Pallet Inverters

The concept of pallet inverter transfer has been around almost as long as pallets themselves.

The earliest pallet inverters were usually referred to as load tippers or tipplers and were invariably put together in local workshops. 180 degree inverter attachments on forklift trucks were also developed early on, with Cascade’s Turnaload being among the first commercially available pallet inverters on the market. Attempts were made to mount these attachments onto fixed ‘A’ frames with very mixed results.

The earliest applications were with agriculture-based industries such as chemical fertiliser and animal feeds. The turnaloads were used to invert stacks of bagged goods through180 degrees. This was to recover damaged sacks and to switch loads to customer pallets.

The first recognizable free-standing pallet inverters was developed in Norfolk in around 1976. It was built using the hydraulics salvaged from a dustcart! The concept proved very popular with ICI Fertilisers who bought at least 60 rotators for their distribution stores and factories throughout the country. The use of the machines cut their pallet losses enormously and helped to contain spillages in the warehouse. More soon