The US Patent office has issued Patent No 8,459,190 to Erdie Industries for the unique construction of the Tri-Hex® concept of using a polygonal shape within a triangular shape, which results in added strength with a minimal amount of additional material. The patent highlights both the structure itself and the way it is created by folding a single sheet of paperboard material into a Tri-Hex Paper Pallet runner.
The patent explains the shortcomings of existing triangular shaped containers — that they are difficult to fold and sometimes require a good deal of shipping tape to seal. They lack beam strength and are easy to crush. The Tri-Hex concept uses an easy-to-fold system from a single sheet recyclable paperboard that has significantly improved beam strength.
The patent goes on to describe the advantages of the tri-hex pallet runner in particular: it can be made from 100 percent recyclable materials, and is recyclable itself; it does not have nails or other fasteners which can injure workers; due to its substantial weight to strength ratio, it can be used to support many goods that are currently shipped on traditional wooden pallets.
“It solves both the weight problem and the strength problem at a low cost” company owner Jason Erdie says. “And it’s recyclable and sustainable, which is great for the environment.” He goes on to say how many companies have tried to move away from wood-based pallets which are heavy and cumbersome, and can be expensive too. “We can compete on price with wooden pallets, and strength – our pallets have been rated for #4,500 lbs – which saves shipping cost because of the lower weight. And we have a great system that allows companies to lease a pallet building machine from us and make the pallets right on their own factory floor, saving them even more money.”
More about the Tri-Hex Paper Pallet can be found on the Erdie Industries’ website at http://www.erdie.com.
Erdie Industries is one of the larger independently owned paper tube and core manufacturing companies in the United States. Established in 1983, the company has come to specialize in mailing and shipping tube products, including Twist-n-Pull® and Tri-Hex® mailing tubes, and more recently, the Tri-Hex paper pallet. Erdie Industries is based in Lorain, Ohio.
Source: Erdie Industries