Australian-made pallet sets out to revolutionise supply chains

The 1-PAL pallet, an innovative Australian-designed and manufactured pallet system, is set to provide companies with significant warehousing, freight, environmental, safety and cost benefits.

The high-performing plastic 1-PAL pallet is the world’s first stackable, nestable and rackable pallet. 1-PAL’s innovative design is an evolution of the traditional pallet ? a combination of features available in various designs incorporated in one unique pallet.

The 1-PAL pallet features carefully designed slots in its top surface, allowing the solid legs of the nesting pallet to nest inside when it’s rotated 90 degrees. This gives the 1-PAL pallet a 3:1 height ratio when nested, compared to standard pallets. The 1-PAL pallet can also be stacked similar to traditional pallets, permitting easy forklift access.

The solid leg design gives it the ability to safely rack 1,000 kilograms in temperatures as high a 60 degrees Celsius and as low as minus 30 degrees Celsius. Notches in 1-PAL’s four high-strength legs allow it to safely locate in standard beam racking.

“The logistics industry is tied to the use of pallets and we’ve seen very little innovation in pallets in the past century,” said 1-PAL director Ryan Groom.

“1-PAL is a true total cost solution and we estimate that its warehousing and freight benefits will enable businesses to save up to 65% in operational costs.

“Warehousing is a significant operating cost for many companies and the 1-PAL system reduces the amount of warehousing and freight required due to its innovative and space-saving design.

“We’ve also received feedback from industry that the ability of pallets to withstand large loads in high temperatures is becoming an increasing concern, especially for companies storing large amounts of inventory with varying climates.”

The 1-PAL pallet is made from a newly developed long-grain glass fibre polymer that gives the pallet superior strength to weight ratio, high-impact strength designed to absorb reoccurring forklift tyne collision and it also ensures it maintains integrity under extreme environmental conditions.

The 1-PAL pallet weighs less than 13 kilograms, about one third the weight of a traditional hardwood pallet. This is a weight saving of 3,200 kilograms per 100 pallets transported when compared with hardwood pallets. It is also occupational, health and safety approved to be lifted by a single person.

1-PAL can also be fully?recycled at the end of its life, cleaned at  high temperatures and has drainage holes that prevent water collection, making it an ideal solution for food and beverage industries.

1-PAL recently won the Supply Chain and Logistics Association of Australia’s (Victoria Division) Environmental Award, and was a runner-up for BASF Australia Ltd Plastics’ Award for Design and Innovation.

The 1-PAL pallet is designed and manufactured in Cheltenham,Victoria.

Source: http://www.tandlnews.com.au/