A daytime traffic jam strikes instant fear in a truck driver transporting bees.

If you read my last post, The strangest things buzz along on pallets, you learned that honey bees can come and go as they please from the hive boxes loaded on the truck. The exceptions are:

1. Bees will stay in boxes if they are moving
2. Bees will stay in boxes if the sun has gone down

I met a driver once that told me a hair-raising honey bee story. His true story is below.

Commercial Bee Transportation
A few years back a trucker pulls into our lumber yard and for some reason I notice a bee suit in his cab. "What's that for," I ask. The driver tells me all about commercial transporting of honey bees for pollination. Next, he told me all about the guy who invented the beehive  pallet. As a pallet pro, he had my full attention.

Bee Suits Supplied
Later I ask him, "so how come I never see other truckers with their own bee suits?" "I learned my lesson" he confides. You see, when transporting bees, the beekeeper always supplies the driver with a bee suit. But, it is usually the oldest and tiredest bee suit the guy has because it might not return. The trucker I was speaking with always used the free bee suit until one fateful day on the Pacific Coast Highway.

Worst Case Scenario
This unlucky driver found himself in a 4-hour traffic jam during the hottest part of the day. Remember, if the truck is rolling down the highway or if night has fallen, the bees stay in their hives. When stopped during the day - especially if it is hot - the bees will leave. Uh oh. Not sure how this guy did it, but he tried to corral all the bees back in their hives. Why? Because several million bees never make a traffic jam better. It was after that unfortunate trip that the driver invested in his own top-of-the-line bee suit. Wise choice.

Roll Up Your Windows
Keep your eyes open when traveling our roads. Peek in the trucks when you can. You never know what might "bee" right next to you. And, if you are stuck in traffic and you see a truck like this near you, keep your windows closed. Or, perhaps, travel with your own state-of-the-art, top-of-the-line bee suit. You know... just in case!

Do you transport bees? Have a story to share? Tell me in the comments below.

​Post by: David Caltrider, President (and beekeeper)

​Do you ever find yourself driving on the highway looking at all the different trucks stuffed with pallets. Do you wonder what they are carrying and where are they going? No? Just me? Try it sometime. It's fun.

In fact, try it right now. Take a look at this photo I snapped in traffic and take your best guess:

​Did you guess right?
Did you guess several million honey bees heading off to work? Ding, ding, ding. You're our winner!

Did you know that commercial beekeepers not only raise bees to make honey, they also rent their bees to farmers for pollination of crops and orchards? How are these honey bees transported? Henny Youngman would answer, "very carefully" and he would be correct.

Honey Bee Boxes and Frames
As a pallet industry professional (who also happens to dabble in beekeeping), I first want to share a few details on honey bee boxes, frames and foundations.

Pallets move almost everything else so why not bees?
In WWII, the US military figured out the best way to move a lot a boxes is on a pallet. The same is true for transporting honey bees for pollination. You may be wondering if a plastic or wood pallet foundation is best. Ask four beekeepers which is better and you will receive 5 different answers - somewhat like pallets themselves!

Just don't drop them!
Honey bees don't like to be jostled about so keeping them snugly in place on the pallet is very important. By the way, the bees are free to come and go as they like from the boxes. This means that if you do jostle or god forbid drop a hive during transport or loading or unloading, the normally docile honey bees turn into a million plus angry flying stinging creatures - ALL of whom are ready to give their lives to protect their queen.

​Remember this... when the queen is happy, the hive is happy. When the hive is happy, the nice man unloading the truck is happy. (Watch for my next post about the unlucky truck driver and the bees - a true story.)

Returning the bees back home
So the bees are now gone from their beekeeper's home and are in an orchard or some other farm. How does the farmer collect the bees after they pollinate so they can go home again or move on to another farm? Easy. Bees always return to their own hive to be with their queen. Plus, once the sun goes down the bees are inside for the evening.

​Have you seen honey bees (or something stranger) buzzing down the highway on pallets? Tell us about it in the comments below.

Post by: David Caltrider, President (and beekeeper)

Michigan State University Packaging Alumni Association hosts a wonderful gathering during Pack Expo. Faculty, alumni and students all join to celebrate the School of Packaging.

The reunion allows professors, interns and industry professionals to support the School of Packaging scholarships for future students of the program. 

Fun Facts

• More than half of all packaging graduates employed in the U.S. come from Michigan State
• MSU has conferred more than 8,000 academic degrees
• Established in 1952
• Packaging was first a discipline within the MSU Department of Forest Products; then, as an independent school within the College of Agriculture and Natural Resources
• School of Packaging currently houses approximately 850 undergraduate and 100 graduate students 
• Known worldwide as the leading resource for developing package professionals

Will you be attending the 2015 Pack Expo Vegas PAA Reunion on September 28? Let us know in the comments below.

Post by: Kent Longardner, Technical Sales Manager 

Remember back in October when we visited the first ever upcycling event in Denver? 

We are revisiting that exciting trip because this month Pallet Central published their own article about the Pallet Fest experience. All of the images used in the article were courtesy of The Nelson Company!

You can read the entire article in the November/December Issue of Pallet Central. Or you can view or download the digital edition of the magazine online. 

 What do you think about pallet fest? Would you attend a festival centered on pallets in your city? Why or why not? Leave you comments below. 

