Carolina Handling attempts world’s largest pallet painting

GREENVILLE, S.C. – Carolina Handling will attempt to set a world record for the largest pallet painting during it’s The Patriot Pallet Project event on Monday, Oct. 10 at the Greenville Downtown Airport.

During the event, five Carolina Handling associates, who will be representing the five branches of the military in which they served, will use Raymond lift trucks to deliver the 2,500 painted pallets to the parking lot adjacent to the airport. The pallets will then be arranged in a grid-like pattern to reveal a more than 26,000-square-foot painting of Lady Liberty.

“One of the pillars of philanthropy at Carolina Handling is supporting military veterans, and we’re extremely proud that 13 percent of our associates served in the U.S. Armed Forces,” Carolina Handling President & CEO Brent Hillabrand said. “Hosting an event like The Patriotic Pallet Project allows us to recognize veterans and active-duty military personnel in our service area, and to raise awareness about career opportunities at Carolina Handling that offer a meaningful military-to-civilian transition.”

   The pallets were donated by 48forty Solutions, and the crew began painting them 20 different colors on Sept. 8.

“48forty Solutions is honored to donate to The Patriotic Pallet Project, an incredible initiative paying tribute to the heroic veterans within our communities. We are forever grateful to all veterans for their love for this country and willingness to serve. Our team is looking forward to providing the pallets for the record-breaking pallet painting, and we thank Carolina Handling for inviting us to participate,” Mike Hachtman, CEO of 48forty Solutions, said.

The free event will begin at 10 a.m. with displays of military equipment and artifacts from the Military History Center of the Carolinas and exhibitors including military veterans organizations. Food trucks will be on site from 11:20 a.m. until 1:30 p.m. The event will conclude at 4 p.m. with a flyover by two vintage World War II T-6 Texans. The first 250 attendees will receive a Patriotic Pallet Project t-shirt, according to the press release. If it is raining on Oct. 10, the event will be held on Tuesday, Oct. 11.

Active-duty military personnel and military veterans are encourage to attend in uniform or military apparel.

A videographer will capture every step of the process up to the finished painting, and the video will be released on Veterans Day.

Carolina Handling teamed up with 48forty Solutions, the Greenville Airport Commission and the Military History Center of the Carolinas to bring this project to life.

For updates on the project, follow Carolina Handling’s Facebook page.