Corrugated P?Y03 /?JF &&2%&5=- A H‘istoricalPerspective and

Introduction have several common marketing char- tional. We make no claim as to the ac- Stan Lee of Corrugated Corp. acteristics. They are light weight, much curacy of every fact reported to us and commented, “A search of the U.S. lighter than the wooden alternatives. certainly make no effort to compare one Patent office records indicates that over They are recyclable and push this con- company or product directly to another. the past twenty years numerous patents cept hard in their marketing efforts. The Companies are listed in alphabetical or- have been applied for and issued cover- corrugated stream is well es- der to remain impartial. A list of the ing many various designs of corrugated tablished, certainly when compared to phone numbers of all companies in- pallets. It is amazing the wood recycling. As a result, many cor- cluded is provided at the end of this configurations many employed. Most of rugated pallet makers push the environ- article for your convenience. We hope the early efforts reflected concepts mentally friendly property of their this overview will provide information proven successful in designing corru- products when compared to wood. of value to pallet people who wish to gated paperboard and . Many corrugated pallets use recycled contact corrugated pallet suppliers. These designs were far from simple and paperboard as well. Corrugated pallets practical. They failed because of sig- are clean and offer a splinter-free prod- Bay Corrugated , nificant user limitations and, probably uct. Inc. more importantly, they could not be Corrugated has some distinct draw- commercially produced.” backs. The number of suppliers is some- Bay Corrugated Container has over But that was yesterday, and today is 25 years of experience in corrugated today. A number of companies are ac- products. The Bay corrugated pallet has tively pursuing the design and manufac- corrugated blocks with corrugated top ture of different forms of corrugated and bottom sheets. Bay promotes its pallets. With pallet users looking for uniquely engineered comer supports as . pallets which they perceive to be more the key to strength in load bearing. In user friendly, many pallet customers are addition to pallets, Bay has corrugated considering corrugated alternatives. pallet trays to accommodate smaller r‘ The first corrugated pallet known to products groups and collapsible pallet us as being designed with beam strength boxes with a corrugated block pallet in a fashion similar to standard wooden and foldable sides. pallets, and commercially available, Bay Container also offers machinery was the Corpal pallet. This pallet is now for others who want to manufacture its owned by the Jefferson Smurfit Corpo- corrugated pallets. Its system incorpo- ration and marketed as the Payloader. rates a modular design for ease of up- Corrugated Pallet Corporation’s Unipal grade. pallet is a “beam strength” version Variety of Unipal pallets. For more information, call 3 13/243- which is drawing strong interest in 5400. today’s market. what limited. More importantly, it is Previous to this beam design concept, more difficult to design corrugated pal- Corrugated Pallet most corrugated paperboard pallets lets to have the strength required for Corporation were constructed by using some form of many applications, particu- a block design which supported a top larly when it comes to racking require- Corrugated Pallet Corporation is cov- sheet (iisiially- with nine biocksj. Many ments. Exposure to moisture can be ered in depth in the lead article of this have bottom sheets to help maintain the deadly to corrugated, although there are issue of the Enterprise. Its Unipal cor- location and integrity of the blocks. some which help alleviate this rugated pallet looks more like a wooden This design concept continues to be problem. Direct exposure to precipita- pallet in its design than the common common for a number of suppliers to- tion is obviously bad, but even heavy block style corrugated pallets. Long- day. Some large corrugated companies, humidity can leave many corrugated view Fibre Company and Union Camp most notably Stone Container Corpora- pallets lifeless. Corporation work with Corrugated Pal- tion, have developed a successful prod- We contacted the companies known let to manufacture the corrugated pallet uct line of block style corrugated pal- to us as manufacturers of corrugated parts which go into Unipal pallets. Vi- lets. Their patented Cordeck design has pallets. The Supplier Overview below king Machinery manufactures the ma- gained solid acceptance for light loads contains information from those who chine to assemble these components in the automotive industry. responded to our inquiry for product de- into finished pallets. Corrugated pallets of various designs tails. Any omissions were not inten- Five common Unipal designs are

