They are ideal over-the-road shipping containers because they produce a
unitized load, are durable, and offer superior product protection and ease of handling.
Another reason it's wise to unitize is the related costs associated with poorly
unitized loads.
The easily assembled KD (Knocked Down) units provide an economical solution for the storage and handling of
unitized loads.
Automatic truck loading vehicles, for instance, have been designed to load pallets and other
unitized loads into truck trailers or storage units without an operator.
The
unitized loads are then conveyed to an automatic stretch wrapper.
Navy and a lift truck manufacturer experimented with the method for
unitized loads of canned goods in cases, weighing up to 2,900 lb per load.
Lift trucks transport all the
unitized loads at the outlets, including hard-to-handle stacks of lumber.
Individual cartons, for example, can be loaded rapidly into a carrier with conveyors;
unitized loads require lift trucks.
Downstream, conveyors, automatic guided vehicles, or lift trucks may bring
unitized loads to a stretch wrapper or straight to the docks.
Just as serious, the
unitized loads are not shipped on pallets.
After removal from a palletizer,
unitized loads usually head for a station for securing and protecting.
The
unitized loads then proceed to a wrapping area where they are either stretch wrapped or banded.
