Comparisons of Pallet Materials & Summary of Existing Pallet Pool Programs
(MS WORD version)
February 17, 1999
Bob Sanders
IBM Corporate Packaging
3039 Cornwallis Road, Dept. VQZ, Bldg. 002-3
RTP, NC 27709-2195
(919) 543-1260
Fax: (919) 543-4253
Dear Bob,
The following is information that you may find helpful for the EIPS study. Feel free to copy any information you think should be passed on to the group.
Some points to pass along:
Below are some generic comparisons of pallet materials. Assuming each is properly designed for the application, I attempted to rank as good (+) or poor (-). Of course, there are exceptions for each of these. For any application, the pallet design must balance Strength, Stiffness, Durability, Functionality, and Cost. Your pallet can be manufactured of any material, to any performance level, at some cost. Weight is also an issue for some industries.
Material | Strength |
Stiffness |
Durability |
Functionality with material handling equipment |
Cost |
Wood (one way) | + |
+ |
- |
- |
low |
Wood (returnable) | + |
+ |
+ |
+ |
medium |
Plywood | + |
+ |
+ |
+ |
high |
Plastic (HDPE) | + |
- |
+ |
- |
high |
Plastic (engineered) | + |
+ |
+ |
+ |
Very high |
Paper | - |
- |
- |
- |
low |
Metal | + |
+ |
+ |
+ |
Very high |
Some industry pallet standards or pools that serve as examples:
Grocery industry
Chemical Industry
Printing Industry
Automotive Industry
EuroPallet
NWPCAs SPEQ program
ASME MH1.8M, Uniform Standard for Wood Pallets.
Development of the EIPS pallet(s) is either a performance-based or prescriptive-based process:
Performance based:
Prescriptive based:
I hope this proves helpful. I look forward to meeting with you in Orlando. Please call if I may be of assistance.
Sincerely,
John W. Clarke