United Pallet Services, maker of the plastic pointGuard pallet protector for wooden pallets, has released a new pallet protector designed for one-way shipping pallets. Like the original pointGuard, introduced last year at ProMat, the new SP40S Product Defender attaches to the end of the front and back leaderboards.
As for what differentiates the two, the original pointGuard was designed for captive pallets that are not meant to leave the warehouse or DC, while the Product Defender is designed for used wooden pallets that are being used for shipping product. The Product Defender is thinner than its predecessor, less expensive ($5.65 for a set of two protectors for the back and front of the pallet), and meant to protect the product as opposed to the pallet itself.
The Product Defender is designed to ensure that wood chips don't break off the end of the pallet and damage or contaminate the product. "Think of it as $5.65 of insurance for your product," said Callen Cochran, business development manager for pointGuard.
The company has also designed a version of the original pointGuard for European pallets.
