Better Storage with the Plastic Pallet

It’s strong, it’s simple and it’s a lot more environmental friendly than its steel or wooden counterparts. It’s the plastic pallet, which is fast becoming the standard vessel for warehouse storage in all UK industries.

Why? First, because it’s light. Weight is, and always has been, a huge issue in storage terms. The shelves pallets are stored on can only hold so much weight; and the forks of trucks can only take so much load. Also, transport is often charged on a weight basis – so keeping the poundage of one’s consignments down can, in the long run, save a great deal of money.  

Second – the plastic pallet is far harder to break than a metal or wooden pallet. Wood warps, dries, gets wet, dries again, bends out of shape and eventually splits. Once its structure has warped a wooden pallet becomes difficult to store; it’s less efficient because not all of its surface area can always be used to lay stuff on; and it becomes impossible to stack on high shelves in case the warping causes it to slip and fall. A warped pallet is also far more likely to shatter unexpectedly. Plastic retains its shape no matter what – a rigid internal structure that looks the same no matter where you cut it. That means shock is always spread evenly throughout the fabric.

The metal pallet breaks where a plastic pallet doesn’t in a slightly different way – but it still breaks. Metal pallets are prone to denting, which is the metal equivalent of warping. Once a pallet has been dented it quickly becomes useless for the same sort of reasons that a warped pallet goes out of fashion. Dents make high shelf stacking unrealistic because they prevent the full surface of the pallet from resting on its supports. And they mark the beginnings of structural inhibition: dented metal has the same molecular problems as warped wood.

Plastic can be moulded, too – which means the plastic pallet is very easy to make. Once a mould has been created for a particular size, millions of those pallets can be knocked out and every single one will be the same. Wooden and metal pallets have to be put together, which is way more expensive. There’s more room for error here too – for every hundred pallets that are built right, there’ll be one with a weak join or a distorted crossbar. Moulding is quick, reliable and cheap – meaning that plastic pallets cost less than their rival materials, as well as lasts longer.

The eventual ubiquity of the plastic pallet, then, is pretty much assured. Add relative environmental friendliness to the equation (plastic isn’t wood, which means no more trees being cut down) and the result is a foregone conclusion. We’re in the midst of the transition now. In a couple of years, there won’t be steel or a wooden pallet in sight. Welcome to the future.