PALLET
SCULPTURE ON DISPLAY AT WOOD
PRODUCTS CENTER
BLACKSBURG,
Sept. 7, 2002 - One of the few
outdoor sculpture pieces on
the Blacksburg campus of Virginia
Tech, the "Pallets Move the
World" sculpture is on permanent
display at the entrance of the
College of Natural Resource's
Brooks Forest Products Center,
across from the Blacksburg airport.
To commemorate the visionary
leaders who created the world's
only pallet lab, the William
H. Sardo Jr. Pallet and Container
Research Laboratory at Virginia
Tech's Forest Products Center
designed a stainless steel sculpture
of a world globe on a pallet.
The $85,000 pallet artwork,
weighing five tons, is dedicated
to those who have had a very
important impact through research
and development on the wood
pallet. Pallets save every citizen
in the U.S. more than $5,000
every year by their materials
handling efficiency.
Donna
M. Phaneuf, AIA of VIA Design
Architects, made the presentation/concept
drawing of the sculpture from
which further studies and shop
drawings were made by Globe
Iron Construction of Norfolk,
Va. Larry Reece of Globe Iron
was instrumental in taking the
concept drawings and making
the sculpture contractible.
Raymond Moore and Marty Schribel
of Circle M Contracting made
the sculpture. Funds for the
design, construction, and installation
of the sculpture came from private
donations.
Pallets
move the world. Over 500 million
pallets are manufactured in
the U.S. every year. Over 90
percent of these pallets are
made out of solid wood. Pallet
manufacture is the largest use
of hardwood lumber produced
in the U.S. It is estimated
that on any given day, 1.8 to
1.9 billion pallets are in use
in the nation - storing and
distributing products. The wood
fiber use in wood pallets combined
with the wood fiber use in corrugated
containers make the combined
usage for storage and distribution
of consumer and industrial products
in wood boxes and pallets the
largest single use of wood fiber
in the U.S.
Virginia
Tech's Pallet and Container
Research Laboratory is the only
laboratory in the world focusing
exclusively on the structural
design and performance of pallets.
The primary goal of the lab
is to improve the efficiency
of movement of consumer and
industrial goods, to improve
the utilization of standing
timber, and to improve the safety
of the workplace. Because pallets
are load-bearing structures,
improperly designed pallets
can cause injuries and death.
Much
of the research at the lab focuses
on the use of pallets and reducing
our dependency on wood fiber.
The lab studies pallets made
of alternative materials such
as plastic and metal, as substitutes.
In addition, the pallet lab
develops techniques for repairing
and refurbishing wood pallets
to extend their life. There
are roughly 2500 to 3000 pallet
manufacturers in the U.S. These
manufacturers produce almost
the equivalent number of pallets
as is produced throughout the
western European continent.
The "Pallets Move the World"
sculpture seeks to honor four
visionaries. Thomas N. De Pew
and William H. Sardo Jr., past
president and executive vice
president of the National Wooden
Pallet and Container Association
(NWPCA) and Dr. Walter B. Wallin,
research scientist with the
USDA Forest Container Research
Laboratory, led the effort to
establish the Pallet and Container
Research Laboratory. The late
E. George Stern is also remembered.
The world-renowned wood construction
professor set international
standards for construction.
As the Earle B. Norris Research
Professor Emeritus of Wood Construction
in Virginia Tech's wood products
department, he was the first
director of the Pallet Research
Laboratory in 1976.
The
Pallet and Container Research
Laboratory has created a close
relationship between local,
state, and federal government
agencies. This unique relationship
between the private sector of
the NWPCA, Virginia Tech, and
the USDA Forest Service continues
to support and further lab functions.
