Super heavy-duty
Designed to handle loads of 75,000lbs to 150,000lbs and operate in any weather environment fromArctic to Desert. Impervious to nearly everything from bugs to battery acid.
problems?
we solve your problems
DO THESE PICTURES LOOK FAMILIAR?
Ever since the Pandemic, wood pallets have largely become "the living dead".
Like Frankenstein, they are becoming mis-matched patchworks.
Like zombies, they just won't die.
And similar to the childhood game "Hot Potato", nobody wants to be the one left holding onto them.
"Sure it's about to fall apart, but as long as the product gets there, we don't care. They can deal with it, not us."
Grade 3, aka Grade C, pallets have now become the new Grade 2.
Welcome to the "New Normal".
There are 3 main problems that businesses must face when dealing with pallets:
PROBLEM #1 - Pallet People
PROBLEM #2 - Pallet Prices
PROBLEM #3 - Pallet Performance
PROBLEM #1 - Pallet People
4 out of 5 businesses are unhappy with the people who provide their pallets. Complaints range all over, but usually center around the customer experience.
The "pallet guy" doesn't answer the phone, doesn't return voicemails/emails in a timely fashion, doesn't even use email, is unreliable for deliveries, isn't punctual or timely, doesn't always have the quantity needed, the product quality is unsatisfactory, the prices are too high, the office people are rude, etc.
In general there is a frequent lack of professionalism with many local pallet yards. Some yards only offer "recycled" Grade 2 pallets, and don't even provide new wood pallets or custom-built wood pallets, and only survive from an established dumpster-diving network.
Unfortunately, you don't have many choices. Wood pallets are a locally controlled enterprise. You might only have a few pallet yards to choose from, or possibly you don't even have any local competitors to choose. Depending on where your building is geographically located determines the pallet yard options you have to choose from. Sadly, the product specs, the product quality, the product prices, and the customer service all depend on the people who work for your local pallet yard.
problem #2 - pallet prices
Lumber prices exploded to record highs during the Pandemic. And they continue to remain volatile. This variability in pricing makes budgeting difficult. Also, paying 3x to 5x the price for a noticeably lower quality product is not very much fun.
In the post-pandemic world, we recommend to all of our clients to stop eating the cost of pallets as a customer courtesy. Whether it's an invoiced line-item or simply built in and hidden, the financial survival of your business in the post-pandemic world requires that the cost of pallets be paid by the customer.
Also, there are many unseen costs associated with wood pallets such as repair time, haul-offs, clean ups, excess labor costs and reduced production from pulling employees off of their main duties to deal with pallets, sweeping up massive square footage of warehouse floors, employee injuries, twisted or broken ankles, injured backs and shoulders, nail puncture wounds, splinters and infections, mold and allergen inhalation, respiratory illness and excessive sick days, flat tires with vehicles, etc.
Sure, you got those Grade 2 pallets for only $8 each, but the average worker's compensation claim as of 2020 is now over $41,353. How many more pallets could you have bought for $41,353? (Answer: 5,169). Oh, and since you had another claim, your insurance premiums are going up again too.
problem #3 - pallet performance
Most businesses use the standard 48x40 4-way GMA pallet. Even if they really should be using something else. The GMA pallet design was standardized back in the 1960s by the Grocery Manufacturers' Association to have 3 stringers, 7 top boards, and 5 bottom boards. 60 years later it is still the workhorse for most of North American freight handling. But there are endless options and configurations and better designs for a pallet to perform better depending on the needs.
The failure rate of wood pallets are between 5% to 10%. This results in massive amounts of lost and damaged product. Wood pallets are frequently a one-trip product before they end up in the dumpster. They break, splinter, fail in transit, damage your product, and leave a mess in your warehouse. Rarely do they perform at a satisfactory level given the loads, the weight, the weather, the rough handling,
- Did the top boards break?
- Did the edges of the lead boards break?
- Did the bottom boards break?
- Did the stringers break?
- Did the stringers fold over and collapse the pallet?
- Did the stringers snap at the notches?
- Did the center stringer split open along the grain?
- Did the outer stringers split open?
- Did the corners split open?
- Did the pallet jack get stuck again on those darn bottom boards?
- Did the boards get loose and now the pallet wobbles?
- Did the nails pull out?
- Did your employee get injured again with a nail, splinter, twisted ankle, or pulled back?
- Did your pallet get refused or returned by the customer?
- Did your pallet fail in -transit?
- Did the load get damaged or lost completely?
Our Products
custom designs
Whatever size and shape you need. From 2'x2' to 12'x12' and beyond. And it can be a 3-D pallet with vertical supports too.
medium-duty
Designed to handle loads of 25,000lbs to 75,000lbs. Incredibly strong and nearly invincible to forklift damage.
oversized & rebar reinforced
Standardized molded designs for odd sized loads or heavier loads, but without breaking the budget for custom or hand-built.
one-way & export
From Pet Food to People Food to other consumer goods, these are high-performance choices to replace wood GMA pallets.
dunnage & cribbing
From garden beds and erosion control to moving heavy machinery or equipment, and sometimes even railroad ties.
diy pallet kits & crating
Build your own, just-in-time pallets and crates. Perfect for smaller volume operations who need to maximize space savings or for quick turnarounds with custom crating.
SUPER HEAVY-DUTY
CUSTOM DESIGNS
MEDIUM DUTY
OVERSIZED & REBAR REINFORCED
ONE-WAY & EXPORT
dunnage & cribbing
diy pallet kits & crating
Our manufacturing
100% made in usa
And did we mention 100% recyclable?
Our products are 100% environmentally friendly. They are made from using 100% recycled post-industrial scrap that we source from our agricultural and industrial network that operates throughout the entire Midwest.
We also do all of our manufacturing in USA. Some are hand-built and some are machine molded. Our manufacturing is mostly in Iowa, Texas, and Nevada. None of our products are made in China or from Chinese materials. Our products come to you directly from the Heartland of America
Mission #1
saving cats
We donate 20% of revenues to feline-exclusive charities who rescue, care for, rehabilitate, rehome, provide medical care, and offer sanctuary for cats in need.
Approximately 95% of funds raised by animal charities are allocated exclusively for dogs, meanwhile cats are refused at the door. Cats are denied rescue, denied medical attention, denied food, denied shelter, and are euthanized by the millions every year due to a "lack of resources".
We believe that every cat deserves a loving home, and every loving home deserves a cat. We can't change the world for the better, but we can change the world for the better for a cat. And ask any human who has loved a cat, and they'll tell you that a cat will change your world for the better too.
mission #2
saving trees
In the United States, nearly 60% of annual deforestation is the result of logging trees for new wood pallet construction and damaged wood pallet repair. At any given moment there are over 2.5 Billion pallets circulating in the USA. That's enough pallets to stack over 237,000 miles high, which would extend from the Earth past the Moon.
We love trees. They give us the oxygen we need to live. And given today's conversations about climate change and the different ways to reduce carbon levels, we believe the best place to start is to stop cutting down so many trees. Especially since most wood pallets are damaged beyond repair and thrown into the dumpster in only 3 trips or less. We believe that cutting down 60% of trees every year for wood pallets is a waste of resources.
© 2023 Stray Cat Pallets
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