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November-December 2018

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palletcentral.com PalletCentral • November-December 2018 33 allets Move the World®. Many in the industry know the history of the wood pallet: that much of its success is owed to World World II. It was during this time that the four-way pallet was invented. Interestingly, the Army Services Forces and the Chief of Transportation clashed between themselves and with the Navy over the pros and cons of palletization, which led to the creation of the joint Army-Navy Conference on Palletization on January 12, 1944. The usage and production of wood pallets skyrocketed during wartime. Countries were shipping massive production equipment along with heavy goods and military equipment, and wood pallets were the perfect solution. That same reliability, durability and safety factors of wooden pallets that were the backbone of its success during the war are still true today, and why wooden pallets still make up over 90% of the market. We recently sat down with the Defense Logistics Agency (DLA), the Department of Defense's combat logistics support agency that manages the global supply chain, from raw materials to end-user disposition, for the Army, Navy, Air Force, Marine Corps, Coast Guard, other federal agencies, and partner and allied nations, to talk wood pallets and why they're still the preferred shipping method. PCM: Tell us how wood pallets are used by the Department of Defense. DLA: Wooden pallets within the Department of Defense have a wide assortment of functions. They are used to ship goods such as Meals Ready to Eat (MRE), uniforms, light bulbs, toilet paper, tires, consumables and reparable items for shipment and storage. PCM: Why does the military still prefer wood pallets? DLA: The military prefers standard 40x48 pallet wings due to their weight restrictions and design of four-way entry. Wooden pallets go through a series of stringent tests for durability to withstand harsh environments that our service members may encounter. Wing type pallets allows the Navy to resupply ships at sea. The four-way entry pallet accommodates Material Handling Equipment (MHE) for many types to include MHE utilized by NATO forces. The first function of pallets is essentially to protect the goods that are shipped. PCM: What happens to the pallets once the shipments have been delivered? DLA: Once the first delivery is complete, the pallets can be reused several times. Wooden pallets are staged for reuse when they are unloaded. When wooden pallets are in need of minor repair, they P Diana Dawa, DLA Distribution Public Affairs Specialist

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