A pallet can be simply described as a flat structured object for transport. It offers the foundation or basis for transport and storage of a wide range of goods. Pallets are typically horizontal and flat in appearance, which renders it easy to arrange, store and stack goods on the pallet surface.
For example, there are produce bins pallets which are used to transport and store mostly food items. They are easy to clean and feature handholds for the back and front for easy lifting when empty. The excellent feature ventilation for fresher produce and faster cooling.
Pallets are best used in warehouses and various industries as a mode to transport huge stacks of goods, often heavy, from one place to another with the help of pallet jacks and forklifts. The latter machines are used when products are especially heavy.
Pallets have been proven to be important and highly useful components with regard to enhancing efficiency and performance levels in several industries, factories, and warehouses. One can even locate stacks of plastic and wooden pallets at the back of the local grocery store. This is because an increasing number of persons are resorting to the use of pallets for transport and storage, thanks to the ease and convenience linked to them.
Kinds of pallets on the basis of the configuration
The pallet is available in different styles and sizes. It may feature a bottom and top deck or reinforcing with stringers that are horizontal boards. The following are the main kinds of popular pallets:
• Roto Moulded pallets
They are created using a method of rotational moulding. They are economical, featuring standard sizes, and can be enhanced using steel frames to raise their capacity for load bearing. Roto Moulded Pallets are used in industries where there is a priority on hygiene.
• Injection Moulded Pallets
These are flat pallets available in standard colours and sizes. They are used for lifting goods during transport and may be easily moved using jacks, loaders, and forklifts. Such pallets made of HDPE are durable, recyclable, corrosion-free, and washable.
• Deck/ Block Board Pallets
The feature of block pallets is that they can be lifted from all four directions. Twelve columns support the upper deck. They may have or not have a bottom deck. Such pallets offer high efficiency of handling and may be created out of metal, plastic, or wood.
• Stringer pallets
They provide extra support over block pallets. Extra reinforcement is offered by two boards running between the bottom and top deck on two opposite corners of the pallets. However, this implies that such pallets can be lifted from two open sides. Stringer pallets of four ways are also available in which there are notch cuts permitting forklifts to carry the pallets.
• Double face pallets
Most pallets feature only a top deck. But double face pallets feature the bottom and top deck with the capacity to use either side. They are strong and may be used for heavy-duty labour.
• Double wing pallets
In this kind, the bottom and top deck extend beyond the stringers to provide extra surface area. Thus, these pallets are useful to transport a huge quantum of goods simultaneously.
• Solid deck pallets
They are continuous sheets typically made of plastic, wood, or metal, without any spacing in-between. They are easily cleaned and suitable for moving small items.
• Produce bins pallets
Produce bins pallets are lightweight pallets that are easy to clean. Excellent ventilation keeps the contents fresh and cool. They feature full-length runners, which offer ease of use with most bin tipping equipment. They have an interlocking foot design for secure stacking.
These are all the main kinds of pallets used by warehouses and industries.