Safe load capacity
What your pallet will actually carry, in your racking, under your load pattern. Not a number somebody eyeballed off a similar job.
Custom pallet design and manufacturing · Lake Elmo, Minnesota
Custom Pallets Minnesota
Tell us what you are shipping. Ian runs your load through PDS — the pallet industry’s engineering software — and sends back a real specification with dimensioned drawings.
Free. No minimum order. Usually back by tomorrow.
- Custom sizes, heavy-duty, block, flush, wing, skids and crates
- Heat treated to ISPM-15 for export, stamped in our own kiln
- Built in Lake Elmo, delivered across the Twin Cities
Rather just talk it through?(651) 436-1912
Engineered, not guessedEvery custom job goes through PDS
No minimum orderTwenty-five pallets or twenty-five thousand
Spec back tomorrowSame or next business day, free
Since 1986Family-owned, one yard, Lake Elmo
The Pallet Design System
We don’t guess at your pallet. We engineer it.
PDS is the pallet industry’s engineering software — built over 40 years of research by the National Wooden Pallet and Container Association with Virginia Tech and the U.S. Forest Service, and used in more than 40 countries. We have it. We run every custom job through it.
Deflection and service life
How far it sags with your product on it, and how many trips it survives before the sagging starts costing you product.
The least lumber that does it
The one that saves money. Most pallets we are handed to copy are overbuilt. PDS shows how much wood can come out without losing strength — and less wood is a cheaper pallet.
Who designs your pallet
Ian Keim runs it himself.
Not a form that lands in a queue. Ian takes your load into PDS, works the design until the numbers come out right, and emails you the specification sheet and the dimensioned drawings — top, bottom, side and end views. You keep them whether you order from us or not.
Ian Keim · Account Manager · Gruber Pallets, Lake Elmo
Start here
Start your pallet in 30 seconds
Four questions — no name, no email. You will see your pallet drawn and the specification Ian starts from. Then you decide whether to send it.
That’s with Ian
Your spec is on its way
Ian will run your load through PDS and come back with the specification and the drawings, usually the same or next business day. If you would rather not wait, ring (651) 436-1912.
Custom pallets built around the load
What we build
A custom pallet is more than a different length and width. How it is lifted, stacked, stored, racked, transported and unloaded all change the design — forklift entry, pallet jack use, deckboard spacing, stringer design, fasteners and the weight distribution of the product. All of it goes into PDS.
Custom sizes
Compact platforms for small parts through oversized pallets for equipment, machinery and irregular loads. If your product, racking, container or truck bed demands a non-standard footprint, we build to it.
Heavy-duty pallets
For loads that go past what a standard pallet will carry. PDS sets the board thickness and stringer count rather than us adding wood until it feels safe.
Block pallets
True four-way entry, the format automated lines and many overseas operations expect. Forks and jacks enter from any side without a notch.
Flush pallets
No overhang, for tight-fit containers, automation and controlled footprints where an inch of deckboard costs a whole position.
Notched stringer pallets
Four-way forklift entry on a stringer pallet, so a pallet jack can get in from the ends without the cost of block construction.
Wing pallets
Overhanging deckboards for drum, barrel and specialty material handling, where the load is strapped or clamped at the edge.
Export pallets
Built and heat treated to ISPM-15 in our own kiln and stamped with the IPPC mark. See heat treatment for export for the detail.
Skids and runners
When a full pallet is more than the job needs but the load still has to come off the floor on a handling base.
Crates and box bases
Wooden crates and box bases for parts that need walls and a lid, not just a deck.
Material options
Matched to the job, not to our convenience
We match lumber and construction to the application instead of forcing every customer into one standard design. PDS compares species and grades side by side, so the choice is a number rather than an opinion.
- Softwood
- Lighter and cost-conscious. A properly designed softwood pallet outperforms a badly specified hardwood one — PDS is how you know which is which.
- Hardwood
- Heavier loads, repeated handling, and anywhere a pallet failure would cost far more than the pallet.
- Mixed hardwood and softwood
- Hardwood where the stress is, softwood where it is not. The usual answer when strength and cost control both matter.
- Heat-treated lumber
- International shipping and ISPM-15 compliance. Heat treatment is a process, not a species — hardwood and softwood both qualify.
- New or recycled components
- Chosen on performance, availability and budget. Recycled components in a custom build are often the quiet saving nobody offers you.
Wooden skids
Wooden skids, built to your spec
A skid is a pallet without a bottom deck: deckboards nailed across two or more runners, so it sits on the floor on its runners and forks or a pallet jack go in from the open ends. A pallet adds bottom boards, which spread the load and let it stack and sit in racking. A skid is the simpler, lighter base when the load is heavy, awkward or staying put.
- Same process as a pallet
- Ian Keim designs your skid in PDS like any custom pallet: runner size and count, deckboards, lumber and fasteners, worked out for your load. The spec sheet and drawings are free, back the same or next business day.
- Machinery and equipment
- Tell us the footprint, the weight and how it is lifted. We size the skid to the load rather than forcing it onto a stock pallet.
