Is Used Pallets a Viable Option?

If you want to know the history of pallets, you would realize that the debut was prior to the Second World War and rightfully the wooden pallets had made a significant difference. Therefore, the wooden pallet business has made many strides since then and there are many players in the field now. The wood pallet business still remains a more economically viable proposition and more profitable than other material used to make pallets. Of course, you can make a prosperous business by using even softwood lumber or the hardwood lumber depending upon the location and your clientele.  If you have the right assessment or resources along with a minimum infrastructure coupled with the logistic support, the used pallet business can make more economy.

What is the First to starting the pallet Business? Primarily you need to explore the demand existing in the local market.  If you are able to assess the expertise of the existing major players and you can think out of the box and meet the supply demands of the customer and also to meet the specific requirements of the industry.  Instead of creating your own business from scratch, you can keep the option open of buying out an existing business so that you can retain the technical know-how of the existing manpower.  Apart from this, you will have a list of customers and your job will be to expand the list to suit your needs.

Birth of Recycling Pallets About three decades ago, warehouses and some retail establishments accumulated the pallets in their premises and disposing them of was a major problem.  With the advent of recycled pallet business, the used pallets (also called cores) were not allowed to be lifted free of charge.  In worse cases, there were instances where the client used to pay if the pallets were lifted from the premises, so that the area could be better utilized by them. With the emergence of the recycling used pallets business expanded at a faster rate of more than 20% of industry.  The cost effectiveness of the combo pallets by using the combination of used cores and new lumber have given birth to pallets.  As long as the pallets were strong enough to serve the purpose, the material used whether new or used did hardly make any difference.  It might not be an exaggeration that the explosion of the recycled wooden pallet business was a challenge to the new pallet business.

Which Type of pallet to Adopt? Depending upon the availability of the resources especially the labor force in your locality, you can commence the business using manual labor for the business.  The other options also include the semi-automated systems besides opting for advanced and fully automated nailing machines and jigs if you could afford the capital cost.  You may be surprised to know that certain business houses are adopted manually, if the skilled labor is available.  You can also buy used semi-automatic or fully automated machinery in case you find the skilled labor is a scarce commodity in your town.

What is the Viable Option? Though the plastic and even metal pallets have made inroads into the industry, the wooden pallets rule the roost, and the main reason of being cost effective. The limited usage by some business houses for the plastic and metal pallets is cost prohibitive for other major players in the industry. The light weight corrugated pallets were also tested for ease of shipping.  It also has sufficient strength to serve the purpose, but if the location is in the proximity of a coastal area, the corrugated sheets lose their original strength due to absorption of the humidity and thus it is not suitable for all locations.