Does your product packaging specifications keep changing? Does your product suffer damage in transport? Looking to improve your bottom line? A technical assistance resource may help you find a solution. 

We have put together a checklist – the top 5 ways a technical assistant resource can help you. If you need help in one or more of these ways, you might want to consider reaching out to a company to help solve your biggest industrial packaging problems.

1. Product Damage
   #1 one reason to ask for outside help is product damage. Once damage is no longer acceptable, you’ll need to find a solution. While quick fixes may work temporarily, larger issues could be uncovered.  Technical resources will help focus on the ‘best solution’ to prevent product damage.
   
   
2. Specifications/Documentation/Guidelines
   Documentation is part of the foundation for successful, consistent products. Technical resources allow for suppliers, manufactures and users to effectively collaborate and document these guidelines.
   
   
3. Optimization (Efficiency, Cost Reduction, Consolidation, Initiating Change)
   Consulting a technical resource will allow a broader scope of efficient solutions when trying to suggest and implement changes to the current process.
   
   
4. New Product Development
   “Let’s do it like we did with the last product” is an answer to many questions when dealing with new products. That mentality generally causes adverse effects further down the product life cycle.  Legacy design issues are one of the most difficult to realize. Each new product should receive individual attention.
   
   
5. Multi Team approach: Guru, Specialist with Unbiased Problem Solving
   Management seems to listen better when a guru is involved. Technical resources can help drive solutions to implementation.

Have you ever considered using a technical resource? Leave your reasons why or why not in our comment section below. 

Post by: Kent Longardner, Technical Sales Manager

The best use for a wood pallet is returning it to be used again as a pallet.  

Properly maintained and managed, a well-built wood pallet is one of the most sustainable products in the marketplace. To that point, we’ve documented wood pallets in some of our pools that have been in service for over 10 years! 

Pallets are the most commonly recycled products in the US with recycling rates ahead of aluminum cans or corrugated containers. However, every pallet eventually reaches a point when it is no longer efficient to return to service as a pallet. 

The good news is you don’t have to scrap the pallet. 

Here are some of the other end uses for wood pallets:

• Salvage the remaining good boards for reuse to repair or remanufacture other pallets. 
• Grind the pallet for reuse as animal bedding, mulch or fuel.
• Make furniture. The internet is full of ideas for converting wood pallets into tables, couches, wall shelving, wine racks, nursery planters and even a house.* 
• Make a backyard bonfire (where legal).*

* Important Notes:

• While a bonfire or making furniture from pallets may sound like a great idea, the recycled material may not be safe for all uses.
• Used pallets can be found in a variety of areas, so please check with the property owner before removing a pallet to ensure the pallet is designated for scrap removal and not being used by the business.  

What is your best non-shipping use of a wood pallet? Share your photos with us below.

Be sure to check out - Top 3 Unconventional Uses for a Plastic Pallet.

Post by: John Clarke, Technical Director

The Germans really know how to host a tradeshow.

Last month I was fortunate enough to attend the Interpack show in Dusseldorf, Germany. Since Nelson Company is always looking for fresh product ideas, I was charged with checking out what is said to be the world’s leading trade fair.

2,700 exhibitors from 60 countries were providing inspiration and ideas for the packaging industry and all related process technologies. While there I saw everything - equipment and machinery for packaging and processing, production tools for packaging materials, services for the industry and of course, plastic pallets and containers.

Having been a regular at several of the US based material handling trade shows, I generally see 4-6 plastic pallet manufacturers at each show. After walking the 17 - that’s right, 17 exhibit halls - I saw more than 15 companies that produce plastic pallets and bins. It was truly a “one stop shop”.

It was great to meet with so many plastic pallet industry leaders and I enjoyed seeing their product samples and displays. However, the one “novel” idea I found was a component plastic pallet that allows you pick how much or how little support your unit load needs. Based on your unit load weight, you can add or subtract deck boards thus controlling your cost. With a basic stringer and deck board assembly, this pallet could make a splash here in the US.  

Other than the amazing amount of products and machinery at the show, the most impressive thing was the sheer production of it all. Some of the exhibiting companies had booths that were comparable to entire city blocks. They assembled and ran some extremely complex, large machines. These machines were literally pumping out fresh cookies, cakes and chocolates to be handed out to passersby.
 
