The corrugated board pallet evolves
The Evolution corrugated board pallet is not the first to use the material, nor even the first from David S Smith Packaging (DSSP), but the company maintains it is a hygienic, cost-effective, environmentally-responsible and reliable alternative to timber.
Use of the one-trip, recyclable board pallet, which can be flat-packed for delivery and weighs just 2.1kg, can be justified on the basis of carbon footprint, says DSSP project manager Adam Anderson.
"Currently, one of our flat pallets costs £2.20, and as volumes increase, we are aiming for a pallet below £2," he says. "That compares with £10 or so for a new heat-treated timber pallet."
Rather than recreate the timber pallet with a heavy-duty board structure, the company is aiming at payloads of up to 400kg in areas such as breakfast cereals and confectionery.
With automatic and semi-automatic erection systems available, the quality of the 1m x 1.2m pallets will be more consistent than the timber alternative, DSSP claims.