Remanufactured pallets, explained

Remanufactured, recycled, repaired

Repaired

A used pallet with a fix or two: Grade B. Same pallet, still recognisably used.

Recycled

A previously used pallet repaired, refurbished or remanufactured for reuse. The broad word.

Remanufactured

Rebuilt: sound parts from several pallets come together on a new frame pattern, with new boards where needed.

Combo

The remanufactured pallet with a mix of recycled and new lumber, for greater strength and consistency.

Why anyone does it

New pallets are consistent but cost the most. Used pallets are cheap but vary. A remanufactured pallet sits between: the recovered wood keeps cost down, and the rebuild gives it a regular shape. For docks running automated lines or racks, regularity is worth more than the last dollar saved.

The cores behind it

Every remanufactured pallet starts as one or more cores. Docks that sell their cores feed the process, and docks that buy combo pallets use what comes out.

What the survey says about rebuilt pallets

The Forest Service survey tested remanufactured pallets, built entirely from used parts, alongside new and repaired ones. Their deck boards averaged 0.632 inch thick, slightly more than new pallets at 0.614, and the variation in thickness was wider. The authors concluded that remanufactured and repaired pallets perform best when repair practice is standardised and deck boards are sorted into narrow thickness groups, which is the practical meaning of a good rebuild.

Questions that separate a rebuild from a repair

• Were all deck boards sorted by thickness?
• Is every stringer sound, or is a companion timber holding one together?
• Are fasteners the same type throughout?
• Does the pallet sit flat on a floor and not rock?

Remanufactured, repaired and new compared

What happens on a rebuild line

A rebuilder takes cores off a stack and sorts them by size and build. Pallets are taken apart on a dismantler or by hand, and the lumber is graded: stringers that are straight and unsplit go into one pile, deck boards that are whole into another, and short or cracked pieces into a third for trimming or grinding. Boards are cut to a common length, and stringers are checked against a template.

New pallets are then nailed together from the graded lumber, usually with a pneumatic nailer, and checked for squareness and flatness before they are stacked. A pallet that wobbles on a flat floor is sent back. The steps are common to the trade, and each rebuilder sets its own tolerances.

A treated pallet that has been rebuilt

Whether a rebuilt pallet may keep an ISPM 15 mark is not a question a buyer can settle by looking at the pallet. The mark belongs to the facility and agency that applied it, and rules about repaired wood are written by national plant protection agencies. If export freight is involved, ask the rebuilder which agency covers the facility, and ask the receiver which rule applies to repaired packaging.