Center for Unit Load Design holds first advisory committee meeting

Twenty-eight representatives from the packaging, pallet, and materials handling equipment industries, U.S. government, and user groups met recently at Virginia Tech's Center for Unit Load Design to lay the groundwork for the formation of the center’s Advisory Board. Attending the landmark meeting in Blacksburg, were representatives from IBM, P&G, Eastman Chemical, and the U.S. Navy.

The inaugural meeting of the Advisory Board will be held this fall and also will include representation from all aspects of the supply chain. The Advisory Board will assist the center in planning its future direction to best meet the industry’s needs.

“As the only organization with a research focus on how packaging, pallets, and unit load handling and shipping equipment interact, it is important that the center have industry input to help mold the programs’ future direction and growth,” said Mark White, director of the center.

The meeting showcased the history of the William H. Sardo Jr. Pallet and Container Research Laboratory and the Center for Unit Load Design, the services and operation of the center, recent research results, the center's vision of systems based design for unit loads, and an outline of the center's affiliate program. Also highlighted were the Interdisciplinary Supply Chain Systems Development Group and the new packaging science program.

Educational services of the center include providing information to improve supply chain efficiencies through research and continuing education programs. The center also educates young professionals through the undergraduate packaging science program. Industry recommendations on curriculum content and support of student cooperative work study programs, internships, and recruitment will help future graduates become tomorrow’s industry leaders.

The Center for Unit Load Design develops systems-based technologies to optimize the relationship between the design and performance of unit loads and to maximize the efficiency of unit load material handling systems. The center focuses on system optimization and studies the mechanical interactions between containers, pallets, and unit load material handling equipment.

Facilities include the William H. Sardo Jr. Pallet and Container Research Laboratory and Unit Load Testing Laboratory, which features a comprehensive packaging testing laboratory and automated material handling equipment typically found in many automated warehouses. The center’s team includes experts in packaging, palletization, material handling, and unit load design.

For more information contact Bonnie Maccubbin at (540) 231-5370, or visit the center website. The Center for Unit Load Design is a center in the Department of Wood Science and Forest Products in the College of Natural Resources at Virginia Tech.