When Should you Consider One-Piece Plastic Pallets?

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.

Advantages of One-Piece Plastic Pallets

We've already noted some worthy advantages of plastic pallets. Add in one-piece designs and you're on your way to conquering your most pressing pallet requirements. What is a one-piece plastic pallet? A solid body pallet molded from a single piece of material with no welds. One-piece designs help to: 

• Avoid Infestations
   Are you an exporter? All plastic pallets are exempt from ISPM-15. Having said that, two-piece stackable pallets (and even some nestables) may have voids or pockets that are attractive to bugs or other living organisms. A one-piece pallet has no voids  so there’s ZERO chance any of those troublesome pests are gonna hop along for the ride.
    
• Avoid Contamination
  Calling all pharmaceutical and cleanroom manufacturers. One-piece plastic pallets made from non-porous materials help to maintain safety protocols in sterile environments. Free from seams, one-piece designs are easy to clean and eliminate places for water and contaminants to hide. Plastic pallets also remain stable to meet extremes for most temperature and humidity requirements.
  
  
• Avoid Breakage
  Heavy loads got you down? Nestable pallets with snap-on bottoms offer a less expensive alternative to heavier full-perimeter or 3-runner plastic pallets. Here's the catch - the lighter design may make these pallets vulnerable to damage the more they are moved. One piece pallets have "less moving parts" so less can go wrong as they get more use. Consider one-piece pallets for unsupported racking and floor stacking.

One-Piece Plastic Pallets to the Rescue

Challenging environments can really put your pallet to the test. We've seen it all from bugs and mold concerns to protecting the safety of people and loads. Problems found anywhere in your supply chain including manufacturing, warehousing or transporting can be solved with the right pallet. In some situations, the answer to your troubles may be a one-piece plastic pallet design.

Can your pallet challenges be solved with a one-piece design? Share your application details in the comments below. 

​Post by: Mike Cunneen, Director of Sales & Marketing