Palletizer systems

A palletizer is a machine that stacks cases, bags, or other products onto a pallet in a set pattern. A palletizer system is the palletizer plus the conveyors, pallet handling, controls, and guarding around it.

This guide explains how a palletizing system works, compares the main types with real models, and lists the speeds and prices we could source. It also shows what to measure before you ask for quotes.

What a palletizer system includes

The palletizer is only one part of the line. A full system usually has these parts:

• Infeed conveyor. It brings sealed cases or bags from packing to the palletizer. See palletizing conveyors.
• The palletizer. A conventional machine, a robot, a gantry, or a cobot. It builds the stack.
• Pallet handling. A pallet dispenser feeds empty pallets. A slip sheet dispenser places a sheet of cardboard or plastic between layers. A full-pallet conveyor carries the finished load away.
• Controls. A PLC (programmable logic controller) runs the system. A touchscreen lets operators pick patterns.
• Guarding. Fences, interlocked doors, light curtains, and area scanners keep people out of moving parts. See guarding types.

Columbia's HL6200 cut sheet shows a typical layout of "Infeed," "Palletizer," "Pallet Dispenser," and "Discharge." Its options list includes a "Slip / Tie / Cap sheet dispenser" and "Upstream and downstream conveyor and interfacing."

How a palletizing system works

1. Cases arrive. The infeed conveyor spaces cases and feeds them in one lane.
2. Cases turn. Some patterns need cases turned 90 degrees. The A-B-C Model 72 uses a "Turning post and powered roller case orienter" for this.
3. Rows and layers form, or a robot picks. A conventional machine pushes cases into rows, then rows into a full layer. This is called layer forming. A robot picks one case, a row, or a layer and places it on the pallet.
4. An empty pallet is placed. A pallet dispenser drops one pallet from a stack.
5. Sheets go in. A slip sheet or tier sheet can go on the pallet and between layers. It helps the load stay together.
6. The full pallet leaves. A conveyor carries it out of the guarded area.
7. The load is wrapped. A stretch wrapper wraps film around the load for shipping. Columbia sells its FLD2500-SW to "Simultaneously Stack & Wrap."

Compare palletizer types

The types differ in how they move product onto the pallet. That sets their speed, footprint, and how fast they change to a new product.

Speeds are maker ratings. Real output depends on case size, pattern, and pallet changes. Prices are list or "starting at" prices seen on maker, integrator, and seller websites in October 2026. They usually leave out freight, installation, conveyors, guarding, and integration unless the listing says otherwise. Sources are in the types of palletizers guide and the cost guide.

Read the full types of palletizers guide for footprint, changeover, and real models. The dedicated guides cover conventional, robotic, cobot, and manual palletizing.

Rated speeds and prices

Speeds below are maker ratings, not real output. Case size, pattern, and pallet changes all lower the true rate. Makers also use different units. Cases per minute, picks per minute, layers per minute, and cycles per hour are not the same thing.

• Cobot. Robotiq rates its PE20 at "up to 13 picks per minute."
• Gantry. CODI rates its Flex Stack Pro at "Up to 4–15 cases per minute."
• Robot arm. Yaskawa rates its PL190 at "> 1700 cycles/hour with full payload" on a set test motion. That is the robot alone, not a case rate.
• Low-level conventional. Columbia says the FL2000 "palletizes 20 cases per minute or more, depending on case size and pallet pattern."
• High-level conventional. Columbia rates the HL6200 at "up to 120 cases per minute (depending on pattern)."
• In-line. Honeywell rates the Alvey 944 at "throughput speeds in excess of 225 cases per minute."