I must admit, I am having a little trouble staying focused on pallets during the baseball playoffs.

There is nothing like the feel of a fall playoff game when your team is in the hunt. True to form, this year’s games have provided loads of excitement already.

Back to pallets (work, work, work). When people ask me what I do, I generally tell them a quick description of my job... “I work with a thriving pallet company that provides all kinds of pallets and platforms that move industry.”  

I wait for the slightly “confused” look and then I give them an example of what we do. With the Fall Classic in mind, I may say something like, “well, you know all of those hot dogs served at the games? At some point or another those dogs are transported on pallets from where they are made to a distribution center and then ultimately to the ball park.”

According to the National Hot Dog and Sausage Council fans will eat an estimated "21,357,316 hot dogs and 5,508,887 sausages during the 2014 Major League season, enough hot dogs to stretch from Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles to Wrigley Field in Chicago."

Over 21 million Hot Dogs… that’s a lot of pallets moving those dogs around! Oh yeah, don’t forget about the mustard, ketchup, french fries, Cracker Jack®, peanuts and popcorn… OK, now I’m hungry. My point is simple, even baseball games rely on the pallet industry.

On a side note (yes, I’m having trouble focusing again) while doing a quick search on baseball and pallets, I found a few really cool, baseball uses for pallets. See Below.

How about you, any cool ideas for pallets?

Now that you know the important part pallets play in getting you those over-priced (but delicious) stadium concessions, let's talk game. Who would you like to see in the World Series? Let us know by commenting below.

Post by: Mike Cunneen, Director of Sales and Marketing
Use of Famous Dodger Dog by Farmer John licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 Unported license.
Image permission provided by TheCreativePallet and KTKustomKreations.

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

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

Nelson Company Trailblazer John Martin Retires

Fifteen years and two manufacturing facilities later, John Martin has shipped his last pallet.

Nelson Company announced Martin’s retirement on Friday, June 13, 2014. John’s career highlights and work ethic are legacy-worthy. Leaving everything he knew behind, John helped open what is now Nelson’s largest manufacturing operation.

John didn’t leave everything he knew just once. He did it twice. John first relocated in December 1999 to start our Walton, Kansas operation. Coming to Nelson as a shift manager from another pallet company, John bravely took on the challenge sight unseen.

After leading our Kansas facility to great success, John accepted the opportunity to do it again - this time in Memphis. Starting with only three employees, John grew a tiny operation into what is now Nelson’s largest manufacturing operation of all eight pallet facilities.

It was a sad day for Nelson Company when John let us know it was time for him to retire. John and his wife Betty are headed back to Georgia where they’ve been missed by family for far too long. All of us at Nelson Company appreciate the time and winning success we’ve enjoyed with John. We wish John, Betty and their whole family the very best.
  

Stuart Bloomfield to Lead Nelson Company Memphis Facility

Nelson Company has hired Stuart Bloomfield. Stuart fills the Memphis position left open by the now-retired John Martin.

Stuart brings an impressive blend of business skills and logistics experience to Nelson Company. He has worked in safety monitoring and training. In addition, Stuart’s past work has included the positions of corporate buyer and sales.

Stuart is currently completing training related to managing the day-to-day operations of our Memphis facility. Once Stuart has his feet firmly planted, he expects to use his sales skills for growing business for Nelson Company in Memphis and areas beyond. 

Everyone at Nelson Company extends a warm welcome to Stuart and looks forward to having him as a new member of the Nelson Company team.

Post by: David Caltrider, President

Popcorn. Peanuts. Lumber Shortage. What?

Across the country, fans are enjoying America's favorite pastime and cheering on their favorite teams. For Nelson Company, that includes our company-sponsored softball team playing in Pennsylvania. More about our winning team later...

As players come up to the plate, we wait in anticipation. Will it be a ball, a strike, a home run? Unlike others in the stand, we're not just watching a game. We're drawing the lines between baseball bats and pallets.

Louisville Slugger and Nelson Company have more in common than a passion for baseball. We are both facing the same raw material challenge that impacts the strength, durability and safety of our product: a shortage of lumber.

In baseball, the emerald ash borer deteriorated ash supplies and forced bat manufacturers to make a switch to maple. Fox Sports recently published an article detailing the controversy and concerns for the future of bat manufacturing and players of the game. Similarly, Nelson Company recently published our predictions for the pallet of the future.

Both of our industries are facing a big unknown with no quick answers. While we're waiting, this seems like a good time to tell you more about our team.

Nelson Company is proud to announce that our softball team won the 2014 League Championship!

Two members of the team are Nelson employees from our Greencastle, PA location. You might think it's the neon-green team jerseys that make this team stand out. It's not. These guys have skills - especially for a team that has only been playing together for two seasons!

In 2014, the Nelson Softball Team competed in 32 league games, 12 local tournaments plus  tournaments in Baltimore and Ocean City. They also won an invitational championship. Later this year, the team will have a chance to participate in a state championship tournament. Here's hoping they go all the way!

Now, back to business. Most people would have never connected baseball to pallets. Is there another industry you believe couldn't possibly have a connection with the transport packaging industry?

See if you can stump us by leaving a comment below.


Post by: Kaitlin Manning, Creative Director