Specially Designed Plastic Resin for Pallets

While their importance is often underestimated, plastic pallets play a great role in logistics and storage. To prevent untimely damage from heavy loads or weather, which could drive up production costs, Chemicals Business, SCG has researched and developed P483JU, a polypropylene resin (PP) designed specifically for pallet production.

The problem with HDPE plastic pallets

Traditional HDPE (high-density polyethylene) pallets entail a slew of problems. For instance, they often bend when placed under a heavy load for an extended period of time and crack along the corners from usage involving high compression or impact. Impact from bumping of forklift to plastic pallets may also split apart down the seams. These issues can disrupt the entire production or directly affect products, causing tears or other damages when they are caught in these cracks.

Tackling these problems through materials science and maximize pallet utilization, SCG has researched and developed P483JU, a special PP copolymer designed especially for pallets, in collaboration with Sanko Co., Ltd., one of Japan’s largest pallet producers.

Plastic Pallet Manufactured with P483JU

P438JU has been put through a series of tests in SCG’s labs, and the results have shown that the new plastic resin endows pallets with enhanced flexural strength and impact strength, giving them a greater capacity to resist bending and impact force compared to HDPE plastic pallets.

In addition, thanks to its lower density, a pallet manufactured with P483JU is lighter than its HDPE counterpart and requires 8% less plastic (depending on the size and form of the pallet), which translates to lower production costs. Also, as the resin has greater UV resistance, it will become harder for a pallet produced with the new resin to become brittle or cracks when used outdoors for an extended period of time.

Upon following up on clients who have switched to P483JU pallets, SCG technical engineers have found that unlike in the past where the clients would need to send damaged pallets back for replacements each year, not a single client using the new pallets has requested a replacement. In addition, they have been told that P483JU pallets can carry two addition tons of load and can be triple stacked without buckling and problems.

Thanks to this R&D collaboration between SCG and Sanko Co., Ltd., this plastic pallet solution has not only overcome issues surrounding traditional plastic pallets but has also maximized utility for users throughout the process.

For additional information:

Technical Services and Development

E-Mail: General_plastics@scg.com Tel: +66 2 586-4874 Fax +66 2 586-3676