07/11/05 Pallet maker adopts world standard Gainesville firm upgrades plant (By HARRIS BLACKWOOD The Times)

Rojilio Torres moves pallets to the heat-treating unit Friday at Timco on Athens Highway. Timco Pallet Co. in Gainesville has upgraded its plant to meet international shipment standards.

A Gainesville firm which manufactures wooden shipping pallets has upgraded its plant to meet new international standards.

Timco Pallet Co. has installed a heat-treating facility for processing pallets, in accordance with the American Lumber Standards Committee in Washington.

The committee writes standards for softwood used throughout the United States, according to ALSC president Tom Searles.

Searles said that pallet makers, like Timco, have two options in processing pallets for international shipment: Heat treatment or through use of methyl bromide, a pesticide. The treatment is specified under the International Plant Protection Convention, a United Nations organization. The procedure is designed to kill any pests that may be found in raw green wood.

Searles said that Timco is one of 2,500 wood packaging manufacturers licensed under the program, which is administered for the U.S. Department of Agriculture.

Timco, which has been in business for 20 years, sells between 10,000 and 14,000 pallets a week. Linda Jolley, a spokeswoman for Timco, said that the heat treatment adds to the cost of the pallets, but is a necessity for shippers sending products out of the country.

"We have a lot of customers who must have the certified pallets," she said.

After treatment, the pallets are stamped with the certification.

Searles said that shippers who do business in both the domestic and international markets may opt exclusively to use the certified pallets.

"If IBM buys a pallet, they don't know if it will be used for a shipment to New York, Taiwan or Europe," he said. "If they buy the treated pallets, they can ship without having to worry about it."

Timco's facility on Athens Highway contains stack after stack of wooden pallets, most of which are the regulation 48 by 40 inches.

Searles said that wood is used most often.

"Half of the U.S. trade moves on wooden packaging materials," he said.

Most of Timco's pallets are made from Southern yellow pine. The IPPC standards, which were passed three years ago have become been adopted by a growing number of countries in an effort to avoid possible infestation from the pallets.

"The burden falls on the shipper," Searles said. "If the pallet is not compliant, they may not let you unload."

Timco's heat-treatment facility can treat up to 440 pallets at a time, according to Jolley. The pallets are enclosed in 160-degree heat for 30 minutes.

E-mail: hblackwood@gainesvilletimes.com