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Pallet C e nt ral • Ma rch -Ap r il 2 0 24 23 PRS PROSAW DISMANTLERS 9 Heavy-Duty, High Speed Bandsaws 9 Several models to fit your operation's needs 9 Engineered for lowest blade cost & highest production TOMORROW'S TECHNOLOGIES, TODAY TOMORROW'S TECHNOLOGIES, TODAY ADVANCE YOUR BUSINESS THROUGH AUTOMATION. PARTNER WITH PRS TODAY! 2 Eastgate Drive Jacksonville, IL 62650-6268 TOLL FREE (866) 546-8864 prsgroupinc.com was launched. is ambitious project— titled "A Research and Development Project for Developing Design Technology for Wooden Pallets"—aimed to establish pallet design standards and create an application program to evaluate pallet performance for manufacturers. Dr. George Stern, the first director of the Pallet Lab, played a pivotal role in leading this significant research project. He recruited talented graduate students, including John McLeod, a graduate student in the Department of Wood Science and Forest Products at Virginia Tech, to conduct extensive research. Dr. Stern and his team designed and built test equipment and fixtures using the first PCs manufactured by IBM. After years of dedicated effort, PDS version 1.0 was released on a floppy disk in 1984, marking a momentous milestone in the evolution of pallet design. Even after his retirement, Dr. Stern remained active at the laboratory. He was instrumental in designing and constructing the Pallets Move the World™ sculpture at the Brooks Center entrance. At the dedication of the sculpture, brass plaques were unveiled, honoring the leaders instrumental in establishing the Pallet Lab: omas Depew, past president of NWPCA; Dr. Walt Wallin, research scientist with the USDA Forest Service and creator of an early computerized pallet design program; Bill Sardo, founder and longtime chief executive of NWPCA; and Dr. Stern himself. John McLeod spent his entire professional career with PDS. He was the principal researcher in 1980 and instrumental in shaping the success and transformation of PDS until his retirement in 2021. Con nued Development And Advancements e Pallet Lab flourished and became a center of excellence within the Brooks Forest Products Center, the inaugural building complex in what is now the Virginia Tech Corporate Research Center. Equipped with cutting-edge machinery unavailable elsewhere, the lab provided researchers with the tools and resources to construct wooden pallets of exceptional quality. e unwavering support and funding from NWPCA and the Pallet Foundation enabled the lab to meet industry standards and elevate pallet design to new heights. Today, those of us involved in the wood pallet industry are indebted to the foresight and drive of the individuals who established the Pallet Laboratory over 40 years ago.

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