Millwood launches Unit Load Test & Design Lab

Millwood, Inc., a worldwide industry leader and innovator of unit load and packaging systems, materials and services, has opened a Unit Load Test & Design Lab at its Vienna, Ohio technical center. Headed by Ralph Rupert, former director of the Center for Unit Load Design at Virginia Tech, the lab includes equipment to conduct ISTA, ASTM and ISO compression, vibration and shock tests, materials handling equipment and pallet and packaging design software applications.

This unique approach allows Millwood to simulate the handling of a load through the supply chain, analyze where and why a load fails and design a superior solution. “The combination of test equipment, materials handling technologies and design software allows us to put science behind transport packaging designs and solutions,” says Rupert.

The lab utilizes transport packaging test methods focused on impact, vibration and compression, including:

• ISTA 1 and 3 Series
• ASTM D4169 Transport Packaging Distribution Simulation
• ASTM D1185 Testing Protocol For Pallets
• ISO 8611 Testing Protocol For Pallets

The lab can also design, develop and test prototype pallets and corrugated packaging solutions as well as evaluate the stretch and shirk wrap. The evaluation of packaging film allows customers to match the right stretch or shrink film to their machinery and the product they need to protect.

According to Rupert, Millwood will offer the facility to its clients as a value-added service. It will also be available as an independent, fee-based resource for manufacturers who want to validate their unit load designs or to the pallet and packaging industries to test new packaging products and materials. In addition to testing, Rupert plans to conduct research into areas such as corrugated compression and stretch film performance capabilities. “We want to be the premier test and research facility for the pallet and transport packaging industries,” said Rupert.