Pallets are the platforms used for both storing goods and for transporting the same from the warehouse to the distributor. Ideally, skids are being used in industries, warehouses and stores for easy shipping of heavy commercial goods to a short distance. In fact, these skids can be easily lifted by forklifts, front loaders and jacking devices, if the goods stored in the pallet are too heavy. Ideally, skids are made of different materials such as wood, plastic, metal, paper, steel, cardboard and other recycled materials. The best part of the skids is that, they are highly durable, strong, cost-effective, and easy to transport goods from one place to another.
What are the Two Categories of Pallets that are used in Industries?
- Stringer pallet: This stringer pallet uses stringers to support the load. In this type of pallet, the stringers are put in between the deck boards. Moreover, the industries can chamfer the deck boards to put the skids easily on the pallet jack wheels.
- Block pallet: This pallet allows the labors of the warehouse to access goods from all the four sides. To make this pallet, the carpenters use wood, plywood and plastic to support heavy unit load. Ideally, these block skids use approximately 12 blocks to give strong support to the deck boards placed on the top. However, the above two skids can be built with different material such as wood, paper, plastic, metal, etc.
Paper, Wood and Plastic Varieties are also Available
- Soft wood skids: These are the cheapest and most common skids used in warehouses. It hardly takes an hour to construct this kind of pallet. Ideally, these skids are used to ship goods and after shipping they are left unusable.
- Paper skids: The popularity of these skids is increasing day by day, since these skids can be recycled. In addition, these skids can hold heavy weights compared to the soft wood skids.
- Plastic skids: These are highly durable and carry heavy loads, but are a bit expensive compared to the other materials.
- Hard wood skids: These skids are tough and can be used for a long time in the warehouses. Labors can lift the load from all the sides of this pallet unlike the other skids where you have access to lift the load only from two sides.
3 Advantages of using Skids
- Portable: The key advantage of using skids is that, these help people to move the goods with ease. People can stack small items in these skids and ship them to the distributors. The plastic and the wooden varieties are the most popular ones that are used in the industries, and the wooden ones and the cardboard ones can also be recycled, without causing much harm to the environment. All the skids that are available in the market are in the same sizes and shapes, thus allowing the shippers to lift them with forklift easily.
- Sturdiness: Skids are highly durable compared to the other wrappers and cardboard boxes. The sellers can store heavy and lightweight items in one pallet and move them without worrying about the pallet getting broken. In addition, skids keep the products away from dust, dirt and the water on the floor.
- Lightweight: The skids occupy less space in the warehouse and are weightless. Compared to all the different material skids, wood and plastic skids are light, thus allowing the shippers to add more weight in them.
There are multiple manufacturers and suppliers of pallets available and you can compare them to know about the features and specifications. They can also be customized. The best part is that, you can also keep them in your junkyard or rooftop garden, for making something more creative with these pallets.