Composite Pallets” of the ANSI pallet standard, MH1 – 2016, “Pallets, Slipsheets, and Other Bases for Unit Loads” is now available free to the public at mhi.org/free/8956.

Nationally recognized product standards developed by ANSI help buyers and sellers of products, communicate. This standard represents the single best source of consensus specifications and information regarding the manufacture, use, and performance of molded wood pallets.

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Increasing Lift Truck Safety and Plant Efficiencies with Presswood Pallet Solutions

According to National Safety Council, fork lift accidents result in an average of 101 fatalities and 94,570 injuries each year.  Although lift trucks are a necessary to maintain the efficient flow of raw materials and finished goods through manufacturing facilities, their use poses risks to both their operators and pedestrian traffic in your plant.   This article explains how pallet design influences fork lift traffic in manufacturing facilities and distribution centers and explores why presswood pallets may be a safer, more efficient alternative to conventional pallets.Continue Reading…

New Core Plug Sizes Added – Seven Diameters Provide Flexibility in Roll Protection

Litco’s New Tooling  Means More Choices For Paper, Film & Foil Manufacturers & Converters

core plugsVienna, Ohio—April 4 , 2014 –  Litco International  is offering new sizes of molded wood (presswood) core protection plugs to manufacturers and converters of paper, plastic film and metallic foils. Core plugs are commonly used to prevent damage caused when paper rolls shift during transit.

Litco has historically offered core plugs in 4”, 8”, 10”, and 12” sizes.  New 3”, 5”, and 6” sizes are slated for production in the second quarter of 2014. Litco’s Inca brand core plug is produced using a proprietary molding process combining hard and softwood wood fibers with a synthetic resin. The engineered presswood molding uses high heat and pressure to ensure consistent size and shape.  The resulting fiber structure creates an extremely strong plug exceeding industry standards for damage resulting from compression, side impact force, and moisture.Continue Reading…

Pallet Audits Reduce Shipping Costs and Minimize Product Damage: TOPS Analysis

Today’s challenging business climate demands efficiency in all aspects of an organization’s processes, including logistics.  Many companies routinely spend millions of dollars on freight each year, and since shippers are usually responsible to arrange and prepay the expense, increases or decreases of just a few percentage points create a significant impact on the bottom line. Remember too, freight charges are one of the leading causes of losing much needed orders.

At Litco, we help customers optimize package sizes, unit loads, and pallet configurations within shipping containers and over- the-road trailers with a software package called TOPS (Total Optimization Packaging Software).  By performing a pallet audit  using TOPS, we can make specific recommendations that will reduce customer shipping costs and minimize product damage.  Here are just a few of the things we can review and analyze using this new software program:Continue Reading…

Making the Case for Small Pallets

The 48” x 40” has long been one of the most popular pallet sizes for a wide range of applications.  Recent MMH Pallet Surveys have suggested that while the 48” x 40” still remains king, times are changing and while there is no clear consensus on a replacement for the 48 x 40, there is growing interest in smaller pallets.  Rick LeBlanc’s recent story in Pallet Enterprise explores the rising popularity of smaller pallets and looks forward to a world where bigger is not always better.Continue Reading…