You may have heard of the Pallet Inferno? But did you know it’s not a dry kiln. Instead, it’s a machine with a conveyor system that operates inside your production facility, drying and heat treating (HT) pallets to ISPM-15 standards.
Tom Wiedemeier, the owner of The Inferno Heat Treater LLC that makes the machine, believes the Pallet Inferno may soon revolutionize the way pallets are dried and heat treated around the country. Patent pending, The Pallet Inferno is currently operating with great success at several pallet plants in Wisconsin.
Wiedemeier runs the business from Northeastern Wisconsin, where he and his son Troy own a fourth-generation sawmill.
The Pallet Inferno chamber can hold 161 standard (48 x 40 GMA) pallets and treat 100-200 pallets per hour depending on species, temperature and other factors. It is easy to operate, requires minimal training and has many other advantages over traditional kilns as well such as:
• Much faster drying times resulting in lower energy costs.
• Water stains are virtually eliminated.
• Pressurized forced air technology delivers consistent temperatures on all pallets.
• Pallet structures are not compromised.
The Pallet Inferno is also a preventative sanitization method for mold for manufacturers and end users. Michael Mapes, president of Manufacturer’s Pallet Disposal in Waupaca, Wisconsin, said: “The Inferno’s pallet drying capabilities eliminated the need to dip pallets in chemicals and air dry them to prevent mold for our customers. Since the Pallet Inferno can ISPM-15 heat treat and dry pallets in one run, our customers now have the flexibility to store and warehouse product on all their pallets whether or not they are shipped domestically or internationally.”
Performance Pallet in Seymour, Wisconsin, has also been using the Pallet Inferno for three years to dry pallets and for mold prevention. The company’s president James W. Brill credits Wiedemeier and his team for helping his business to get back in operation quickly after a fire destroyed its existing heat treatment chamber in 2014.
“Tom did whatever it took to not only provide us with a new heat treat chamber but also helped us to negate any loss of business,” said James W. Brill, president of Performance Pallet. “Tom personally delivered, set up and trained our staff on the operations of the Inferno. Since then, whenever we have a service or parts needs, Tom and his staff are extremely knowledgeable and very reliable. Tom’s support through our unfortunate event, made the challenges tolerable. I strongly recommend anyone in need of a heat treater to seriously consider Tom Wiedemeier and the Inferno Heat Treat Chamber.”
“This is a machine, it’s not a dry kiln,” said Wiedemeier. “It’s a heat-treat system with a 24' oven. You put pallets on one end, and they continuously move through the machine at inches per minute.”
“It’s a continuous run of pallets; you can keep adding the pallet stacks back-to-back so basically when one stack of pallets exits, another stack can be added,” he said.
Recognized pallet expert Marshall (Mark) White, in conjunction with the Virginia Tech Center for Packaging and Unit Load Design and the Inferno Team conducted a preliminary HT & drying assessment of the Pallet Inferno this March. Their report highlighted the following:
• Pallet appearance quality was not impacted by the drying cycle.
• The drying cycle removed 20-30% of the moisture.
• Steep moisture gradients occurred after the drying cycle with the majority of surface moisture content readings below 20%.
Additional drying tests to prevent mold on more species of pallets is under consideration.
For more information on these results as well as general product information, call Mike Guzowski
at 920-427-8029, visit www.palletinferno.com or email him at Mike@palletinferno.com.
