Bespoke and custom pallets
We supply bespoke pallets built new to your size, your load and the way you handle them, in softwood or hardwood, heat treated for export on request, delivered across the UK.
Send a drawing, a sample or just the size of your goods, and we reply with a written specification and a delivered price.
What is a bespoke pallet?
A bespoke pallet is a new pallet built to one customer's size, load and handling instead of a standard footprint; custom, made to measure and custom built pallets are the same thing under the names buyers search for.
The UK standard 1200 x 1000 mm pallet and the Euro 1200 x 800 mm pallet are the standard pallets, each with its own British Standard construction specification, BS EN 13698-2 for the UK standard and BS EN 13698-1 for the Euro.
- Bespoke
- A pallet built to one buyer's specification, the trade's word.
- Custom
- A pallet built to a size or load no standard pallet fits.
- Made to measure
- A pallet built to the measured size of the goods it carries.
- Custom built
- A pallet built to order rather than taken from stock.
Most bespoke enquiries start because the goods overhang a standard deck, sit on points, or have to fit a line, a rack or a shelf plan.
- Machinery and heavy parts
- Long goods such as pipe, sections, doors and panels
- Drums and IBCs
- Fragile goods on a close-boarded deck
- Retail display pallets sized to a shelf plan
- Export loads
What sizes do bespoke pallets come in?
We supply bespoke pallets in any length, width and height, built to the size of your goods, from a square footprint to a long pallet for pipe and sections.
| Footprint | Sizes quoted most often | Goes to |
|---|---|---|
| Square | 1100 x 1100, 1140 x 1140 and 1200 x 1200 mm | Drums, bulky boxes, machinery bases |
| Long and double | 1800 x 1200, 2000 x 1200, 2100 x 1000, 2400 x 800, 2400 x 1200 and 3000 x 1200 mm | Pipe, sections, doors and panels |
| Any other footprint | To your drawing or the size of the goods | Odd-shaped goods, automated lines |
Long, double and extra large builds, with the sizes and handling for each, are set out under large and oversize pallets.
Height is built to your clearance too, so the deck sits where your forks, your racking beam or your conveyor needs it. A photo or sketch of the goods with their length and width is enough to start; attach it to the form below.
How is a bespoke pallet built to carry your load?
A bespoke pallet is built to carry your load from the weight, how it sits on the deck, how it is stacked, whether it is racked and how it is handled, all of which you give us.
- Weight
- Sets the board thickness and the size of the blocks or bearers.
- Spread
- Sets where the support goes. Point loads, such as machine feet or drum rims, need bearers under the contact points, and an even load spreads across the deck.
- Stacking
- Sets the base, because laden pallets stacked on each other carry the pallets above.
- Racking
- Sets how the pallet spans the beams, so the rack type is named on the quote.
- Handling
- Sets the entry and the base for a forklift, pallet truck, conveyor or automated line.
No pallet has one capacity for every use, because a pallet's nominal load is a test value, not a payload rating, according to ISO 8611-2, the standard that sets the tests for nominal load. So each bespoke pallet is built to your load rather than to a number. A drum, a machine base and a stack of panels of the same weight need three different pallets.
What can be customised on a bespoke pallet?
We supply bespoke pallets with a choice of deck, base, entry and fixings, each set by the load and the handling above.
| Build choice | Options | Chosen for |
|---|---|---|
| Deck | Open boarded, close boarded or a plywood top | Close boards and plywood carry small parts and fragile goods |
| Base | Blocks, runners or a perimeter base | Your stacking and racking; a perimeter base sits flush and suits racking best |
| Entry | Two-way or four-way; notched runners for side entry | Your forklift, pallet truck or conveyor |
| Fixings | Locating blocks, chocks and drilled fixing points | Machinery, drums or long goods held in place |
A four-way pallet takes forks from all four sides and a two-way pallet from two; notched runners let forklift forks in from the other two sides as well.
Which timber goes into a bespoke pallet, softwood or hardwood?
A bespoke pallet is built in softwood as standard, and in hardwood on request for heavy or point loads where the buyer asks for it.
| Feature | Softwood | Hardwood |
|---|---|---|
| Use on our bespoke pallets | Standard | On request |
| Price | Lower | Higher |
| Chosen for | Most loads | Heavy or point loads the buyer specifies |
Can bespoke pallets be heat treated for export?
Yes, we supply bespoke pallets heat treated and carrying the ISPM 15 mark, when you ask for it on the quote, for export loads and for loads from Great Britain to Northern Ireland.
