When we first added PALOMAT® units to our catalog at Flex‑Line Automation, I had the same reaction a lot of folks probably do: “Why on God’s green Earth would anyone need a machine just to stack pallets? What does a pallet dispenser do?”

We’ve built robotic cells, conveyors, palletizers, you know, things that solve material handling problems. Empty pallets? That’s what pallet jacks are for, right? A little manual labor never hurt anyone…

The more I looked into PALOMAT® inline units and PALOMAT® AMR/AGV units they made perfect sense. I mean, they integrate in with conveyors or mobile robots and autonomous guided vehicles; so they can reduce forklift traffic, allow for someone to load the pallet magazine and then walk away to do something else, or even feed a closed cell or lights out operation.

Okay, so the inline and AMR/AGV units make sense from an increased safety (less forklift accident opportunity) and improved flow perspective.

I can see the value of an inline pallet dispenser or the AMR/AGV pallet dispensers, but what value does a standalone unit bring?

I like to use vertical space. I’m for keeping things tidy. But is it worth a 20k (*don’t hold me to that price, I don’t know when you will be reading this) investment to keep things organized?

Is floor space as big of an issue in the US as it is in Europe (where PALOMAT® started, units are manufactured, and are insanely popular)?

Do we have a big problem with a stack of pallets falling on people here?

Is there a massive shoulder injury cover up that I don’t know about?

Are glove manufacturers secretly lobbying to keep pallet stacker adoption down and splinters up?!

I mean, yes; PALOMAT® pallet stackers organize and safely store pallets. Of course, using them can reduce injuries because Kyle out in the warehouse won’t be yelling, “Hey ya’ll watch this!”, and tossing a pallet over his head. Obviously, the ability to stack pallets up to 25 high without having to use a forklift (or a Kyle) could come in handy. And sure, keeping pallets securely stacked removes the opportunity for someone to trip over them and reduces chances for pallet damage.

But is the ROI there?

How much are manufacturers spending on replacing damaged pallets? It is going to vary by manufacturer, obviously; but according to an article by Circular Supply Chains we are going through around 500 million pallets a year in the US. The price is going to vary, but good ole ULINE.com currently has GMA pallets starting at about $50.00/ea and block pallets going for closer to $90.00. Depending on how many of those 500,000,000 pallets your facility is scrapping I guess I could see a payback there, but it could take some time to be worthwhile.

Value is more than an easy ROI formula.

I think that kind of long-term view is the biggest challenge to my mindset. I am used to looking for a quick ROI calculation to justify a project. A PALOMAT® unit’s value is not as simple as, “I was able to move this operator to a different job because I added this widget here.” The biggest part of the value comes in the form of cost savings from NOT incurring the costs, but it is hard to budget the $50k you just saved because Kyle is never going to have the chance to need shoulder surgery.

It is easier to see the reduced cost of being able to move pallets with a pallet jack instead of a forklift, but even that can be hard.

Then a few weeks ago we were lucky enough to host our friends from PALOMAT® for a day and they mentioned in passing the increased speed of operations in using a PALOMAT® standalone unit over just a stack of pallets.

There you are. Two stacks of pallets. One in a PALOMAT®, and one stacked up beside it. Using the same forklift to move the pallets it will be faster to pick up a single pallet out of the PALOMAT® to take it to the next operation.

They should have led with that.

If you would like to learn more about PALOMAT® units please view the pallet stacker page, or check out our Flex-Line Focus on video on Youtube to see examples in action.

Sources:

Circular Supply Chains. “Wooden Pallets Cost Us More Than You Know.” April 6, 2025. https://circularsupplychains.com/2025/04/06/wooden-pallets-cost-us-more-than-you-know/

ULINE. “New Wood Pallets.” https://www.uline.com/BL_8217/New-Wood-Pallets

ULINE. “Block Pallet.” https://www.uline.com/BL_718/Block-Pallet

Shultz & Myers Legal. “Average Workers’ Comp Settlement for Shoulder Surgery.” October 10, 2024. https://www.shultzlegal.com/average-workers-comp-settlement-for-shoulder-surgery/