Composite blocks are an attractive option for manufacturers of wood block-style pallets for a number of reasons.
The blocks, made by only a handful of companies, are produced from recycled wood fiber mixed with resin. Buying pre-made blocks eliminates the need for the raw material, specialty equipment and labor required to produce solid-sawn blocks. If you are only going to produce limited quantities, these blocks can be stored for a long-time and used as needed.
Composite blocks offer other benefits compared to ordinary blocks cut from properly sized timbers. They are uniform and resistant to insects and mold. They also offer excellent resistance to nail withdrawal as well as cracking and splintering. These are some of the reasons why composite blocks have become so popular in Europe and with the domestic pallet poolers in the United States.
Composite blocks are a feather in the cap for those pallet manufacturers that want to promote the environmental benefits of wood. Block manufacturers are able to recycle and reuse sawmill residuals and similar material, which conserves forest resources. In fact, some of the manufacturers have affiliated sawmill operations and use their residuals for manufacturing blocks.
Consistent sizing and shape of composite blocks improve automation and throughput in automated production lines. These blocks provide safer handling for manual production because they don’t cause splinters or flash.
Making use of composite blocks also offers savings involved in drying or heat-treating components or pallets and branding or hot stamping finished pallets.
As some European customers comply with new packaging and reuse regulations, U.S. pallet makers may see an increase in demand for block style pallets produced to European specifications.
Below, we list companies that manufacture composite blocks for pallets, along with information about the company and its products.
Archimbaud Sawmill Group
Contact: Fabien Guais
Phone: +33 (0)7 69 27 49 03
Email: f.guais@groupe-archimbaud.com
Archimbaud Sawmill Group is a French company with sawmill and pallet manufacturing operations. It has 13 locations in France, North America, and the Middle East, and a subsidiary lumber business in Brazil.
Archimbaud Sawmill Group has established a state-of-the-art production facility to manufacture pallet blocks from recycled wood fiber. Archimbaud’s tagline is “The most sustainable block on the market.” The entire production process is computer-controlled and fully automated.
Material is crushed to a granulometry of less than 6 mm, dried and glued with a resin-paraffin mix. The resin-paraffin mixture is then dispensed on extrusion lines and cut to the required size.
The manufacturing process and continuous quality controls guarantee that each composite block has perfect dimensional stability. The blocks are resistant to staining, fungi and mold. They also have excellent resistance to nail extraction.
Blocks are regularly tested and inspected to ensure quality control in Archimbaud’s on-site laboratory.
The company offers two versions of its pallet blocks, Archiblock® and Archiblock+®. Archiblock+ features a resin-based manufacturing process and has water-repellent properties. It is recommended for returnable pallets such as EPAL and UIC pallets. The blocks are available in a variety of dimensions.
Euroblock
Contact: Markus Kugler
Phone: +49 8257 81 284
Email: markus.kugler@euroblock.com
Euroblock has three production facilities in Germany and one in the Netherlands, in addition to seven sales offices around the world. It is a distribution partnership between Pfeifer Holz, an Austrian company, and Presswood International, based in the Netherlands.
In the production process, the residual and recycled wood material is processed to a certain chip geometry. The wood material is then dried to a wood humidity of less than 5%. The wood fiber is combined and mixed with glue, then pressed and extruded. The material is cut to a certain height, depending on production requirements.
Euroblock pallet blocks offer high nail retention and are resistant to insect infestation and mold.
Quality controls monitor the mixing process, moisture content, press parameters, final dimensions and other factors. Besides EPAL, Euroblock pallet blocks are being used in several large pallet rental pools and by large end users.
