Bob Trebilcock of Modern Materials Handling Magazine says it was George Raymond, along with Bill House. Bob did a wonderful pallet lore interview recently with Steve Raymond, grandson of George, the originator of the namesake company that manufactures all of those red colored lift trucks and pallet jacks. The interview touches on the evolution of the skid – or sled, that had no center supports, and which was lifted by a single lift platform, to the development of the pallet to include a center stringer and a bottom face or deck, in conjunction with the use of forks to lift and transport the load.

When Was the Pallet Invented?

As I recall, the Raymond and House pallet patent did not exactly signal the invention of the pallet, for that had come earlier in the 1930s with the addition of the bottom deck to the skid, which had already been in use for a few decades at least. There were earlier stringer pallet patents, such as that by Clark. An earlier Raymond patent from the late 1920s had to do with the development of a load platform, which was a timber platform with metal legs on the sides. Certainly, when I did some research on the history of the pallet several years ago, the pallet was referenced in trade publications as early as 1930.

But not to diminish in any way from the Raymond and House accomplishment, their invention was worthy of being patented in that it allowed for the construction of the pallet out of inexpensive lumber rather than employing metal legs or stringers, and facilitated functionality not only with forklifts, but with gapped spacing of bottom deck boards to also allow utilization by pallet trucks, which needed wheel openings in the bottom pallet deck. Previously, pallet trucks were used with single faced pallets (skids) only, and would not work with full double face pallets.

As to Bob’s speculation as to why the move from a single lift platform on lift trucks to the use of forks, in conjunction with the introduction with the middle stringer, I would suggest that it was done to reduce the span of the pallet deck. It was an important design improvement that allowed much thinner deck boards to be used without serious deflection. Just as software such as PDS still does today, it was a move to maximize performance with the lowest cost pallet. It sometimes makes sense financially to invest in some equipment (i.e., fork attachments) to reduce the cost of a great many more pallets.

When it comes to the installation of roller conveyors and other equipment today, this design challenge still surfaces – is it worth the investment in closer roller spacing, for example., to save money on possible millions of pallets over time?

The history of the pallet and the history of the forklift are indelibly entwined, but it is very much a shop floor history, largely already lost except for artifacts such as patents and trade publications accounts – and the occasional oral account such as the one captured by Mr. Trebilcock.

To read Bob’s interview, click here.

Increasingly companies in the pallet and packaging industries are talking about diversification as a core strategy to deal with the changing business landscape. Rehrig Pacific Logistics (www.rehriglogistics.com) is one of the rare companies that has successfully morphed from its focus on pallets and containers to handling a wide variety of packaging and reverse logistics functions.

Read more at Pallet Enterprise.

An international protocol requires all wood pallets and containers to be treated in a process that eliminates dangerous pests from moving between countries as ‘hitchhikers’ on the wood. Canada and the United States agreed in 2006 to delay bilateral implementation of the measure, but the US held a public consultation in 2010 to terminate the exemption early.

The Canadian Wood Pallet and Container Association (CWPCA) represents the manufacturers and recyclers of wood packaging material, which carries more than 90% of trade shipments between the two countries. It estimated that the cost to comply with the measure will be $30 million a year for its industry, while Canadian consumers will face a one-time cost of $300 million to heat-treat all wood pallets and containers currently in use. The cost for US industry and US consumers will be equivalent.

CWPCA’s opposition to early termination of the exemption generated strong criticism of the proposal, and the US Department of Agriculture agreed to review the trade and cost implications. Senior USDA officials have told CWPCA that full implementation now is not expected before 2014.

CWPCA administers the international heat treatment program on behalf of the Canadian Food Inspection Agency, and it warns export and shipping companies to become certified under the ISPM program before the bilateral trade exemption ends. Without certified wood packaging, border guards can reject a shipment of goods.

Certification is required for all wood packaging used to transport goods to most other countries in the world; the bilateral exemption between Canada and the US was a unique agreement under the ISPM protocol.

The Canadian Wood Pallet and Container Association (CWPCA) represents the manufacturers and recyclers of wood packaging material.

Robert Hertzberg, who is Vice Chairman at PCG, has become Chairman of Palogix LLC. A former Speaker of the California Assembly and candidate for Mayor of Los Angeles, Mr. Hertzberg works with Mr. Liebesman to attract luminaries in the agricultural and auto industry sectors that are a core focus of Palogix. Palogix is already a strong player in the agricultural space and has been profitable in the US from the beginning of its American operation in 2010.

