Company with Greenville ties builds world’s largest pallet painting

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Carolina Handling has set the unofficial record for creating the world’s largest pallet painting in Greenville, when it completed a 26,235-square-foot portrait of Lady Liberty.

Presented in partnership with pallet provider 48forty Solutions, The Patriotic Pallet Project featured 2,500 wooden pallets painted 16 different colors and placed in a grid-like pattern to reveal the likeness of Lady Liberty, and was completed in early October, according to a Carolina Handling news release.

The paiting was built using Guinness World Record criteria, though no Guinness representative was on hand, according to the company.

“We realize that what we do every day is probably not that exciting to those outside our industry,” said Carolina Handling Director of Marketing Donna Waldrep in the release. “But we believed that if we could come up with something grand enough for those who don’t work in material handling to take notice, then we could generate excitement about jobs in material handling and careers at Carolina Handling while honoring the service and sacrifice of our military veterans.”

Carolina Handling thrives in the world of warehouses and distribution centers where products are transported by pallet jacks, lift trucks, conveyors and sortation systems, the release stated. In 1939, George Raymond Sr., founder of The Raymond Corp., was granted patents for the double-faced wooden pallet and the hydraulic hand pallet truck, which revolutionized the material handling industry, according to the release.

The Charlotte, N.C.-based company has a location in Greenville and its Equipment Distribution Center is in Piedmont.

Additionally, Carolina Handling is a military-minded organization where 13% of associates served in the U.S. Armed Forces and where veterans services are a focus area of the company’s philanthropic giving, the release stated.

“Considering our history and our focus on hiring and supporting military veterans, we landed on a project that was patriotic in nature and one that would involve our veterans and honor their service,” Waldrep said in the release.

Representatives of 48forty Solutions, which has a location in Gray Court, S.C., said they, too, were grateful for the opportunity to showcase their industry in a way that recognizes the service and sacrifice of U.S. veterans.

“We were honored to have representatives of 48forty, many of whom are veterans themselves, on hand for the assembly and unveiling of the massive and impressive image of Lady Liberty,” said 48forty Solutions CEO Mike Hachtman in the release. “As the nation’s largest pallet company, the project allowed us to take what we do and apply it to a great cause – a showing of gratitude and support for our military.”

Veterans were the focus of The Patriotic Pallet Project as five Carolina Handling associates, representing the five branches of the military in which they served, used Raymond lift trucks to deliver and lay down the colorful pallets to form the image. It took four hours to complete the painting, which measured half the size of a football field, according to the release.

“When you consider the size and scope of this project, it’s amazing that we executed it flawlessly without a practice run,” Waldrep said. “It’s a testament to our associates who were committed to a quality outcome. It became a passion project for them, and they crushed it.”

For a behind-the-scenes look at The Patriotic Pallet Project, visit www.youtube.com/watch?v=RQUvzJkBBjw.