62 PALLET ENTERPRISE . .

availsble up to 60x60 in size. Unipal lengths for users who need pallet blocks pallets have more racking strength than instead of stringers. many other corrugated pallets due to its Sticky feet are also used inside the stringer design concept. container as bracing, cushioning, dun- For more information see the lead ar- nage, and protective packaging materi- ticle or call 713/370-1307. als. Edgeco says that sticky feet will support weights up to 2,000 Ibs. Ecological Pallets, Limited For more information, call 20 1/641 - 3222. Available in various configurations, Edgeco "stickyfeet" can be stored EcoPallet is constructed of a combina- until a corrugated pallet is needed. Hexacomb Corp. tion of solid and built-up fiber board are constructed of corrugated plus multi-ply corrugated paper board, bonded to a specially treated pressure- Hexacomb, a large manufacturer of with no wooden members. EcoPallet sensitive . Measuring 48" long, honeycomb structures, states that its pallets can be designed for 4" wide and 4" high, the runners will manufactures kraft paper pallet parts at two-way entry, four-way entry, ware- adhere to wood, , paper, metal and six US. plants. Weighing from 7 to 17 house beam racking, warehouse tier plastic surfaces. The 48" pieces are slit- pounds and available in standard or cus- racking, lift truck operation, pallet jack scored so they can be broken into 8" tom sizes, Hexacomb pallets are acces- operation, automated banding machine operation, shrink film packing, robotic , and roller conveyors. Eco- Pallets are manufactured from paper board and glue, using cutting, laminat- ing, bonding, and press operations. The EcoPallet has undergone testing by United States Testing Company, Inc., a clinical testing laboratory. The EcoPallet reportedly exceeded both U.S. Federal specifications (PPP-P- 1660A) and European specification sheets. EcoPallet said the strength and performance tests were designed to judge these characteristics present when the pallets are exposed to conditions normally found during warehousing and distribution. The EcoPallet design incorporates a combination of corrugated blocks, stringers, and tops for a heavy-duty cor- rugated pallet. *For more information, call 6%2#3- Edgeco

Edgeco manufactures "sticky feet" self-adhering pallet blocks and runners which allow customers to reduce freight Q&OOTH, CLEAN NAILS FOR mCIENTOPERATION , charges and storage space. Sticky feet HIGH QUALlTY AMERW MADE WIRE FOR STREMm 'AND STORAGE EASE SOLID NAILING CONTA

*Lead board removers ODismantlers *Trim Saws *Stringer Shears *Tippers *Stackers *Conveyors (800) 447-3320 Circle #I34 on Reader Action Card ----- sib,le by fork lifts or hand trucks. Made from recycled kraft Liberty paper and water based adhesive, Hexacomb pallets are recy- clable. Liberty Carton's Load-Right line of shipping platforms Hexacomb pallets can be constructed as two-way stringer includes corrugated, a combination of corrugated and plastic, pallets or four-way block pallets with single decks, double and plastic. Each product contains recycled materials and is decks, or perimeter bases. Hexacomb indicates its honeycomb recyclable. kraft cells distribute weight evenly to support static loads to The Load-Right kraft series is offered in three basic styles 12,000 Ibs. and dynamic loads to 3,000 lbs. The 40x48 reus- and can be custom-engineered to fit particular needs. They able or one-way pallet weighs 12 Ibs. offer four-way entry for fork trucks and pallet jacks and are The honeycomb material handling products include pres- appropriate for point-of-purchase displays. sure sensitive blocks and runners, dunnage panels, air Load-Right nestables are space-saving platforms which retention panels, separator panels, risers, and base pads. The nest together for storage. They feature high density plastic structures consist of a series of kraft paper ribbons which are supports which can accommodate a variety of decking materi- glued at intervals and expanded to form a hexagonal pattern. als, including corrugated, , superboard, This core is then solid fiberboard, Masonite, plywood, or oriented strand board. For more information, call 612/540-9606. generally faced on II both sides with re- Menasha Corp. cycled kraR in vari- ous basis weights. Menasha's Buck- The resulting struc- board corrugated pal- ture can be stored, lets consist of a die cut die and punch-cut double wall or single and shaped in many wall corrugated deck ways to specific and high-impact poly- tasks. styrene legs. Menasha For more infor- says its Buckboard pallet will support a mation, call 7081 1200 Ib. evenly dis- Hexacomb 's honeycomb pallets are 3 17-199 1. tributed load. They constructed from light weight, strong permit four-way Liberty's Load-Right recyclable honeycomb material. Of both fork lifts and shipping platform lines includes the hand trucks. Buck- boards are shipped Load-Right Platform, Nestable preassembled in con- Platform with runners, and the venient to handle Universal 3300 plastic platfornz. units. Buckboard pallets use a patented Shur-Lok system which captures a corrugated deck between an interlocking polystyrene leg and ring. Legs come in 2-518" and 3-518'' heights. The most standard Buckboard pallet uses double wall or single wall corrugated board and from 4 to 12 legs. They are available with flanges on two or four sides to increase protec- tion from banding, aid in rigidity. Bulk units can be shrink wrapped or banded directly to the pallet. For more informa- tion. call 800/558- 5073 or 8001242-5077. Mid-States Container Corporation

