Layer pads and dividers are the cheapest structural element in most pallets, which is why they get added without much thought. They are not free, and in a meaningful number of pallets they are doing nothing at all.
What a layer pad is actually for
A pad distributes load between layers. Its job is to spread the point loads from the layer above across the whole layer below, so that no single carton or container takes a concentrated load it cannot handle.
That is the entire function. If the layers above and below are already flat, rigid and mutually supporting, the pad adds nothing structurally.
When they genuinely earn their cost
- Bags, sacks and flexible packaging stacked in layers. Without a pad, the layer above settles into the gaps below and the stack becomes unstable.
- Layers of dissimilar items where the top of one layer is uneven relative to the bottom of the next.
- Products with a vulnerable top surface that would be marked or punctured by the layer above.
- Any stack that will be strapped, where the pad spreads the strap tension and stops it cutting into the top layer.
- Manual picking layers, where a pad lets a layer be lifted off as a unit.
When they are a waste
Stacks of identical rigid cartons with flat tops and bottoms, already interlocked. Uniform plastic crates that are designed to stack on each other. Anything where the layers interlock by design. In these cases the pad is cost and weight and handling time with no benefit, and it is surprising how often it is there out of habit.
Dividers are a different calculation
A divider – a vertical sheet separating products within a layer – is doing a different job: preventing contact. That is worth paying for when the products would otherwise damage each other, and it is not worth paying for when they would not. As with pads, the test is what happens without it.
Material choice
Corrugated PP sheet suits pads and dividers well where they are reused or where the environment is wet, which is where fibreboard fails. For single-use dry applications, fibreboard is cheaper and perfectly adequate. The reusable case is where PP earns its premium, and the honest answer for one-way shipments is usually paper.
Specifying them
- Thickness and gram weight matched to the load, not the thickest available
- Flute direction relative to how the pad spans – it matters, as described in our article on flute direction
- Whether the pad overhangs the pallet, which it should not
- Sealed edges if the pad will be washed or used in wet conditions
- Whether it needs to be antistatic for electronics environments
A quick test
Build one pallet without pads and put it through the journey. If nothing changes, stop buying them. It is a cheap experiment and it is remarkable how often the answer is that they were never needed.
What thickness is actually needed
Layer pads are often specified thicker than necessary, on the reasoning that the pad is structural. In most pallets it is not – it is spreading load across a layer that is already nearly uniform, and a light pad does that job.
The case for a heavier pad is where it spans a gap, where it will be handled repeatedly, or where it has to survive being dragged out from under a load. In those situations the thickness is doing something. Otherwise it is weight and cost.
If you are unsure, try a lighter pad on a few pallets. If the stack arrives the same, that is the answer, and it is a saving that repeats on every pallet you ship.
What we supply
We make corrugated PP sheet pads and dividers cut to size, with sealed edges where the application needs them. Tell us what is being stacked and how many trips the pad will make, and we will tell you whether PP is the right material or whether you should be buying board.