In certain ways timber and plastic pallets have not changed much over decades nor has their respective market shares, though plastic is still growing at timber’s expense, but their manufacturers still innovate to tailor the product to specific clients’ needs, like the need for improved inventory tracking and location, and the pallet pool operators likewise work to improve their clients’ logistics efficiency. At one time, for example, it was not thought feasible to fit RFID tags to wooden pallets owing the thrashing the pallets received in everyday operations, plus the cost of the tag. Since 2012, however, Falkenhahn AG has been incorporating RFID tags invisibly to its wood Euro pallets and so they require no individual contact between the pallets and the reader. The cost of the tag is a mere 5% of the pallet, much less than they would have been years ago. Falkenhahn claims to be the only firm worldwide who can produce a wooden pallet with RFID inside.
Another recent innovation that could shake up the world of wood and plastic pallets is RM2’s composite Blockpal that offers significant benefits over polymer and wood. A multi-trip, heavy duty pallet with a high strength to weight ratio, Blocpal is resistant to moisture, easy to clean, ISP15 exempt and meets UL 2335 standard for fire retardantcy. Rack load capacity is 1,540 kg and users have a choice of outright purchase or rental for closed loops.
As with buying forklifts there is also the fallacy of buying pallets on price alone when comparing wood and plastic and because wood is significantly cheaper initially buyers tend to shun plastic. In the long term, however, owing to plastic’s 10-year life span or more, far longer than timber, plastic would be a better buy for closed loop operations or where they were part of a pooling operation because that would avoid any large upfront capital cost and the headache of pallet tracking and retrieval, a responsibility taken on by pool operators like Chep, LPR and IPP Logipal.
Plastic pallets also have other cost advantages over wood . Their dimensional stability and precise measurements suit them well to automated processes whereas wooden pallets suffer from splinters, moisture ingress or deflection and their load capacity does not remain reliably long like plastic. High quality plastic pallets are also more or less maintenance and repair-free, easy to clean and suitable for modern pallet wash machines. Owing to plastic’s inherent hygiene advantage they are also preferred in the food and pharma industries.
If pallets have not changed much in some ways the selection process has certainly become more demanding than it was 10 years ago as the range of designs has mushroomed. It’s clearly horses for courses but the key concern must be to remain within the pallet’s three stated load capacities – static load, dynamic load and racking load. In this respect, plastic pallets, unlike wood, make the task easy because they have stated loading capacities. Wood does not have guaranteed loading capacities because the strength of timber varies. Wood also changes size and shape over time as the quality of the wood deteriorates, splinters, breaks up and leaves exposed nails, which causes havoc with automated conveyor systems.
Extra care is also needed when importing wood palletised loads because there could be considerable damage to the pallet members as exporters sometimes use cheap quality pallets and they would need to be replaced immediately. Alas, this is not always done. This writer has been in many warehouses over decades and was alarmed to see racked loads supported by seriously damaged timber pallets.
The good news in the selection process, however, is that the task can be eased if buyers go to leading suppliers like Goplasticpallets who will offer free expert advice and cost up the various options.
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