- Heat treatment
- 56°C at the core for 30 minutes
- The mark shows
- Country, producer and treatment
- Default
- Untreated, unless the quote asks for it
- Heat treatment holds the wood at 56°C for at least 30 continuous minutes through the whole profile, core included, according to the GOV.UK guidance "Wood packaging material for import and export".
- A legible ISPM 15 mark removes the need for a phytosanitary certificate, and a certificate cannot replace the mark.
- A treated and marked pallet keeps its mark for its service life unless it is repaired, remanufactured or otherwise altered, according to the IPPC's ISPM 15 standard, so ask for treatment on the quote rather than cutting down or adding to a pallet later.
- Wood packaging that fails ISPM 15 "could be rejected or destroyed", according to GOV.UK.
How a bespoke pallet is made, from brief to drawing, sample and production run
A bespoke pallet is made in three steps from the brief you send, the drawing and sample you approve, and the production run built and delivered.
- 1
Send the brief
Send the size, the load, the handling and the destination, with a drawing, a sample or photos of the goods. You do not need a finished drawing or the trade's words for each part.
- 2
Approve the drawing and sample
Check the written specification, the drawing and the delivered price, then test a sample pallet in your own operation before the run starts.
- 3
Production run and delivery
Receive the run on the delivery date confirmed on your quote. Your specification is kept on file, so a repeat order is quoted from it.
A single sample pallet is a valid first order, so there is no minimum.
Bespoke pallet minimum order and lead time
We supply bespoke pallets with no minimum order, from one sample pallet to a regular production run.
- Minimum order
- No minimum order, whether it is one sample pallet, a short run or a regular production run
- Lead time
- Usually 2 to 5 working days for a repeat order built from the specification on file; a new design starts with a sample, and the date is confirmed with your quote
- Repeat orders
- Built from the specification on file
- Delivery
- Priced by postcode, with the pallets and delivery in one figure
- Unloading
- Full loads arrive on a curtain-sider for forklift offload. Tell us if you have no forklift on site, and we plan the vehicle for the drop
Bespoke pallet price and what sets the cost
The price of a bespoke pallet follows the size, the load it is built for, the build, the timber, heat treatment and the number of pallets in the run, with delivery priced to the postcode on the same quote.
- SizeThe footprint and height set how much timber goes into the pallet.
- LoadA heavier or point load takes thicker boards and larger blocks or bearers.
- BuildClose boards, plywood tops, perimeter bases and fixings add timber and work.
- TimberHardwood costs more than softwood.
- Heat treatmentHeat-treated pallets are priced apart from untreated ones.
- QuantityThe quote prices the exact run, and a longer run costs less per pallet.
Send your spec for a bespoke pallet design and quote
Tell us the size, the load, the handling, the build and timber you want, whether the pallets leave the country, how many you need and where they go; the quote covers the pallets and delivery in one figure.
- Sizelength, width and any height limit, in mm
- Loadthe weight per pallet, and whether it sits evenly or on points
- Builddeck, base, entry and fixings, or "not sure"
- Timbersoftwood, hardwood or not sure
- Heat treatmentwhether the pallets need the ISPM 15 mark
- Quantitya sample, a one-off run or a regular order
When does a standard pallet do the job instead of a bespoke one?
A standard pallet does the job when your goods fit a 1200 x 1000 mm or 1200 x 800 mm footprint and need no special deck, base or fixings; a bespoke pallet earns its place when they do not.
| Feature | Standard pallets | Bespoke pallets |
|---|---|---|
| Footprint | 1200 x 1000 or 1200 x 800 mm | Any length and width to your drawing |
| Condition | New or used, graded | New only, except large pallets that come back used |
| Build | Stock builds of block, perimeter base or three-runner | Deck, base, entry and fixings chosen for your load |
| Order | Any quantity in stock sizes | A sample first, then the run |
| Price | Lower | Higher for the same size |
Every standard size, new and used, is on our wooden pallets page.
Bespoke pallet FAQs
Can you copy a pallet we already use?
Yes. Send photos of the top, the side, the underside and any marks, or a sample pallet, and we match it, then quote the copy with its delivered price.
Do you make custom pallets near me?
We deliver bespoke pallets to any UK postcode, with no minimum order. Send the size and the load, and the quote names the delivery date.
Do you make bespoke plastic pallets?
No. We supply bespoke pallets in timber. Plastic pallets are moulded, so they come in the sizes their makers mould, and we supply those standard plastic sizes.
Can a bespoke pallet have a tested load rating?
Only after testing, because a tested rating comes from the ISO 8611 test methods. Send your load, and the specification is built around it.
Are bespoke pallets more expensive than standard pallets?
Yes, a bespoke pallet costs more than a standard pallet of the same size, because the price follows the design and the length of the run. The quote prices the exact run.
