Heavy Duty Plastic Pallets

Beecraft UK Ltd’s range of heavy duty plastic pallets is available with an open or closed deck in a range of sizes and colours, weighing between 8.5 kg and 22.8 kg, with a maximum dynamic load of 1 tonne and static load of 4 tonne. They are built for the repeated handling and storage of heavy loads.

Reading a heavy duty datasheet

Every heavy duty pallet carries three load figures and they describe three different situations. Dynamic is while the pallet is moving. Static is stacked on a solid floor. Racked is spanning beams, supported only at the ends — always the lowest, often by a factor of five or six.

Comparing pallets on the headline number is the commonest mistake. A pallet rated 8,000 kg static can be rated 1,250 kg racked, and if your stock goes into beam racking only the second figure matters.

A high static rating with a moderate racked one describes block stacking: the pallet is built to sit at the bottom of a deep column of loaded pallets.

Reinforcement — metal tubes encapsulated in the moulding — changes racking ratings more than it changes headline capacity, because what limits a plastic pallet in racking is slow deflection over months rather than failure on the day.

Why heavy duty plastic rather than timber

Timber absorbs what it is stored next to, splinters as it ages, and cannot be cleaned to a standard anyone can verify. Plastic resists corrosion, pests and chemical spillage, washes down, and does not shed fragments into the load.

The bigger difference in heavy duty is dimensional consistency. A moulded pallet comes out the same size every time, which is what automated handling depends on — a conveyor or an AS/RS cannot accommodate the variation a batch of timber pallets carries. Where handling is mechanised, consistency matters more than raw strength.

Industries that specify heavy duty

Automotive handling, for engine parts and metal components dense enough to reach a dynamic rating in a small footprint. Pharmaceutical and cleanroom work, where the pallet has to be cleanable and documented. Bulk warehousing and third-party logistics, where pallets are racked, block stacked and moved constantly by the same fleet for years.

Options

Steel reinforcement, anti-slip pins and anti-slip bands, reparable runners, special crate rims and RFID tagging are available across the range, with logos printed or engraved for fleet identification. Four-way entry and rounded corners are standard.

Please contact Beecraft for further information.