pallet

Biofiba Limited of Australia has announced plans to begin marketing a new biodegradable material that can be used to make pallets, which could offer cost and Sustainability advantages in global trade.

Pallets are used for a substantial amount of global trade movements, and the wood needed to make these pallets may represent as much as 40% of total global timber use.

A next generation small-footprint retail-ready display pallet, developed in consultation with manufacturers and retailers for the FMCG retail supply chain, has been released.

The new FMCG Retail Display Pallet builds on the success of CHEP’s first-generation retail display pallet pool. It has been engineered to fit the majority of manual handling equipment used in Australian FMCG supply chains, and its features include the ability to beam-rack.

Business development manager Frank Vittoria said: “We’ve put the pallet through rigorous testing to achieve a maximum fork-entry width of 735mm on the same footprint. This design means most manufacturers and retailers can integrate the display pallet into their operations, without the need for any capital investment.”

Leading pallet distribution network Pall-Ex has appointed two new graduate trainees.

Beatriz Cano and Matthieu Charpy have joined the projects department of the UK's number one network for distribution of palletised freight.

Beatriz, 27, moved to the UK from Mexico in September 2008 to study for a Master's Degree in International Management at the University of Strathclyde in Glasgow.

LOSCAM has announced a smaller footprint, store-ready plastic display pallet.

The Loscam display pallet has been released after extensive consultation with leading supply chain participants in the FMCG manufacturing & supply sector, due to the increasing number of goods moved direct to the retail floor in a store-ready format. This approach has ensured Loscam’s display pallet is the strong and safe, and provides choice to Australian pallet users.

The 1-PAL pallet, an innovative Australian-designed and manufactured pallet system, is set to provide companies with significant warehousing, freight, environmental, safety and cost benefits.

Craemer has reacted to the demands made by the logistics industry for an alternative to the wooden ‘Dusseldorfer' pallet and has developed a load carrier which offers higher levels of sustainability, functionality and longevity; whilst at the same time, enables universal usage across the entire supply chain, with an innovative half pallet concept.

Craemer ECOmax is the new first plastic half-pallet logistics that can provide an alternative solution to the old style wooden ‘Dusseldorfer' type of pallet that does not always meet hygienic, durability or high professional standards as required in the pallet exchange pools.

Logopak International has announced a new compact print & apply pallet labelling machine, developed to suit a broad range of applications as standard and bring reduced capital cost though the economies of volume production.

"Logopak has taken its latest mechanical and software technology and applied this to the new 800 series labellers through a programme of value engineering," says Logopak UK general manager Wilson Clark.

"The result is a machine of universal appeal, offering a small footprint, fewer components than its predecessors, and the ability as standard to provide a host of IT functions with no need for additional software to be written."

Brambles, the Australian the parent company of the CHEP pallet business, moved into the plastic container and limited use wood pallet market this week as it announced its intent to acquire Dutch-based IFCO Systems, creatng a global pallet and container giant.

It is not a small deal, with Brambles paying some $1.25 billion dollars to acquire IFCO from its current private equity owner.

IFCO currently has revenues of about $750 million dollars, and when the deal is approved the acquisition will increase total CHEP sales by about 16%.

Linde Material Handling’s new Citi Truck spans the market between hand and electric pallet trucks.

The CiTi Truck was primarily designed for deliveries direct to city centres where kerbs, paving and lack of manoeuvring room make it hard for supplies to reach retailers and offices.

Hand pallet trucks make significant physical demands on operator in confined areas, particularly when heavy loads have to be pulled and pushed using muscle power alone.

Craemer will be exhibiting for the first time a range of new products at TOTAL 2010 to provide the logistics market with pallet handling solutions. On display will be details of bespoke sized plastic pallets, plus the ‘TC' Totally Closed hygienic plastic pallet, the lightweight ‘D' Plastic Pallet, ECOmax ‘Dusseldorfer' - the first plastic half pallet and a real solution for securing reels in transport and storage.

Designed to meet the highest hygiene demands, the new TC plastic pallet offers strength and impact resistance due primarily to its material content and unique patented welding process that totally seals the lower deck and rim areas to prevent ingress of contaminants such as liquid and bacteria into the pallet structure. The flat, smooth outer surfaces can be easily cleaned.