Industrial pallets: why switch from replacement to repair
An important part of pallet transport is the base they rest on, keeping the goods solid and protected throughout the journey – the goods. Very often these pallets, during the various journeys, risk being damaged to the point of becoming unusable.
Being an indispensable tool in a company’s logistics – in terms of transport – companies face a crossroads that must be assessed and tackled in terms of cost and working time.
In this situation the company has to consider the need to buy new ones, as well as disposing of those that have become unusable.
This path, however simple it may seem, is only so in appearance, since it is a costly choice.
Usually, in fact, they are left outside the facilities, where they are constantly damaged by the weather, and the wood they are made of risks deteriorating or, worse, giving way during transport.
A further point worth making is that buying new pallets means the companies that build them waste raw materials, such as wood, besides the amount of CO2 emitted, which is slowly degrading our planet.
The alternative that can make the difference
An important investment, in terms of future savings, is in the repair of industrial pallets. When a pallet is damaged, it is usually only in one part, which makes it unusable but, with the right tools, it can be repaired and used in new shipments.
The investment for this is minimal, since all you need are nails and wooden boards which can also be salvaged from other damaged pallets. This way you can avoid unnecessary purchase costs, solved with a smart and eco-friendly solution.
The tools needed for this kind of work are really few and easy to find: a reciprocating saw and a hammer can easily handle this kind of problem.
The reciprocating saw must be fitted with the right blades for a reason that may seem obvious but must be considered. To reuse pallets and so optimise their working life, small interventions on the wood are needed.
Pallet wood is always reinforced with nails, usually very thick and strong, which seriously hinder a wood blade. Removing them risks ruining the wood, which instead is needed in all its solidity to best support the goods.
Wood blades are easily damaged, and metal ones have teeth that are too fine. AR Assemblaggio supplies reciprocating saw blades made of bimetal alloy, which allow clean, precise cutting of both wood and metal. This way you can make cuts of the right size without too much trouble.
Assembling the resulting pieces will be simple and this operation, thanks to the right tools, will be feasible and cheap.
How long have pallet repairs been carried out? Is this practice really worthwhile?
This practice has been developed and put into use for decades by large, medium and small companies; the reasons are essentially two:
–The ability to run a pallet-rental service
– Containing the cost of transport materials
In a period like the one we’re living through, the rise in raw-material prices has sharply pushed up the price of finished items, such as the pallet.
On top of this, demand for wood has grown exponentially worldwide and this has sent prices soaring. It’s therefore easy to see the real saving shown by repairing an item that can be reused.
This in economic terms.
In ecological terms, the choice to repair pallets in-house avoids encouraging the illegal logging caused by high demand for wood and its low availability.
Pallet repair consists of carrying out a sorting on the pallet, effectively replacing the broken, unusable parts with new ones salvaged from other similar pallets, strictly to standard.
This kind of practice, however advantageous in terms of cost, is regulated and must be carried out to best practice to allow safe transport of goods. Improper work would make transport and the operations carried out by workers dangerous, putting them at risk.
Pallet repair, of course, produces waste in the form of unusable wooden boards, nails and other parts. These can be recycled very easily, later to be reused as pressed wood or for other purposes.
Another activity companies can consider is the trade in used pallets , since legally they are not seen as packaging waste but become a good resource for other companies.
