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There's a lot at stake when you're tasked with buying plastic pallets. And, let's be real. The bean counters are always on you to find the best price, amirite? We can do you one better. We'll match you with the best value pallet. What's that? That's experience talking. I'll explain.  With 100+ years of material handling experience under our belt, Nelson Company knows a thing or two about saving money. When it comes to plastic pallets, you could be leaking profits in sneaky places and not even know it. Nobody likes that. Chances are pretty high that our experts have been in your shoes before. That means we're in a good spot to optimize your system in ways you haven't considered.  Profit from these 5 advantages and more when you partner with Nelson Company for plastic pallets. Nearly every consumer and industrial item you interacted with today took a ride on a pallet. Let that sink in for a minute. Your morning coffee. That phone in your pocket. Those new tires on your car. Even the pulleys and electronics that took you safely up to the seventh floor in the office elevator. All of it. There's a chance I'm not telling you anything new. But, have you ever asked why one company chooses wooden pallets and why another chooses plastic pallets? This post is part 7 of a 10-post series on plastic pallets 101. (Part 6 examines plastic pallet destinations and handling.)  31% of companies choose plastic pallets (as published in the 12th Annual Pallet Report by Modern Materials Handling.) So you've been asked to buy plastic pallets. And, after looking at 200+ options, you're lost. How are you ever going to narrow down your choices? Well, any good pallet pro will ask this important question, “where’s the pallet going and how?” It's a great question for eliminating plastic pallets that won't work. Just know there will probably be more to answer. This post is part 6 of a 10-post series on plastic pallets 101. (Part 5 explains common plastic pallet sizes.)  Before shopping for a plastic pallet, know where it's going and how it will get there. The standard pallet size in North America is 48x40 and has been for decades. I detailed uses for the 48x40 along with nearly 40 other pallet dimensions in my previous post, Industry Standard Pallet Sizes: A Complete List. As a follow-up, I am specifically shining a light on plastic pallets and six (6) sizes commonly sold in the US. This post is part 5 of a 10-post series on plastic pallets 101. (Part 4 explains capacity ratings.)  ISO (International Organization for Standardization) approves specific plastic pallet sizes for making global trade easier. These sizes include the North American 48x40 and the Asian 43x43. Look at any plastic pallet spec sheet and you’ll see capacity ratings detailing how much weight the pallet can handle. These numbers are important to safety so let’s examine them now.  Wondering about the material used for manufacturing plastic pallets? You may want to flip that question around and ask, what plastic material does my pallet application need? That's because plastic pallets can be made from a variety (and blends) of different materials to support specific environments.  These popular plastic pallet materials (and others) provide unique properties for specific job requirements. Plastic pallets are built to support a wide variety of functions and environments. Each function typically relies on a specific design style to safely and efficiently get the job done. Use the guide below to dive into an overview of styles and the duties they carry out.  The scope of plastic pallet design includes runner configurations, weights, molding styles and materials. The basic anatomy of a plastic pallet can be boiled down to three main parts: a top deck, the bottom support and the sides. Easy, right? Not so fast. Plastic pallets are available in a dizzying array of styles and options designed to work with specific loads, environments and equipment. How do you choose? The guide below will help you get started.  Hundreds of plastic pallet designs are available in a mixed variety of top, bottom and side styles. Want to learn about plastic pallets fast? This quick video will get you up-to-speed on everything from styles and materials to the safety and money-saving benefits of using plastic pallets. Below the video is a brief summary of the topics we cover with timestamps for skipping to a specific section. Not to be confused with the 2009 film staring Meryl Streep and Alec Baldwin (with some scene-stealing support from Steve Martin and John Krasinski) "It's Complicated" is the best way to describe how commodity plastic resin is priced in the marketplace. If you purchase plastic pallets, you have likely experienced this pricing volatility first hand.  Traditional factors once ruled plastic resin pricing. All that has changed. Now, it's much more complicated. The question I get most often from customers wanting to buy plastic pallets is, "how many fit on a truck?" Seems like a straightforward question, right? Well, if we're talking about standard 48x40 plastic pallets, I can tell you that we've got 26 to 30 skid spots to work with on a typical 53' dry van tractor trailer. Next comes some basic math (and maybe a tape measure). Most times we can come up with a solid count. Every once in a while we run up against an exception - usually because of a change in the truck scheduled to pick up the load.  Everything from pallet size to loading patterns to the interior dimensions of the trailer (and more) factor into calculating pallets per truck. Yes, you read that right. Plastic CP9 chemical pallets are available for quick delivery. Just recently, ten (10) truckloads of these brand new CP9 plastic pallets were successfully placed in the polymers and additives sector. A great choice for any industry, these 45x45 pallets are now stocked in our Columbus, Ohio and Memphis, Tennessee warehouses.  