Founded in 1985 by financier Gary Winnick, Pacific Capital Group has created more than $75 billion in value for investors. PCG is based in Los Angeles and takes a hands-on approach to investing in, mentoring and building businesses. The firm provides capital, strategic direction and operational expertise to entrepreneurs and early-stage businesses in a wide range of sectors, including financial services, software, real estate, media healthcare and telecommunications.

CHEP USA’s sister company LeanLogistics is also a finalist in two categories, Business Intelligence Solution — New Version and Customer Service Department of the Year — Airlines, Distribution & Transportation as well as a nominee for the People’s Choice Stevie Awards for Favorite Customer Service.

The awards are presented by the Stevie(R) Awards, which organizes several of the world’s leading business awards shows including the prestigious International Business Awards.

Nicknamed the Steviesfor the Greek word “crowned,” the final results will be announced during a gala banquet on Monday, February 27 at Caesars Palace in Las Vegas, Nevada. Finalists from the U.S.A. and several other nations are expected to attend.

More than 1,000 entries from organizations of all sizes and in virtually every industry were submitted to this year’s competition, an increase of almost 30% over 2011. Finalists were determined by the average scores of 93 professionals worldwide, acting as preliminary judges. Entries were considered in 27 categories for customer service professionals, including Contact Center of the Year, Award for Innovation in Customer Service and Customer Service Department of the Year. Previous winners of Stevie Awards include Apple, John Hancock, Hilton Hotels, Cigna, Accenture, Marriott, LLBean, Overstock.com, DHL Express and FedEx.

Bill Duff, Vice President of Customer Operations at CHEP USA, said: “We are proud to be finalists along side our sister company, LeanLogistics, in the Customer Service Department of the Year – Airlines, Distribution & Transportation category. We share the belief that our customers are everything and that we wouldn’t exist without them. Our customers include some of the world’s top brands and we are focused on delivering the world class customer experience they deserve.”

The CHEP Customer Care Center (CCC) was also recently benchmarked by SQM, an institute that internationally benchmarks contact center effectiveness with major clients such as Royal Bank, Scotiabank, Sprint, AT&T, Marriott, Staples and Safeway. The CCC was benchmarked against 450 leading North American contact centers and ranked in the top quartile for all attributes including First Call Resolution, Calls Resolved, Customer Satisfaction and World Class Calls. In the employee benchmark, SQM ranked the CCC in the top quartile in key attributes such as Employee Satisfaction, Employee Engagement and First Call Resolution Ability. These rankings place CHEP in the same category as world class contact centers.

Bill Duff added: “We knew we were creating a more focused, customer-centric culture within CHEP USA and honors from both SQM and the Stevie Awards are external validation of the customer experience we are delivering. Our customers come first.”

More than 100 members of seven specialized judging committees will determine Stevie Award placements from among the finalists during final judging, to take place January 30 – February 10, 2012.

Michael Gallagher, President and Founder of the Stevie Awards, said: “It’s gratifying and inspiring to have received so many remarkable entries for this year’s competition. I know the final judges have a tough task ahead of them to determine the Stevie Award placements.”

Details about the Stevie Awards for Sales & Customer Service and the list of Finalists in all categories are available at www.stevieawards.com/sales .

In this role, Sir’s primary responsibility is expanding the Paylode business portfolio in the U.S. mountain and western regions by introducing potential customers to Paylode’s sustainable damage protection products.

“I’m proud to be working for a company that is not only helping companies across the country protect their products and reduce damages, but also one that is a good environmental steward,” says Sir. “Sustainability is important to many of today’s companies, and we’re happy to help them reach sustainability goals while delivering solutions that’ll save headaches and costs on the supply chain.”

Made of durable, precision-formed plastic dunnage, Paylode products are designed to replace corrugated cardboard and wooden dunnage that is traditionally used to protect loads and ensure compliance to bridge laws. Whereas corrugated and wood dunnage is typically used for just one or two shipments before it is thrown away, Paylode products can be reused for hundreds of trips.

In addition to securing new business, Sir will service existing accounts, assisting with test shipments, load and return loop logistics and strategies to maximize return on investment. He will also work closely with his colleagues nationally to develop additional solutions for Paylode customers across the U.S.

Sir brings 12 years of professional experience to Paylode, including a variety of business development roles in the food and beverage industry with such companies as PepsiCo, Clif Bar, a leading maker of organic energy and nutrition foods and drinks, and CHEP, a global leader in pallet and container pooling services.

Sir obtained his B.A. in Marketing from the University of Dayton, followed by an M.B.A. in Finance & International Business from St. Louis University.

