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Pallet C e nt ral • May -Ju ne 2 0 26 37 F or decades, the wooden pallet has been the unsung hero of the global supply chain, and Woodpack Global (formerly NWPCA) has been the organization engineering its future. Now, Woodpack Global is setting its sights beyond the pallet, and the industry is taking notice. At the recent ALC 2026 conference in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, Kristen DeLack, PE, PDS Principal Engineer and Strategic Business Advisor, took the stage to give attendees a first look at what's coming next: the Crate Design System (CDS). e presentation drew significant interest from attendees, and for good reason. A Gap In The Toolbox Wooden crates are every where. Export crates, industrial enclosures, packing crates for heav y equipment. ese structures are critical to global shipping, and yet— surprisingly—have had little dedicated engineering software to support their design. Most of the serious research into wooden crate design dates back to the 1980s, leaving professionals to rely on outdated methods, manual calculations, or tools never really built for the job. at's the gap Woodpack Global intends to close. e Crate Design System is a purpose-built software platform designed to bring the same rigor and precision to crate design that the Pallet Design System™ (PDS) has brought to wooden pallets for over 40 years. What DeLack Showed In Fort Lauderdale DeLack 's demo at ALC 2026 offered a hands-on look at the platform's early capabilities, as she walked attendees through the design of both sheathed and cleated crates as well as basic solid wood boxes—the two most common crate styles used across the industry. She demonstrated how the system draws on industry-standard component dimensions as starting points, giving designers a smart, structured foundation for custom crate builds. Beyond the presentation, DeLack led a focus group with conference attendees, gathering direct input from practitioners on their real- world design challenges and software needs. at kind of industry engagement is central to how Woodpack Global develops its tools, and it signals that CDS is being built with the people who will use it most firmly in mind. Built On Decades Of Wood Science One of the most compelling aspects of CDS is what's already baked into it. e same foundational models powering PDS—refined algorithms for fastener behavior, wood properties, and structural performance—are being extended directly into the crate platform. Over 40 years of applied wood science doesn't disappear; it transfers. For engineers already familiar with PDS, the transition to CDS will feel intuitive. e interface philosophy carries over, data sets for wood properties and fastener inputs can be shared between platforms, and the underlying analytical engine is consistent. e result is a unified design environment where professionals can move fluidly between pallet and crate projects without starting from scratch each time. Why This Matters e implications for the industry are significant. Better design tools mean more reliable crates, reduced material waste, and faster development cycles. e same efficiency gains PDS delivered for pallets are now applied to the broader world of wood packaging. As global trade continues to demand more specialized and heav y-duty packaging solutions, having engineering-grade software to support crate design is a necessity. Woodpack Global plans to expand CDS over the coming years, adding more crate styles, deeper analysis and optimization capabilities, and eventually full CAD integration. e platform is built on modern architecture designed to scale, and the long-term vision is expansive, potentially extending to wire spools and other specialized wood packaging formats. The Crate Design System is on track for a mid-2026 release. To stay updated and learn more, visit PalletDesignSystem.com/ support/faq-cratedesign.

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