Wood pallet and crate manufacturing standards
With millions of pallets used worldwide, the pallet industry has clear specifications and requirements governing the manufacturing and distribution of wood pallets.
The AMPCQ (Quebec Pallet and Container Manufacturers Association) not only unites companies (e.g.: wood pallet manufacturers, goods and service providers) in the wood pallet manufacturing and distribution process, but it also exists to promote the standards and the requirements that must be respected throughout the manufacturing of wood pallets and shipping crates. The purpose of these standards is to institute the minimum quality requirements for the key types of wood shipping pallets.
These requirement standards detail all aspects of wood pallet manufacturing including the component descriptions and specifications, dimensional tolerances, wood species, types of nails and moisture content levels.
Quebec Pallet and Container Manufacturers' Association
As an example of the detailed specifications and requirements that associated members must respect, here is an overview of a small section of the AMPCQ's wood pallets manufacturing standards document.
Nails
Choice of nails: Optimal pallet and crate performance is only achieved when the correct length, diameter and type of nail is selected.
Proximity to edge and countersinking: It is unacceptable to have any nail within ½" of the edge of any piece of wood making up a wood crate or pallet.
Component Tolerances
Wood components dimensions: The wood pieces that will go into the manufacturing of the wood crates and shipping pallets are required to be of uniform thickness and width.
Wood homogeneity: The overall thickness of all planks used by wood pallet and crate manufacturers cannot vary more than 1/32".
The list of defined standards and requirements is extremely meticulous. Every manufacturing aspect and component selection is covered in detail in order to limit the number of issues that could hinder the performance and the usability of the shipping pallets. For the complete standards document, visit the AMCPQ Web site referenced below.
When manufacturing wooden pallets and crates, the selection of quality components is extremely important since the quality of each part has a direct impact on the finished product. L.C.N. inc. is a wooden crate and wood pallet manufacturer. Each of our wood pallets and wooden crates are manufactured with care using only the highest quality components. At L.C.N. inc., we abide by the standards and requirements defined by the Quebec Pallet and Container Manufacturers Association (A.M.P.C.Q.).
http://www.palletcentral.com/files/UniformStandardforWoodPallets2007.pdf
http://www.ampcq.org/manuf.html