- Start one now
- Put your size into the designer above, or request a quote and say you need a skid.
Industries we serve
Who we build for
Gruber Pallets builds custom pallets for Minnesota businesses across a wide range of industries. If yours is not on the list, it is only because the list would not end.
Manufacturing
Pallets designed around product dimensions, fixtures, parts and production flow.
Food and beverage
Clean, reliable pallet options, including heat-treated pallets where they are needed.
Aerospace and defense
Precise pallet specs for sensitive equipment and specialized loads.
Automotive
Parts bins, assemblies, engines and recurring production needs.
Agriculture
Larger pallets for seed, feed, equipment and seasonal material movement.
Medical and pharmaceutical
Consistent pallet builds for controlled shipping requirements.
Retail and e-commerce
Built around packaging, display and fulfillment requirements.
Our custom pallet process
Five steps, and you see the numbers
1
Tell us the load
What you are palletizing, what it weighs, how it is handled, where it goes, and what the pallet you use now gets wrong.
2
Ian runs PDS
Dimensions, board thickness, stringer or block, lumber, fasteners, entry and heat treatment — worked until the numbers come out right.
3
You get the spec
The specification sheet and the dimensioned drawings, same or next business day. Free, and yours to keep.
4
Sample if you want one
For a new or sensitive application we build a sample run before you commit to a larger order.
5
Built in Lake Elmo
Made at our Minnesota facility, picked up or delivered, and the spec stays on file so a reorder is one phone call.
Turnaround and pricing
Custom does not have to mean slow
Pricing depends on size, materials, quantity, design complexity, heat treatment and delivery. We give you a clear quote before production begins, and we keep repeat specs on file so reorders are simpler.
Same or next dayYour engineered spec and drawings, back in your inbox. The design step is the one most suppliers make you wait a week for.
A few business daysTypical production once the spec is approved, depending on quantity, lumber availability, design complexity and the schedule. Rush needs are a phone call.
No minimumWe will quote any quantity. Small first runs turn into recurring programs often enough that we stopped pretending otherwise.
Free, alwaysThe PDS analysis, the specification sheet and the drawings cost nothing, whether or not you order from us.
Minnesota service area
Built in Lake Elmo, delivered across the Twin Cities
11490 Hudson Blvd N, Lake Elmo, MN 55042. Core service across the Twin Cities metro: delivery within 50 miles of the yard is routine, and farther out, to 170 miles, we quote the run by hand.
- Minneapolis
- St. Paul
- Bloomington
- Eagan
- Burnsville
- Brooklyn Park
- Plymouth
- Maple Grove
- White Bear Lake
- Maplewood
- Woodbury
- Cottage Grove
- Inver Grove Heights
Need standard new pallets, used and refurbished pallets, heat-treated pallets, plastic pallets or pallet recycling? We handle those too. New to pallet specifications? Six short videos will make you dangerous in a supplier meeting.
Straight answers
Frequently asked questions
Still stuck? Ring (651) 436-1912 and somebody in Lake Elmo picks up.
- What custom pallet sizes can Gruber Pallets build?
- We build pallets to the dimensions the application requires. That can include smaller non-standard pallets, oversized pallets, heavy-duty pallets, skids, runners, and specialty designs for unusual loads.
- Is there a minimum order for custom pallets?
- Minimums depend on the design and production setup. We work with repeat commercial customers on both smaller custom runs and larger recurring pallet programs.
- What is PDS, and why does it matter to me?
- The Pallet Design System is the pallet industry’s engineering software, developed by the National Wooden Pallet and Container Association with Virginia Tech and the U.S. Forest Service. It calculates safe load capacity, deflection and expected service life, and finds the least lumber that still carries your load. In practice that usually means a pallet costing less than the one you are copying. We run every custom job through it, and the analysis is free.
- Do you help design the pallet spec?
- Yes. If you know the product, weight, handling method, and shipping requirements, we can help translate those needs into a pallet specification. Ian Keim runs it through PDS and sends you the specification sheet and the dimensioned drawings.
- Can custom pallets be heat treated for export?
- Yes. Gruber Pallets can build custom pallets and heat treat them to ISPM-15 standards for international shipping. Heat-treated pallets receive the required IPPC stamp.
- How fast can you make custom pallets?
- Timing depends on the design, quantity, lumber, heat-treatment needs, and current production schedule. Many custom pallet orders can be produced in a few business days after the spec is approved.
- How much does the design work cost?
- Nothing. The PDS analysis, the specification sheet and the dimensioned drawings are free, and they are yours to keep whether or not you order from us.
- Do you build block pallets as well as stringer pallets?
- Yes. Block pallets give true four-way entry, which automated lines and many overseas operations expect. PDS compares the two for your load, so the extra cost is a decision rather than a default.
- Do you keep custom pallet specs on file?
- Yes. Once a custom pallet spec is approved, we keep the details on file so repeat orders are easier and more consistent.
Get your pallet engineered
Four questions, then Ian runs it through PDS and sends you the specification and the drawings. Free, no minimum order, usually by tomorrow. Keep the drawings even if you buy elsewhere.