Racking up the savings

Sunbelt Rentals UK & Ireland needed a robust and reliable solution capable of storing heavy items such as lifting hoists and heat exchangers in racking for a prolonged period of time at its new sales distribution centre in Sutton-Ashfield, Nottinghamshire. 

Goplasticpallets.com recommended the Cabka-IPS ER100 NL2 5R. This pallet was selected for its supreme strength, excellent racking capabilities of up to 2,000kg, and its minimal deflection when under load. 

Measuring 1200mm (L) x 1000mm (W), this pallet has five runners for safe handling with forklift trucks and Sunbelt’s 9-metre reach trucks. Additionally, this pallet is made from 100% recycled HDPE plastic which was an important consideration for Sunbelt.

After fully testing the pallet, Warehouse manager Kyle Hughes was delighted with its performance and placed an order for 1,700 units. “Goplasticpallets.com really took on board my vision for what I was trying to do here. Performance, safety, and sustainability were very important for me, and these pallets have, without question, turned this distribution centre into a first-class facility.”

“The service was excellent, and the pallets are even better. I can’t speak highly enough about them. I’ve worked with wooden pallets most of my career, so I really noticed the difference. The durability of the plastic pallets is phenomenal.”

The distribution centre is one of the main hubs for Sunbelt in the UK. It supplies smaller centres across the rest of the country, and at any one time, there could be up to £5 million worth of stock ready to be distributed.

Kyle continued: “When we receive stock into the building, we decant it straight onto the pallets and then safely store it in the racking. A pallet can have anything up to a tonne on it, storing items such as lifting hoists, 7-kilowatt heat exchangers, 27-kilowatt air conditioning units, and industrial dehumidifiers. Some of these items may not sell all that quickly so it was vitally important that the pallets were durable and didn’t deflect too much.”

Along with the plastic pallets’ impressive performance, Kyle revealed that the safety benefits were another benefit to him.

Kyle explained, “For me, it’s also about safety, especially with the weight of stock we’re putting into the racking. Wood is unpredictable and can easily break, especially when handling. If you’re loading up a wooden pallet and the forklift catches the wood, it can seriously damage the pallet or even destroy it. But these plastic pallets stand up to everything we throw at them. There is no damage, and none of the pallets have broken – and we have tested them thoroughly!

“It’s imperative that the pallets are safe and won’t give way when my guys are storing and retrieving items from the 9-metre-high racking.

“I know these plastic pallets will last a long time, unlike wooden pallets. Previously, I’ve had to replace wooden pallets every few months because they’ve been smashed to pieces. I’ve not bought any wooden pallets in the 10 months the facility has been open, and it’s saved us over £10,000. So, the long-term cost-saving will be extremely beneficial to the business.”

For more information, visit www.goplasticpallets.com