My favorite was the cascading, chocolate water fall! It was like a Willy Wonka dream come true. Really, that’s chocolate flowing down the wall in the picture below. Fun fact: the original 1971 movie, Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory, was filmed in Germany!

Prior to my visit everyone had always told me that at European shows, exhibitors thrive on entertaining those who visit their booth. By entertain, I mean they offer refreshments. That said, I had no idea there was going to be full blown bars complete with omelet stations, fresh danishes, meats and cheeses. The picture below is a bar inside a booth… I'm not kidding! If you look closely, you can see people sitting at the bar in the back.

Needless to say, at the end of the trip not only was I impressed by the Interpack show itself, but I was thoroughly impressed with the city of Dusseldorf, its public train system, the Old Town section and the neighboring town of Korschenbroich, which is where I stayed. As far as new and exciting products, I was satisfied that Nelson is still on the “cutting edge” of what is new and improved in the plastic pallet market.

How about you, are there new plastic pallet designs that you are looking for?  Please let us know by commenting below.

Post by: Mike Cunneen, Director of Sales and Marketing

Why are my lumber costs so high? Why are my pallets not available?

By this time we all know the answer. We are experiencing an imbalance between the high demand and the global supply of wood. 

In addition to the issues of supply and demand, there are several factors contributing to rising costs and lack of availability. 

• Fuel
• Weather
• Economy

Fuel prices
Prices for gasoline have been dipping recently. However, according to a recent AAA fuel report, the national average price of unleaded gas is still up 40 cents per gallon from the beginning of the year.

Weather
Due to an unusually rough winter and spring, many loggers have not been able to get into the forests to cut timber.  The weather is always a concern, but the spring of 2014 did not produce enough dry periods for loggers to run equipment.  

Economy
There are fewer logging companies cutting timber than ten years ago. To further add stress to the industry, new markets are paying all-time high prices for wood fiber. Logging companies are cutting all they can but there is simply not enough workforce. Fixing this problem may be a long wait. It takes longer for a logging crew to get started up in business than for an existing one to close down.

What else do you think is affecting the lumber crisis? Share your thoughts with us by commenting below.

Post by: Jonathan Haynes, Sales Representative

Exhibiting at the EastPack Show June 10-12, 2014 at the Jacob K Javits Convention Center in New York City was a very exciting opportunity for Nelson Company. 

EastPack gathers numerous industry sectors all in one place. Just to name a few, we met up with visitors representing everything from Food & Beverage and Cosmetics to Pharmaceutical and Medical. Visitors to the Nelson booth were interested in solutions for shipping challenges. Even though their industries may have differed, their questions were often very similar.  

Top questions asked at PackExpo NY

1. I need a pallet compliant with ISPM-15 regulations for export shipments. Do you have something like that? 
   All of our plastic pallets are exempt from ISPM-15 regulations and pricing on a 48x40 plastic pallet for export starts at around $12.
     
2. I am looking for a multi-use plastic pallet. It needs to be very durable plus provide me with the lowest cost per trip and a short ROI.  Do you have any pallets that would work?
   The new PM4840FP-Ultra pallet is a 48x40 multi-use plastic pallet that is certified by Virginia Tech to make at least 100 trips. This pallet utilizes patented Inside Injection Foaming in the legs, which makes it 5 times more resistant to impacts than the average plastic pallet. 
     
3. I have to switch to plastic pallets in my operation but my insurance carrier requires that I use an FM approved plastic pallet.  Do you have one?
   We have a few options for plastic pallets that meet decaBDE-free fire retardant standards. Our most recent offering is the FT4840-FP-FM-NSF.
     
4. What is that unique looking wood box at the front of your booth?
   That is the Nelson Clip Crate, which is designed to carry sensitive roll material. It is easy to break down for efficient back haul. It’s just another example of the custom design service that The Nelson Technical Center offers to our customers.

The EastPack Show allowed us to make new connections with potential customers. We look forward to helping these customers learn more about complying with shipping standards and reducing shipping costs. However, the show is a learning experience for us too.

EastPack provided us with knowledge about new products and advanced technologies. We also learned that the plastic pallet market for in-house and export applications is continuing to grow as cleanliness and export requirements become more stringent.

Did you have another question from East Pack? Leave your question below and I will be happy to answer it for you. 

Post by: Mike Simon, Midwest Sales Executive