Real needs drive great design. Specialists in consumer goods packaging and retail distribution
approached Worthington's steel experts with specific needs for a better shipping pallet. Worthington
listened, gathered data and found cooperative partners in industry and academia to design and conduct
exhaustive tests and trials. The Center for Unit Load Design at Virginia Tech played a key role in
defining test protocols for strength and durability, in compliance with ASTM-1185D. Multiple partners
helped refine the vision and influence the steel pallet design of models and prototypes. The Steelpac
Pallet was born.
The next step was an extensive set of field trials with pallet poolers and packaged goods companies
like The Clorox Company and SC Johnson through Wal-Mart distribution centers. In controlled high-volume
trials, Steelpac Pallets undertook the rigors of real-life use. Results exceeded expectations; in 18
months of trials simulating 4 years worth of turns, Steelpac pallets had a repairable damage rate of
less than half of a percent, compared to wood pallets which have damage rates of 30%.
Products moving across distribution circuits to the consumer are subject to potentially damaging
stresses – shock from handling drops, vibration in transit, stacking compression in warehouses and
aboard vehicles. And those forces are rising with customer expectations for rapid delivery – studies
show that shock forces increase on par with handling speeds.
The bottom line? Unlike traditional wood pallets, Steelpac Pallets hold up – at any speed. Turn after
turn, our steel pallets offer excellent protective qualities, precise fit and finish and a long,
productive life.
With modular design allowing for custom sizing and configuration, and full compatibility with automated
storage/retrieval systems, pallet jacks, palletizers and unit load formers, Steelpac pallets are
finding a valued role in lean manufacturing environments and in distribution circuits requiring sanitary
strength, long life and automated handling features.
Worthington Industries companies share one common denominator – a core competency in steel processing.
Worthington Steelpac has seen years of success in the design and manufacture of end-item steel crates
and tier-1 racking systems; in one example, Harley-Davidson uses Steelpac end-item crating solutions to
protect their finished goods all the way to showrooms. At Worthington, accumulated experience and
collective intelligence add value for diverse partners and customers. That's the core mission:
Worthington applies its vertical process integration and material knowledge to create new solutions in
steel. To learn more, visit www.worthingtonindustries.com
or give us a call.