News - Tagged: wooden presswood pallets

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…

Safer, Greener, Smarter Pallets: The Future is Now

Rick LeBlanc’s June article in Pallet Enterprise offers a thoughtful discussion of  issues and trends facing logistics professionals and pallet manufacturers.  From “smart pallets” to building a more sustainable supply chain, staying current with the latest trends in the logistics world has never been more important.Continue Reading…

Building the Case for a Greener Supply Chain

David Biederman’s recent story in Journal of Commerce suggests the growing environmental logistics movement is more than just a corporate nod to sustainability.  Although sustainable logistics makes for good PR, companies such as Nike, Wal-Mart, Cisco Systems and Baxter International are also embracing a greener supply chain to improve bottom line.Continue Reading…

CHEP and Big Box Retailers Make Presswood Pallets a Cost Effective Alternative

Jeff McBee’s recent article appearing in Pallet Enterprise offers a fascinating look at the impact of CHEP and mass retailing on the pallet industry.  U.S. pallet manufacturers and recyclers viewed CHEP’s initial foray into the domestic market with much trepidation.  As an international provider of pallet and container pooling services for retail and industrial supply chains, CHEP stood well positioned to dramatically change the pallet industry in the early 90’s.

The mid 1990’s saw CHEP’s domestic pallet pool achieving critical mass and a decline in white wood (non-rental) pallet production.  By the end of the decade, retail giants such as Wal-Mart and Costco had partnered with CHEP and abandoned their traditional reliance on white wood pallets.  The decline in new white wood pallets flowing into the logistics supply chain led to a corresponding aging of the pallet pool and a subsequent drop in quality.  Recyclers accustomed to hauling away used pallets at no cost began paying for their cores.Continue Reading…

Lean and Green Export Ready Pallets Are Perfect Fit For Lincoln Electric

By partnering with Litco International, Lincoln Electric is meeting European export requirements, streamlining its pallet inventory, and receiving an added sustainability benefit too.    “In the past, our shipments to Europe were sometimes held up for inspection,” says Tom Soster, manufacturing engineering manager for Cleveland-based manufacturer of arc welding machines and consummables. “Now, the presswood pallets flow right through.”

Lincoln began investigating presswood export pallets several years ago as part of a cost reduction program.  At the time, the manufacturer was purchasing construction-grade pine and fabricating export pallets in-house.   In addition to maintaining an inventory of nine different sizes that took up valuable dock space, the pallets had to be bark free and manufactured from heat-treated lumber to meet European regulations for export pallets.Continue Reading…

Looking Ahead to ISPM-15: Pallet Companies Provide a Unique Perspective

A recent article by Bob Johnson in Produce Business demonstrates how pallet companies can offer a surprising amount of insight into all aspects of industrial packaging and shipping, beyond their traditional roles of product protection and damage prevention. Their knowledge and experience with all points along the supply chain — from production, processing, and logistics to distribution, warehousing and transportation — can be invaluable to companies looking for inefficiencies in their systems or ways to reduce costs.Continue Reading…

Wood Product Recovery and Recycling Report: 2010

View Recovery and Recycling Report (PDF)

MISSION: AVOID THE LANDFILLS

RESULTS: 22 MILLION POUNDS DIVERTED IN 2010

The Molded Products Group of Litco International, Inc. is committed to respecting our environment and ensuring that all of our Inca presswood products leave the world a better place.Continue Reading…

Litco Creates White Paper On Mold Prevention In Pallets

Vienna, Ohio – Litco International, Inc., North America’s leading source of presswood pallets, has developed a new White Paper for companies concerned about mold on their pallets. 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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