Last week, PalletOne, a UFP Packaging company, partnered with the Center for Packaging and Unit Load Design at Virginia Tech (CPULD) and White and Company, LLC to successfully hold Wood Pallet Design and Performance, a training event for industry professionals seeking to enhance their expertise in pallet and unit load optimization. PalletOne is one of the nation’s leading companies in pallet and packaging solutions, and they rely on White and Company’s softwares, Best Pallet™ and Best Load™, to provide essential services to their customers. PalletOne sent 28 employees to this hands-on, in-person short course to deepen their technical understanding of pallet design and performance.

Participants came from across the United States, underscoring the widespread need for specialized training that Virginia Tech, through CPULD, provides. The course was specifically designed for PalletOne, and this marks the fourth year in a row that they have collaborated with CPULD for their employee training. This longstanding partnership highlights PalletOne’s dedication to providing their teams with top-tier educational opportunities, further establishing VT’s CPULD as a trusted resource in the field of pallet and unit load design.

The course, which spanned three days, was taught by experts in the field including Dr. Mark White, President, and Braden White, Executive Director, of White and Company, LLC, and Dr. Laszlo Horvath, Director of CPULD at Virginia Tech. Dr. White’s wealth of knowledge from 40 years of teaching and research made his insights invaluable to attendees, and his softwares were used as hands-on educational tools during the course. Dr. Horvath has years of experience in packaging and unit load design; he provided an in-depth look into CPULD’s cutting-edge research and best practices. Dr. Horvath guided participants through a curriculum that covered essential topics, hands-on applications, and problem-solving strategies for real-world scenarios.

One of the focus areas of the course was understanding wood species and how they impact the strength, durability, and cost-effectiveness of pallets. Attendees learned to assess various types of wood for their unique properties, which is critical when selecting materials for specific load requirements. The course also covered fasteners and their often-overlooked role in pallet performance, discussing how fastener choice can dramatically affect the overall integrity and lifespan of a pallet.

The course emphasized the importance of a systems-based approach to unit load design optimization, encouraging attendees to consider pallets, packaging, and logistics as interconnected elements. This approach allows companies to design pallets that not only meet strength requirements but also support broader operational and sustainability goals by reducing material use, minimizing damage during transit, and improving warehouse efficiency.

By the end of the course, attendees left with a comprehensive toolkit of knowledge and skills that they could directly apply to their work, reinforcing their companies' competitiveness in an evolving market. As industry leaders increasingly seek to optimize load design and packaging solutions, CPULD is committed to providing world-class education and resources to drive innovation and sustainable practices in the packaging sector.

For more information about White and Company services and software visit: www.whiteandcompany.net

For more information regarding public short courses offered by CPULD, or to discuss setting up customized trainings for your company’s employees, please reach out to Dr. Laszlo Horvath at Virginia Tech, and/or learn more on CPULD’s website: https://www.unitload.vt.edu/education/continuing-education.html