The warehouse expansion has made it possible for Goplasticpallets.com to double the volume of products it holds in stock, allowing the company to offer customers the widest selection of plastic pallets and containers available in the UK and fulfil orders quicker than ever.

Jim Hardisty, Managing Director for Goplasticpallets.com, said: “Our close partnerships with some of Europe’s leading manufacturers and our experienced and dedicated sales team have helped us get to where we are today. Holding a high volume and diverse range of stock means that we can not only recommend the best pallet or container for our customers’ applications but, in most cases, we can offer next day delivery on stock items – a huge advantage for many companies, particularly leading up to the London Olympics.”

The new warehouse is now fully stocked and operational and is largely being used to store Goplasticpallets.com’s large plastic pallet boxes. The company has seen an increase in orders for both its rigid and folding pallet boxes, with customers in the recycling, food and engineering industries ordering half or full trailer loads for immediate delivery.

The company has also stocked up on its recently launched KLT containers to serve the automotive industry and its small containers, which, with the hygienic properties of plastic, are proving popular for food processing, catering and agricultural applications.

“Our customers have been asking for track and trace for some time, and we now have the product that will satisfy this requirement,” Rich Ellinger, CEO of ITS, said. ITS has teamed up with OnAsset Intelligence, Inc. of Irving, Texas USA to incorporate the OnAsset SENTRY 400 FlightSafe® product into its reusable shipping containers to track the location and the temperature inside the containers during the shipment.

The SENTRY 400 FlightSafe® unit contains globally compatible cellular technology that enables it to communicate from virtually any location on the globe. It transmits the information to a server where the customer can access the information through Vision™, its secure web based portal, and determine the location and conditions of the container in near real time. The SENTRY unit can also detect lid open/close, ambient temperature, shock, motion, vibration, pressure, and optionally humidity.

OnAsset’s patented FlightSafe technology is already approved by major cargo and passenger airlines for use on their aircraft. The technology senses when the aircraft is in flight and stops transmitting until the aircraft has landed at which time it wakes up and transmits the information it recorded during the flight. Intelligent Thermal Solutions will be working with OnAsset and their existing carrier network to approve the new FlightSafe equipped IntelliTherm containers.

“We are happy to be working with ITS during this exciting launch of their new Chaperon product line,” said Adam Crossno, president and CEO of OnAsset. “The integration of tracking technology with reusable packaging creates a compelling solution for shippers and makes it easy for them to manage a single solution throughout transit.”

The OnAsset Vision™ web based portal has powerful capability to notify by email or SMS in case of an alarm or out of tolerance situation. It can be set up with shipment routes and schedules and will alarm if the route or schedule varies by a user set tolerance. It also includes custom geofencing features to manage the unit within specific areas.

Intelligent Thermal Solutions will exhibit the Chaperon IntelliTherm R36 120 hour duration container with the SENTRY 400 FlightSafe® at the IQPC Cool Chain Europe in Basel, Switzerland January 31 – February 1 (stand #4) and at the IQPC Clinical Trial Supply Europe in Basel February 2 – 3, 2012 (stand #14).

About Intelligent Thermal Solutions, LLC:

Intelligent Thermal Solutions, LLC is a south Texas company headquartered in Kingsville, TX, previously known as Active CC Boxes LLC. ITS was recognized with the 2011 Greener Package Awards for Environmental Impact and Innovator of the Year, for its depot-style logistics system. The technology in EcoTherm™ containers was recognized with the 2002 DuPont Gold Award for packaging design innovation for cold chain, and the 2002 R&D 100 Awards recognizing the 100 most technologically-significant products of 2002.

On 19 January 2012, a range of growers and transport companies in Wijk en Aalburg in the Netherlands were up for a surprise when a representative from Container Centralen (CC) turned up unannounced together with lawyer and investigator. During these visits, the group found a substantial amount of containers with fake CC padlocks.

- “Much of the material was clearly received in good faith,” says Tonny Vangsgaard Gravesen, CEO of CC, and he continues, – “However, it also became clear that a large share of the illegal padlocks were distributed outside of the Netherlands.”

CC now decide which legal actions to take in relation to the recent action in Wijk en Aalburg. At the same time, they declare that due to the alarming hit rate that they have had with their investigations and actions until further, they will continue the investigations.

Where
Millwood Inc. Booth #2305

When
Tuesday, February 7, 2012 at 9:00 am.
Complimentary continental breakfast will be served.

RSVP
Alyson Kallmeyer, akallmeyer@skodaminotti.com