Unit Load Design and Performance with White and Company
Advanced Wood Pallet Design, Short Course
Topics covered in this short course:
- Learn the fundamentals of pallet and unit load design and performance
- Learn how to use the Best Pallet and Best Load softwares.
- Learn about the interactions between pallets and unit loads and material handling equipment.
- Learn about the laboratory testing of pallets and unit loads.
- Learn the principles of systems-based unit load design.
Instructors:
Dr. Laszlo Horvath, Full Professor & Director of CPULD
In 2010, Dr. Horvath received his Ph.D. in Forest Biomaterials from NC State. He is one of the few packaging professionals who have received the "ISTA CPLP – Professional Level" certification. He is the chair of the ASTM D1185 working group, a U.S. delegate of TC 51, and a voting member of ANSI MH1 and MH 10 committees.
Mark White
Dr. Mark White, Professor Emeritus and past director of CPULD
Dr. Marshall "Mark" White has been a member of the faculty in the Department of Wood Science & Forest Products at Virginia Tech since 1975. Originally from New Jersey, Dr. White received degrees from Colorado State University and Virginia Tech. Dr. White is the director of the William H. Sardo Jr. Pallet & Container Research Laboratory and the Center for Unit Load Design. His research and extension programs through the pallet lab and the unit load design lab focus on unit load materials handling efficiency. As a result of his research expertise, Dr. White has written many national and international standards for pallets and containers.
Braden White
Braden White, Director, White and Company
White & Company was founded in 2007 and is an independent packaging research and consulting firm focused on delivering ‘systems-based’ unit load solutions, using proprietary software Best Load™, to reduce packaging waste for manufacturers and distributors. White & Co's innovative approach focuses on 'system' design that incorporates knowledge of how packaging, pallets and unit-load handling equipment interact during storage and distribution to deliver maximum efficiency, safety and cost savings.
Cost:
All attendees will participate in 2.5 days of lectures, laboratory tours, and coursework. They will be served breakfast on Tues., Wed., & Thurs. and lunch on Tues. and Wed. There will be multiple daily snack breaks. All participants will receive a certificate of completion within two weeks of successfully finishing the course:
- Attendees: $1,000.00 (until August 22nd, then it increases to $1,100.00)
Time & Location:
THIS COURSE IS BEING HELD IN THE MEETING ROOMS OF THE COURTYARD BY MARRIOTT IN BLACKSBURG VA. THE ADDRESS IS: 105 SOUTHPARK DRIVE, BLACKSBURG VA 24060.
This location is less than .5 mile from the VT testing laboratories and the attendees will be transported to campus for tours as scheduled for this short course.
This course is being held in-person for Sept. 23rd-25th, 2025. It will consist of 2.5 days of lectures, assignments, and laboratory tours. All of these activities will be just off Virginia Tech campus near the Corporate Research Center, in Blacksburg, VA.
This course is being held:
- Tuesday, Sept. 23rd, 2025: 8:00am-5:00pm
- Wednesday, Sept. 24th, 2025: 8:00am- 5:00pm
- Thursday, Sept. 25th, 2025: 8:00am-12:00pm
Brooks Forest Products Center
Virginia Tech, MC 0503
1650 Research Center Drive
Blacksburg, VA 24061
Contacts:
Course Content Information:
Laszlo Horvath, Director, Center for Packaging and Unit Load Design
Phone: (540) 231-7673
Email: lhorvat@vt.edu
General CPULD Information:
Angie Riegel, Secretary
Phone: (540) 231-7107
Email: ariegel@vt.edu
Registration Questions:
Blaine Vella, Conference and Meeting Manager
Virginia Tech Outreach Program Development
Email: blainev@vt.edu
CPE Enrollment Coordinator, Virginia Tech Outreach Program Development
Or Registration Questions via phone: (540) 231-4084
Hotels:
The Center for Packaging and Unit Load Design works with the Courtyard by Marriott to make sure there are rooms available at a discounted rate for anyone attending this short course.
Click here to reserve rooms September 23rd-25th at the discounted rate of $123.00 per night!
The Courtyard by Marriott is located less than two miles from the Brooks Center building, where our short courses are held, and it offers many amenities including an indoor pool, exercise room, business area with free WIFI, and a delicious cafe on the premises. They also offer a shuttle service to and from the hotel that short course attendees have found helpful in the past. Please let them know upon check-in if you will need this shuttle service.
Please contact John Hale, john.hale@marriott.com, or Marriott directly at 540-552-5222, or register online using the direct link, for your hotel room at the Courtyard by Marriott. If you call, be sure to mention the short course you're in Blacksburg to attend in order to receive the discounted rate on your hotel room!
Other Local Hotels:
The Inn at VT
Holiday Inn Express and Suites
Hilton Garden Inn
Hilton Garden Inn Blacksburg
Transportation:
The closest airport is the Roanoke Regional Airport (ROA), which is approximately 35 miles from Blacksburg, VA.
There are multiple car rental agencies as well as cab services located at the airport to transport visitors to Blackburg, VA.
The other nearby airports used by short course attendees are:
- Dulles International Airport, IAD (approx. 5 driving hours from Blacksburg, VA).
- Charlotte Douglas International Airport, CLT (approx. 3 driving hours from Blacksburg, VA).