The broad 6-runner base on the NPP-4545-FP-CP9 evenly disperses weight for secure block stacking. You love the sofa on the floor at Pickering and Clydesdale Furniture Emporium so you plunk down your credit card to make the purchase. Nine months? Nine months??? That's an entire school year. Think about that. A kid meeting his new teacher today may be starting summer vacation before you're sinking into that comfy new couch. Welcome to the post COVID-19 supply chain nightmare.  Is it time to rethink the miracle of the US supply chain? Every so often a speciality pallet is the right choice for the job. Sure, we can say most plastic designs are strong. They're resistant to moisture and less likely to harbor smells or mold. Those are generally fine specs for nearly all applications. But in stricter circumstances, we sometimes need to consider how the pallet is engineered. Let's find out why and when that matters.  A one-piece plastic pallet is completely closed significantly limiting opportunities for pest infestations, water intrusion and structural failures. Everything from raw materials to finished goods are sitting on pallets in warehouses around the world just waiting for their next move. How they're sitting and where they're going are both important details for choosing the right plastic warehouse pallet. Let's take a look at some questions that will help point you in the right direction.  Choosing a plastic warehouse pallet depends on your storage environment and handling equipment as well as where it is going and the type of load it is carrying. To understand nestable pallets better, think about coffee cups. When you're not using these cups at home, you probably store them in a way that saves space in the cupboard, right? The shape of most coffee cups lets one cup to rest inside another to take advantage of vertical storage space. It's the same with plastic nestable pallets. They're just a lot more stable.  Similar to a stack of empty coffee cups, nestable pallets save space when not in use. Many in the pallet industry would reflexively answer four. That's because 48x48 drum pallets can easily hold four 55 gallon drums without hanging over. Everything from caustic chemicals to the raw ingredients used in the food we eat moves in 55 gallon drums. So, it should come as no surprise that the 48x48 drum pallet is the second most popular pallet size in the US. Popular? Yes. The only solution? Far from it.  Drum pallets like this plastic CP9 can transport diesel for the petroleum industry, glycerin for pharmaceutical manufacturers, chicken soup for food processors and so much more. Don't worry. You haven't done anything wrong. Not yet, at least. I know, I know. You're in a hurry and don't really want to talk about hygiene and plastic pallets, but hear me out. Choosing the wrong pallet could wind up costing you - in time, money, or something worse.  What makes a plastic pallet hygienic? That depends on your environment and goals. As I was planning my blog posts for the coming year, nothing seemed more important to my point of view than how to save my customers money. Focusing on pallet cost per use rolled out my first blog, soon to be followed by hidden costs of "cheap" pallets.  Easy-to-clean plastic pallets should be kept in good repair for both the safety of workers and the items we buy. Supply and demand for used plastic pallets is already, by nature, organized chaos. Add in the recent global pandemic and the market is being thrown one curve ball after another. First, inventory was scooped up by early panic buying. Then, trade restrictions forced import and export activity to plunge. As world economies responded to change, some industries came to a screeching halt while others ramped up to around-the-clock manufacturing. These unprecedented disruptions strained certain segments of the used pallet market.  Secure stretch wrap on built-in corner hooks or add up to 12 optional grommets on the new NPP-4545-FP-CP9. Early in my career, I was introduced to the CEO of the company that had just hired me to help make plastic pallets. "Mr. Leo" as he was affectionately called, shook my hand and welcomed me to the team. To help me get my head around what I had just gotten myself into, Mr. Leo said, "Our pallets cost a lot of money. But remember. They are the cheapest product out there!"  Have you done the math? A heavy-duty pallet may actually save you money. Trying to decide which type or grade of plastic your pallet should be made of? With a variety to choose from, choices can be overwhelming. I hope this post helps you to make the best decision.  Plastic resins like these are used in making plastic pallets. Are you looking for plastic pallets for sale but don't know where to start? You're not alone. There are hundreds of plastic pallet designs available. Overwhelming, right? Well, we're just getting started. To add to the confusion, many plastic pallets look nearly identical. Costs can vary considerably too. But, don't give up just yet. Answer a few questions and you'll quickly narrow down your choices. Ready? Get started below.
These two plastic pallets may look similar, but they perform differently.
It has been a tough but successful year and you have decided to take the wife and kids to Disneyland. Yes, the original one in California. You're packing the kids into the hotel and you see this big sign next to the door that says something about the premises containing chemicals known to the state of California to cause cancer and birth defects. WHAT???? Gloria! Grab the kids! We are outta here!  According to a recent announcement by Governor Andrew Cuomo, Looking to California, New York will consider its Own Prop 65. |
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