The annual ISTA Transpack Forum is coming up in Orlando, FL from March 25 – 28, 2013. As in previous years, Nelson will have members of its Technical Center team in attendance. Kent Longardner, Technical Sales Manager at Nelson, fills us in on his past experiences and gives us a preview of what to expect from this year’s ISTA Transpack Forum.

How many times have you attended ISTA Transpack Forum or is this your first time?

I have attended since 2008. The name has changed, but this year will be my 6th conference. 

Walk us through a typical day at the forum. What are your activities?

A typical day is filled with interesting presentations, an opportunity to meet new people within the packaging industry, as well as spend time with familiar faces during enjoyable outings.

Can you give us an example of the type of presentations we should expect from this year’s forum?

This year, ISTA gathered nearly 30 speakers within the packaging industry including manufacturers, suppliers, test labs, logistics and various university professors. Each presentation will focus on his or her specialty, yet all the speakers will be able to relate the topic to a practical application. This year brings new speakers and topics, yet they all involve the challenges of product arriving safely to the end user.

The complete list of 2013 speakers and topics can be found here.

What are you looking forward to the most at the forum in March?

My two favorite activities at the forum are the presentations and the evening activities. The presentations allow me to stay current with industry topics, specifically, correlating laboratory test results to the distribution environment. My first year at the conference, I chose to participate in the sand volleyball tournament and was placed with a group of people I had never met. The team included John Clarke and Rich Reiher, both part of the Nelson Company. Five years later, I too have joined the Nelson Company.

What are the advantages and benefits of attending the forum?

The ISTA Transpack Packaging Forum is nearly three days, centered on the presentations about current industry issues.  Each year, ISTA delivers an impressive group of speakers covering packaging, material handling, sustainability, distribution and more. I am eager to hear all the speakers, especially...

• Matt Daum (Hewlett-Packard) "Packaging Anti-Counterfeit: Securing Products For Distribution"
• Dave Leinberger (ABF Freight) "Packaging Tips for LTL Transportation"
• John Clarke (Nelson Co.) "Pallets 103: Pallets and Material Handling Equipment"

You mentioned John Clarke from the Nelson Company, can you tell us what we can expect from his talk?

We can expect a better understanding of how pallets and material handling equipment work together to support packaged products. This presentation reviews Pallet and Material Handling Equipment Interactions and how to improve pallet performance and reduce pallet costs.

How does attending the forum help you as a member of the Nelson sales and technical center team?

The ISTA Transpack Forum allows us to interact with our target market. The attendees are the people with pallet/packaging issues or the ones who have solved their pallet/packaging problems. Learning from others helps us to apply additional technical knowledge to our customers’ needs. For example, the Nelson Company is participating on an ISTA team that is focusing on creating guidelines for packaging and shipping tall, heavy, fragile products, such as expensive, racked, computer systems. These computer systems make transport very difficult because of the high center of gravity and the small footprint. These challenges are directly related to a customer with a similar product. Lessons learned from others within ISTA have allowed the Nelson Company to apply new designs to our current customer. 

Do you have a question for Kent? Leave your question in the comments section and he will answer your question!

Interview with: Kent Longardner, Technical Sales Manager

Most states prohibit plastic pallets in landfills. What are you going to do with yours?

Plastic pallets have become very popular over the past ten years. They are being used in just about every industry including Pharmaceutical, Medical, Electronic, Chemical, Rubber, Food & Food Additives just to name a few.

Rules and regulations affiliated with ISPM-15 guidelines, plus the growing number of “clean” or “paperless” production facilities have made plastic a smart choice. In fact, the industrial packaging industry has seen the “one-way” or “export” pallet market grow exponentially from year to year making plastic one of the fastest growing sectors in the pallet industry.

With plastic pallet prices as low as $9-$10, who can blame companies for choosing to use a clean, lightweight, nestable alternative to the traditional wood pallet?

So now that all these plastic pallets are coming into your plant, how can you get rid of them?

If you are like most companies, your pallets are stacked in corners or stored in empty trailers until someone figures out how to get rid of them. Unlike wood pallets, you cannot burn them or grind them into mulch. Getting rid of them starts to become a big challenge. What do you do?