Prices seen in October 2026 start at $2,195 for the Uline H-8935 spring pallet positioner. That is a manual aid, not a palletizer. Its pinch-point safety skirt is sold separately. Automatic palletizer cells with a public price ran from $64,999 to "starting at" $175,000. Optamate lists its CPS30P cobot palletizer at $64,999. Fencing, light curtains, scanners, and the infeed conveyor cost extra. Odecopack lists cartesian gantry palletizers "starting at" $99,000 and robotic palletizers from $165,000, both excluding installation. MMCI lists cobot palletizers "starting at $100,000" and robotic palletizers from $175,000. These are starting prices. Seller guides put full industrial systems higher. Standard Bots says they "can exceed $500,000." Freight, installation, conveyors, and integration are usually extra. We found no public list price for a new conventional palletizer. See the cost guide for more prices and what quotes leave out.

How to choose

1. Find your peak rate. Count cases or bags per minute at your busiest hour. Add every line that will feed the palletizer.
2. List your SKUs. A SKU (stock keeping unit) is one product and pack size. Note each case size, weight, and pattern. Many SKUs favor a robot. A few SKUs at high speed favor a conventional machine.
3. Check the heaviest case. Robotiq rates the PE20 for up to 18 kg (40 lb). Odecopack lists its gantry at "Up to 65 lb (32 kg)." 65 lb works out to about 29.5 kg, so ask which figure is the rating. Heavier cases need a larger robot or a conventional machine.
4. Measure the floor. Include room for pallet stacks, forklifts, guarding, and the full-pallet exit.
5. Plan the pattern. Know your TI/HI (cases per layer and layers per pallet). See how TI/HI works.
6. Plan for safety. OSHA 29 CFR 1910.212 requires machine guarding. Every system also needs a lockout/tagout procedure under OSHA 29 CFR 1910.147. Conventional palletizers and gantries are usually built to ANSI/PMMI B155.1. Robot cells follow ISO 10218-2:2025 and ANSI/A3 R15.06-2025. Never bypass guards, interlocks, or light curtains. A cobot application is collaborative only after a risk assessment of the whole cell. See palletizer safety.

Where to start

• New to palletizing? Read types of palletizers, then pallet patterns.
• Low volume or a tight budget? Start with manual palletizing aids or a cobot palletizer.
• High case rates? Compare conventional palletizers with robotic palletizers.
• Ready to get quotes? Work through the buying guide, check the cost guide, and look at manufacturers. A used palletizer can cut the price.

All guides

• Types of palletizers

  Conventional, in-line, robotic, gantry, cobot, hybrid, and manual. Speeds, footprint, and when to pick each.

• Robotic palletizers

  How a robot cell works, robot brands, grippers (EOAT), and what to check in a quote.

• Cobot palletizers

  Small collaborative robot cells for one or two lines, and what makes an application collaborative.

• Conventional palletizers

  High-level vs. low-level, how layer forming works, rated speeds, and maintenance points.

• Manual palletizing aids

  Pallet positioners, turntables, vacuum lifters, and lift tables, with NIOSH lifting guidance.

• Case palletizers

  Machines for stacking boxes and cases, robotic and conventional.

• Bag palletizers

  Robots and conventional machines for stacking bags of powder, grain, and pellets.

• Mixed-case palletizing

  Building pallets with more than one SKU for stores and distribution centers.

• Depalletizers

  Machines that unload pallets, by the layer or by the case.

• Palletizer cost

  Prices by type, what quotes leave out, and how to work out payback.

• Used palletizers

  Where used machines sell, what they cost, and what to inspect.

• Palletizer manufacturers

  Who makes conventional, robotic, and cobot palletizers.

• Buying guide

  What to measure, how to set a target rate, and a buyer checklist to send to suppliers.

• Palletizer safety

  Guarding, light curtains, lockout/tagout, and robot safety standards.

• Pallet patterns

  Stacking patterns, TI/HI, interlocking layers, and pattern software.

• Palletizing conveyors

  Infeed conveyors, pallet dispensers, slip sheet dispensers, and full-pallet conveyors.

• Stretch wrappers

  The next step after the palletizer: wrapping the load for shipping.