Pallets for furniture production – made of plastic instead of wood

Anti-slip top deck: The full-surface anti-slip coating of Craemer's TC Palgrip prevents the smooth chipboard panels from slipping. Photo: Craemer Group

Plastic instead of wood: A Polish furniture manufacturer uses the advantages of the completely closed, anti-slip and sustainable TC Palgrip plastic pallet without outer rims. Photo: Craemer Group

Sustainable load carrier: Even after two years of continuous use, the TC Palgrip plastic pallet is in top condition – and holds its load even when the surface is dusty. Photo: Craemer Group

Safely stored: The Polish furniture manufacturer also uses Craemer plastic stack & nest boxes for storing and transporting metal connecting fittings. Photo: Craemer Group

Polish manufacturer relies on load carriers with anti-slip deck from Craemer

Like many other sectors, also the furniture industry needs safe logistics systems. A Polish company relies on the TC1 Palgrip® pallet with full-surface anti-slip deck: This completely closed plastic pallet proves its worth – even with high trip rates – and reliably protects sensitive furniture parts. The sturdily constructed, durable load carrier from the German Craemer Group, one of the world's leading manufacturers of (intra-)logistics solutions, is made of high-quality polyethylene and will now be used to gradually replace wooden pallets.

The renowned furniture manufacturer, particularly known for living room cabinets, supplies large retail chains in Poland and Western Europe. Until 2021, the intralogistics department used wooden pallets, with which the furniture manufacturer was “extremely dissatisfied”. This type of material wears out quickly, is susceptible to breakage and repair, but above all: the nails in the pallets often damage the sensitive chipboard panels used in furniture production. At Craemer the manufacturer found the “perfect solution” – a pallet made of plastic.

The TC model (for “Totally Closed”), launched by Craemer about twelve years ago, is the only load carrier that remains undamaged all around, even under heavy use, as field tests have proven. The quality features – extreme impact resistance, solid wall thickness, patented welding geometry for the top and lower deck connection; high quality of workmanship, stable runner connection – were convincing. In mid-2021, the Polish manufacturer ordered a total of around 1200 TC Palgrip plastic pallets: as a standard version in Euro size (1200 x 800 mm) and as a tailor-made version (2020 x 800 mm), an extension of the standard TC1 pallet by butt-welding procedure.

In November 2021, the furniture factory began to change over from wood to plastic. Since then, the Craemer pallets with anti-slip deck have been running on the internal conveyor system: on roller and chain conveyors, they transport smaller and larger chipboard panels that are used to create cabinet walls. The full-surface Palgrip anti-slip deck prevents the smooth chipboard panels from slipping; neither outer rims nor nails (as with wooden pallets) damage the sensitive cargo.

According to Arkadiusz Michal Wissuwa,  the manufacturer is “very satisfied” with the TC Palgrip pallets. The Craemer Area Sales Manager Poland adds: “Extremely robust, stable, durable, completely recyclable, without outer rims, these pallets runs smoothly and without problems on the roller and chain conveyors of the furniture production line.” So far, only one TC Palgrip has been damaged – due to a handling error by a forklift driver. More orders are to follow in 2023, until only TC Palgrip plastic pallets will be in use.

A German kitchen furniture manufacturer had already recognised the advantages in 1996 and switched to sustainable Craemer plastic pallets. In this case, with continuous use in the daily production of 350 kitchens, only 1500 of the 17000 pallets supplied had been returned in 18 years.

After the pallets, the Polish furniture manufacturer discovered another suitable product at Craemer. For storing and transporting metal connecting fittings for its cabinets, the manufacturer uses plastic stack & nest boxes. These Craemer boxes (600 x 400 mm, 225 mm high) with a payload of 30 kilograms and a capacity of 32 litres can be stacked both inside each other (empty) and on top of each other (filled) – and thus save precious space and money.