Roll cradles: moulded pulp, foam or plastic?

In briefA roll cradle is a concave support that holds a reel with its axis horizontal so it cannot roll. Moulded pulp and foam cradles are light, mostly one-trip supports for light reels. Plastic cradle pallets carry up to 2,800 kg per reel, make many trips, can be washed and are outside ISPM 15. Wood costs less than plastic per unit, but nails, splinters and ISPM 15 count against it.

What a roll cradle is

A roll cradle stops a reel lying with its axis horizontal from rolling on the pallet, the trailer bed or the floor. Saddle and cradle mean the same thing: we know of no standard that distinguishes them, and catalogues use both words ^[1]. What changes is the profile, the way the shape is held, and the material.

Cradles come in three forms:

• loose cradles placed under the reel, often for a single trip: most moulded pulp and foam cradles are of this kind;
• inserts that sit on a flat 800×1200 pallet without screws and come off when you need a flat pallet again ^[1];
• cradle pallets, with the shape moulded into the deck and no loose parts to lose.

In UK and Irish searches, most roll cradles are light supports in moulded pulp or foam, but the term also covers the whole reel pallet: sizes and formats are in reel pallets and roll cradles. This page compares the materials.

The four materials compared

Where no published figure exists, the table gives the question to ask instead of a number.

Moulded pulp cradles

Moulded pulp is paper fibre formed in a mould into a saddle or end support. It is light, and the customer can usually put it in the paper and board stream with the rest of their packaging waste: a natural fit for light reels shipped one way.

Its limits are those of any paper-based support. Fibre loses strength when it takes up water, so keep it dry, and a fibrous surface may shed dust: ask before it goes into clean rooms or food areas. We have found no comparable data sheets, so ask for the rated weight per reel, tested on the cradle itself.

Corrugated board is a different fibre option: ROLL's PC series combines a base and layer pads for reels of Ø 150-580 mm, 2 to 6 per layer; the PC06-160B data sheet gives 50 kg per reel ^[3].

Foam cradles: EPS and EPE

Foam cradles are cut or moulded from expanded polystyrene (EPS) or expanded polyethylene (EPE). They are light, do not splinter and cushion the outer layers of the reel. Rigid EPS can chip when knocked; EPE is softer. Some light saddles are made of EPS coated in polyurea ^[1][2][3], and ROLL's KU10-ST kit pairs two plastic chocks with an 800 mm expanded PE strip ^[6].

Like pulp, foam is mainly a one-trip support: ask for the rated weight per reel. Foam is plastic packaging, so in the United Kingdom check whether one-way foam cradles fall under the Plastic Packaging Tax. The exemption for transport packaging used to import goods gives reusable crates, containers and pallets as examples ^[11]; the rules are summarised in EPR and plastic taxes. Foam cradles are not structural foam, a process for solid plastic pallets (glossary).

Plastic cradle pallets and inserts

A plastic cradle pallet has the shape moulded into an HDPE or PP deck. In the ROLL range, cradle pallets take reels from Ø 160 mm up to 800-1600 mm depending on the format, and from 800 to 2,800 kg per reel ^[2]. The surfaces are closed and washable, the material does not absorb water (plastic pallet washing), and plastic is outside ISPM 15 ^[7]. At end of life it is ground into regrind: agree take-back when you buy (used pallets and recycling).

The weak point is price: plastic only pays off if it comes back. In the cost-per-trip model for flat pallets in plastic vs wooden pallets, plastic costs less per trip below about 4% losses per trip and more above it. Already have euro pallets? A CV01 cradle insert turns them into reel pallets without screws, for reels up to Ø 1100 mm and 1,500 kg ^[1].

Wooden cradles

Wooden cradles are cut from timber or improvised with chocks nailed to a flat pallet. They cost less than plastic, but nails and splinters damage the edges of film and paper reels, and wood absorbs moisture, is hard to wash and sheds fibres (hygienic and food-grade pallets).

For shipments leaving the EU, every piece of solid wood over 6 mm, chocks included, must be treated and marked to ISPM 15 ^[7]. Within the EU an untreated wooden pallet generally travels freely ^[8], but since 1 January 2021 Great Britain has required ISPM 15 on solid wood packaging from the EU too ^[9]. The details, exceptions included, are in export pallets and ISPM 15.

ROLL states that a wooden pallet carrying reels lasts 1-3 cycles ^[4], a figure from a plastic pallet maker. On the other side, the peer-reviewed study by Anil et al. gives wooden pallets a carbon footprint per trip 71.8-80.3% lower than plastic ^[12] (pallet carbon footprint).

Before you buy: the figure that matters

Whatever the material, ask for the maximum weight per reel, not the pallet's general load capacity: a reel concentrates its weight on two lines or a narrow arc. The PP69 flat pallet offered by ROLL carries 5,000 kg static with a distributed load and 1,500 kg with one reel resting on a cradle ^[5]. Then ask:

• the diameter range, and a V or curved profile;
• how many trips it is designed for, and who takes it back;
• any solid wood in the load, if the reels leave the EU;
• washing, if the reels go into food or pharma areas.

Which cradle for which job

• Moulded pulp: light reels shipped one way and kept dry.
• Foam (EPS or EPE): light reels whose outer layers need cushioning, one way, where fibre would get damp.
• Plastic cradle pallet or insert: heavy reels, closed loops, areas that need washing, frequent shipments outside the EU. From 2030 the PPWR requires at least 40% of transport pallets in the EU to be reusable within a re-use system, unless an exemption applies ^[10]; the regulation applies in Ireland, not in Great Britain (reusable pallets and the PPWR).
• Wood: occasional loads within the EU, with no hygiene requirements and robust reel edges.
• Corrugated board: small, light reels of Ø 150-580 mm stacked in layers ^[3].

Found a mistake or an outdated figure? Write to us at info@roll-packaging.com