Features
- Heavy-duty springs bring pallet to most convenient height
- Low-friction bearing-supported turntable for near-side loading and unloading
- Fork pockets for relocation by fork truck
A printer’s dream: Equipment that makes pallet loading and unloading easier
At a book publisher’s production and warehouse facility, located in St. Paul, Minnesota, pallet loads of books travelled on roller conveyors to workstations. Their employees would remove the volumes and pack them on skids for warehousing and eventual shipment.
Thanks to the company’s practice of regularly asking employees about on-the-job problems or suggestions for improving work conditions, the warehouse supervisor learned that employees found the constant bending and lifting involved in pallet unloading very tiring. An employee suggestion for equipment that would automatically keep pallet loads at a constant weight-high level was pursued. A Southworth PalletPal® Level Loader was sourced and after an on-site demonstration the company made the purchase. The facility now uses 7 PalletPals and intends to add more units as required.
Loading Operation
In operation, the PalletPal requires no power. The unit progressively rises or lowers as weight is removed or added, using the stored energy of load-calibrated, heavy-duty springs to keep pallets at the most convenient loading and unloading height. A low-friction, ball bearing-supported turntable revolces to make all parts of a pallet load easily accessible without reaching and stretching to get at items.
Productivity
The PalletPal can cut the work required for loading and unloading pallets by as much as 75% with possible time savings of more than 40%. The units are maintenance-free with no motors, no hydraulic or pneumatic systems that need attention. A linkage design maintains a level pallet surface even under uneven loading.