Packaging Corner: Pallet envy

Because I write my monthly Modern column, “Packaging Corner,” from my own cozy corner home-office in Oregon (where my husband and I also own Bells Up Winery—yes, it sounds like a shameless self-plug, but hang with me here), I don’t often get to see the new packaging technologies I write about up close and personal.

At least until I go to shows like Modex.

So it was pretty nifty to see RM2’s new BLOCKPal pallet in person. I wrote about it in the brand-spanking-new April issue (probably not even in your mailbox yet). When I interviewed David Kalan, senior director of business development, about it in January, I asked him to justify the existence of yet another reusable, non-wood pallet in the world. I actually used the term “plastic,” and Kalan was quick to correct me.

“It’s NOT plastic—it’s a composite material made of fiberglass and resin, and it looks and acts like steel,” he said, noting that when compared to the 2,800-pound, edge-racking specification for a 48 x 40-inch GMA pallet, “the BLOCKPal’s racking load measures at 6,500 pounds, static loads at 60,000 pounds, and dynamic loads at 9,800 pounds.”

Seeing really is believing. When I dropped by Kalan’s booth, I was truly surprised at how thin the slats are on the pallet.

I was so impressed, I asked about acquiring some for our winery.

That’s because I just paid an obscene amount to have our neighbor (the welder) reinforce the surface of a reusable plastic pallet with a plate of stainless steel. Why? Because my husband (the winemaker) nearly broke it while pumping 265 gallons of rosé of pinot noir juice into a 3-footed stainless tank sitting on top of it last fall. (“Deflection babe! Deflection!” I yelped when I wheeled around and saw the tank listing perilously to the side.)

After 20 years of writing about reusable, returnable pallets, I found one I want. And, according to Kalan, I can have any size that my winemaker hubby wants. Now, if only I can get RM2 to accept wine as payment.