Mid-States manu- factures honeycomb pallets and containers. The cellular honey- comb form provides strong top - t o - bo t to 111 compression. Honey- Circle # 23 on Reader Action Card comb pallets are light

64 PALLET ENTERPRISE cia1 sizes and shapes as needed. The Tusker heavy-duty deck is built with two laminated sheets of double wall. Both are die cut interlocked. The top and bottom decks are die cut inter- locked with two cores. The Elephantainer one piece pallet handles products with high weight density. Pack-A-Derm pallets are designed to promote attrac- Stone Container’s Cordeck pallet is Mid-States honeycomb pallet. tive point of purchase sales. For more information, call 708/288- one of the most popular corrugated weight for less freight, and they are re- 1500 or 8001722-3376. pallets in use today. cyclable. Mid-States indicates they are popular with export markets. Smurfit Pallet Systems Stone Container Mid-States’ “Quik-Pak” bulk pack- Stone Container’s Cg-deck corru- age utilizes a honeycomb pallet. It Jefferson Smurfit Corp. bought gated pallet has enjoyed solid success comes completely assembled and sets Gate Pallet Systems and its line of since its inception in November of up in seconds. Honeycomb stringers corrugated pallets last year and is now laminated to the bottom make for easy 199 1. This June the company celebrated marketing them under the name of material handling and stacking. The five million Cordeck pallets. Cordecks Quik-Pak can be designed with liner Smurfit Pallet Systems. Smurfit are now being manufactured in 38 combinations and dimensions ‘to meet manufactures a line of corrugated pal- Stone plants around the world. Stone’s individual packaging and shipping Cordeck pallet has been widely used in needs. the automotive industry in the last few years to ship unit loads of 500 lbs. and less from parts suppliers to assembly plants. Cordeck pallets are specifically de- Packaging Materials’ Pack-A-Derm signed to meet an application. They pallet line is a patented 100% recy- currently manufacture over 500 differ- clable corrugated-fiber board, manufac- ent styles and sizes. Stone looks at pal- tured from recycled fibers. The standard lets as being an extension of its boxes design features a smooth deck with no and packaging. Sizes are available up to holes where legs are attached. A double Payload pallet by Smurfit corrugated 60x96. They are manufactured with up wall corrugated deck is cross-laminated pallet looks more like a conventional to 100% recycled material. A typical to a die-cut single wall. Interlocked fin- pallet. gers fold down inside fiberboard el- Cordeck pallet weighs only about 12 ephant legs and are glued in place with lets under the trade name pounds. The Cordeck GMA is a full an inner core of fiberboard. Pack-A- ‘‘I’&gTY’. They are manufactured four-way, accessible by pallet jacks. Either a single sheet of triple wall Derm pallets reportedly meet FDA re- from 100% recyclable corrugated corrugated or a combination of double quirements for sanitary conditions in sheets using patented designs and pro- and/or single wall corrugated is glued warehouses. All stock size pallets are cesses. Jefferson Smurfit Corp. oper- available. Pack-A-Derms come in spe- directly to the top surface of wound ates 149 mills and converting facili- core blocks to make Cordeck pallets. ties in the U.S., Canada, Mexico, and Double wall corrugated has die cut flaps Puerto Rico. glued to the inside of each core on the Smurfit says its Payload pallet bottom. The bottom deck features ac- handles payloads up to 2800,- ”--* lbs. The typical 2400 lb. capacity 48x40 weighs only 15 lbs. The Payload pal- s!ip sheets and the GrossDocker, a let can reportedly rack loads up to tail-ready display that packages, tra 1500 lbs. The Payload I1 is a solid top ports, displays and markets prod and bottom pallet which is open at the point of sale. In additi rackable for loads up to 2,000 lbs. CorFrames are used on top of a 10 The Payload Pak is a pallet, box- unitize and protect it from stra bin, and cover in one complete pack- and stacking damage. The Cor-ree aging/shipping unit. It snaps into po- Stone Container’s new c~figat sition without tools or fasteners and product. The Stone-A-Matic is a folds down into 6” of vertical storage able bulk packaging system whlc space. be used on-either a corr Pack-A-Derm Elephantainer one piece For more information, call 800/ wooden pallet. The Stone-A pallet shipping container for attractive 321-4283 or 3141746-1100. point of purchase sales.

66 PALLET ENTERPRISE