Here are my top 3 ways to get rid of used plastic pallets:

1. Search high and low for ways to use them internally.  Can you ship finished product out on them? Can another department or facility use them as a “captive” pallet?  In both these cases, you are extending the life of these pallets without sacrificing the environment or your bottom line.
2. Find a source that can continuously take the used pallets out of your way.  Companies like The Nelson Company specialize in finding qualified end users for used plastic pallets. They are willing to pay you for used plastic pallets that may have an extended life cycle.  One company gets a trip or two out of a plastic pallet and then The Nelson Company helps another company use it again and again.  It’s a WIN-WIN for all involved.
3. If your quantities are varied or your used plastic pallets are not functional due to damage, there are plenty of local plastic scrap companies that are willing to pay you for your scrap plastic. 

Getting rid of your used plastic pallets does not have to be a daunting task. On the contrary, you can help your bottom line by reusing them in-house, reselling them as used pallets, or selling them for plastic scrap.

Not sure what to do with those unsightly stacks of plastic pallets?  Call us at the Nelson Company and let us give you some ideas.

Post by Mike Cunneen, Director of Sales & Marketing

Are you shipping more than just your product?

The transfer of destructive pests has been a disadvantage of international trade for centuries. The Norway rat, Japanese beetle and gypsy moth were all imported to the United States through international trade.

Pests can travel by many avenues. One common carrier is solid wood packaging materials - including solid wood pallets.

When you use wood pallets to transport goods from one country to another, you may also be transporting destructive pests. These hitchhiking critters may or may not have natural predators in the destination location.

As you can imagine, wood pallets + pests can equal a big problem!

Logistical Nightmare
International trade restrictions on wood pallets used to be very relaxed. Restrictions were limited to "bark free" wood with no large insect holes. As the spread of exotic flora and fauna began to damage delicate ecosystems, countries started implementing their own restrictions:

• First the United States implemented new treatments on wood pallets from China to stop the Asian Longhorned Beetle.
• Then China imposed restrictions on Pine Wood Nematode from the United States.
• Then Brazil, Russia, and Finland followed suit.

Each county required different wood treatments designed to protect against specific pests. Satisfying the different requirements became a logistical nightmare for shippers.

Developing an International Standard
In 2002 The International Plant Protection Convention made big progress in creating a uniform, worldwide pest standard to relieve the inconsistencies between countries: ISPM-15.

ISPM-15 is the acronym for International Standard for Phytosanitary Measures No. 15. ISPM-15 requires all wood packaging materials to be treated before they can be imported into any of the member countries. In 2002 ISPM-15, titled Regulation of Wood Packaging Material in International Trade, was adopted by more than 150 counties. This standard was developed to reduce the spread of pests through solid wood packaging materials. 

What are your treatment options?
ISPM-15 prescribes two types of treatment for wood packaging materials.

• Heat Treatment
• Methyl Bromide Fumigation

ISPM-15 is currently being enforced in almost every major importing country in the world. After treatment, ISPM-15 requires that pallets are marked in a visible location with a legible and permanent mark approved by the International Plant Protection Convention.

How have your shipments or company been affected by ISPM-15 regulations? Share your destructive wood pest stories with us by commenting below.

Post by: John Clarke, Technical Director

Mold and mildew on wooden pallets can be a costly issue for shippers and packagers throughout North America. 

Mold spores are everywhere... in the air - all the time - as many as 10,000 per cubic yard. There are thousands of different species of molds that produce a variety of mold colorations: blue, black, green, yellow, orange, and red.

Why is mold bad for your wood pallets?
Mold spores are constantly floating around and settling onto wood and other surfaces.

• Mold can cause damage to the product carried on the pallet.

• Mold is considered to be a contaminant in food and pharmaceutical industries.

• Mold can even change your customer’s perception. (If a customer perceives that the packaging around their product has been compromised, then they also will wonder if the product itself has been compromised.) 

Alternatives for Preventing Mold

The use of kiln dried lumber that has a moisture content of 19% or below will not grow mold (as long as it is stored properly). Wood pallets are still widely used, however, alternative shipping materials are quickly gaining in popularity.

Plastic pallets and corrugated pallets are two potential options to utilize for both domestic and export shipments. Even with alternative materials, care must be taken with how these pallets are stored and transported.

Remember that no wooden pallet can be guaranteed mold free. However, wooden pallets can be produced and maintained with no visible mold growth as long as the proper steps are taken.

What is your worst mold story? Let us know by commenting below.

Post by: Rich Reiher, Vice President of Sales