News - Tagged: Presswood pallet

Five Keys to Optimal Pallet Design

Pallet Enterprise’s archived article titled “Balance Your Pallet Design” explains how optimal pallet performance is achieved by striking a balance between five interacting design considerations:  strength, stiffness, durability, functionality, and cost.  By focusing on the interaction between these variables and taking the time to consider specific product and distribution environments, logistics professionals and suppliers have the best chance of specifying the proper pallet for a given application.  What follows is a brief summary of each consideration. Continue Reading…

Presswood versus Plastic Pallets

light weight nestable presswood palletsOne popular misconception in the logistics world is that plastic pallets are inherently superior to wooden alternatives thanks to their (optional) nestable design and resistance to edge impact and infestation.  Their manufacture does not result in deforestation, and at the end of their useful life, plastic pallets can be converted to re-grind and used to manufacture new items.  For these reasons, some logistics managers view their plastic pallet use as the ultimate nod to environmental sustainability.  Many of these claims seem valid when comparing plastic pallets to conventional, slatted wooden pallets. But, the picture becomes murkier when presswood pallets enter the equation.Continue Reading…

How Pallet Selection Can Reduce Your Carbon Footprint and Logistics Costs

We have arrived at the dawn of a new age of pallet marketing where “less” is becoming a popular area of consideration for decision makers in the logistics and materials handling fields.  Although much of today’s promotional pallet literature still touts more – more size and material choices, greater strength, or increased resistance to mold and insect infestations – the notion of less is taking off in marketing circles.  Nowhere is this better illustrated than in the carbon footprint discussion, as Rick LeBlanc suggests in a recent article appearing in Pallet Enterprise.Continue Reading…

CHEP v. 9BLOC and the Case for Molded Presswood Pallets

Attempts by Wal-Mart, Costco, and other mass retailers to minimize product damage and create greater handling efficiencies have helped the block pallet supplant the stringer pallet in recent years.  Initially, the big box block pallet preference prompted many manufacturers to consider solutions from CHEP, a global leader in the pallet rental market, servicing over 300,000 customers worldwide.  Although CHEP offered a universally accepted big box pallet solution, the ubiquitous sea of blue came with a price.  Some manufacturers disliked the notion of a forced partnership with a distant, corporate entity capable of exercising such control over the supply and demand of the pallet pool.  With fewer suppliers contributing to the pool, manufacturers found themselves facing a pallet market fraught with uncertainty.  Other manufacturers were reluctant to end longstanding relationships with local pallet suppliers.  Despite these concerns, the tide had shifted, and at least in the mass retailer world, traditional stringers lost favor to newer, more expensive block pallets.Continue Reading…

Reduce Shipping Costs and Go Green with Custom Boxes and Litco Pallets

A recent online survey conducted by Peerless Research Group for Packsize International cites reduced shipping costs as the primary concern of logistics and materials handling professionals seeking to improve operational efficiencies.  The study was based on findings from 521 logistics and materials handling managers responsible for the daily shipment of more than 2,000 packages from their respective facilities.

Although this survey is welcome news to executives at Packsize International, a company specializing in the manufacture of lean corrugated packaging systems used to create custom size boxes, this research also reinforces the message we share with our prospects and customers:  lighter pallet solutions can substantially reduce shipping costs.Continue Reading…

Litco’s Presswood Pallets Answer Shippers’ Insect Quarantine Worries

Relief is available for shippers in Illinois, Indiana, Ohio and other states affected by the recent expansion of the federal quarantine on the emerald ash borer and the wood materials it is known to infest.

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