Combo pallets, rebuilt from recycled and new lumber

BOX 01What goes into one

The idea of a combo is to put new wood where a pallet takes the most load and reuse sound wood elsewhere. A typical rebuild keeps good recycled deck boards and adds new stringers, or the other way around. The result is a pallet whose parts are more even than a repaired one, because less of it carries earlier damage.

Combo pallets are described as remanufactured with recycled and new lumber for greater strength and consistency by Millwood. The request form lists combo as its own condition, so you can ask for it by name.

BOX 02Where a combo fits

• Racking and conveyors, where a uniform pallet runs smoother than a patched one.
• Plants that ship the same part on the same pallet every week and want parts that stay the same.
• Buyers who found Grade B too variable but do not need the full cost of new.

Of the common footprints, 48 x 40 is the usual starting point.

BOX 03How to ask for it

Choose buy, give the size, say combo as the condition, add the weekly count and the delivery ZIP. If the load is heavy, mention it, because a heavy load may call for a custom build instead.

Next to a combo on the ladder sit recycled pallets below it and new pallets above it.

BOX 04Mixing new and used wood on purpose

A combo pallet uses new wood where strength matters, typically the deck boards or the stringers, and reused wood where it does not. The aim is a pallet that behaves like a new one on the part that carries load, at less cost than all new wood.

Ask which parts are new. If the answer is "the top deck," the pallet will look good to a customer and may not be strong underneath. If it is "the stringers," the pallet will carry more. The right choice depends on whether a customer sees it or a forklift stresses it. See new pallets for the other end.

BOX 05Why combo pallets suit repeat shipping

A combo pallet strikes a balance for a shipper who sends pallets out and does not expect them back. The new wood survives the load, and the old wood keeps the price down. If your pallets come back and are reused, a stronger build may repay itself; if they do not, a combo is often enough.

BOX 06Spotting a combo pallet

A combo pallet usually shows a mix of fresh-cut and weathered boards. Look at the color and the nail heads: new wood is pale and the nails bright, old wood is gray and the nails dull. If new and old are mixed on a single pallet, it is probably a combo.

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