• Telekom, Fraunhofer IML and EPAL launch 500 smart EPAL pallets on the market
• IoT enables pallets will help find lost and stolen shipments
• Tracking pallets live at the German Logistics Congress
• 10-year 10 Euro data flat rate

Der eingebaute Low Cost Tracker liefert Daten über die Position der Palette oder des Ladungsträgers, erkennt Bewegungen und misst den Temperaturverlauf.

Translated from the original by Google Translate

The Internet of Things is becoming mass-marketable for logistics. Deutsche Telekom, the Fraunhofer Institute for Material Flow and Logistics IML and the European Pallet Association (EPAL) have launched the first 500 intelligent EPAL pallets in practical use, according to a German language press release.

They note that loss and delay are two of the biggest challenges in logistics. Freight theft costs companies billions of euros each year. Due to missing or incorrect information, 30 percent of all deliveries worldwide do not reach their destination on time. Intelligently networked pallets provide the basis for reducing loss and delay issues. Telekom, Fraunhofer IML and EPAL recently presented a new generation of standardized pallets at the German Logistics Congress.

“Intelligent pallets are the start of a new era for EPAL, and the innovation potential of new data availability is crucial to providing our customers with reliable added value and a sustainable business model,” said Ingo Mönke, CEO of GPAL, German National Committee of the European Pallet Association.

Quickly located and protected from thieves

The small, low-cost tracker was developed in the Telekom Open IoT Labs at Fraunhofer IML, where it was installed in 500 EPAL pallets. The low-cost tracker can determine location and retrieve movement, shock effects and temperature history. A waterproof sensor registers shock, position, tilt angle, accelerations and temperature of the pallet. The pallet reports automatically in case of deviations due to vibrations or temperature fluctuations. It automatically sends its current data to its own portal.

“We built the low-cost tracker specifically for EPAL as one of our first customers, with more than 500 million pallets in circulation in Europe alone, which has huge potential to digitize the supply chain,” said Ingo Hofacker, responsible for the IoT business at Deutsche Telekom.

Data, the new currency of logistics

Due to the robust and compact design, the trackers can be installed in virtually every load carrier. The data exchange takes place via the machine and sensor network of the Telecom, in professional circles called NarrowBand IoT (in short: NB-IoT). Due to its special properties, this narrow band technology is an ideal pioneer for the Internet of Things. It opens up a wireless future with secure, stable and robust connectivity that works virtually anywhere. Advantages of the new technology are low energy consumption, low costs and high penetration in buildings. The battery life is ten years. The data flat rate costs once ten euros for 10 years. Also, the use of licensed spectrum and 3GPP standardization ensures LTE-based security. This is an important step towards 5G. The global roaming capability of NB-IoT is also becoming increasingly important.

Experts estimate that well over a billion devices a year will go online in the coming years. Many of them will be used in the transport and logistics industry. The small devices in the pallets, containers and containers will transfer billions of status data in the future. In addition, they can localize themselves and communicate with each other.

“The low-cost tracker makes carriers smart and boosts the data gold of logistics, which will be the key competitive advantage in logistics – scaling up to billions is a global standard with secure certification and authentication, such as a SIM card indispensable as in the long term guaranteed, stable networks, competitive prices and flat rates. This can currently only NB IoT, “says Prof. Michael ten Hompel, managing director of the Fraunhofer IML.

At the German Logistics Congress of the Bundesvereinigung Logistik (BVL) from October 17 to 19, 2018 in Berlin, the partners demonstrated for the first time live the route of intelligent pallets in the Bellevue area at Booth B / 05.
 

A decade since pallet exchange has largely disappeared from the landscape of major U.S. grocery retailers, here is a no longer politically correct reminder of how things used to be, circa Y2K, courtesy of Pallet Enterprise Magazine.

The Canadian Pallet Council’s pallet interchange program survived until 2015.

Pallet Exchange: How Big, Ugly, Is Your Truck Driver?
There is good news and bad news when it comes to pallet exchange as an ongoing source for cores in the years ahead.

By Rick LeBlanc
Date Posted: 2/1/2000

There is good news and bad news when it comes to pallet exchange as an ongoing source for cores in the years ahead.

The good news is that pallet exchange is still extremely widely practiced and remains entrenched. About 97% of food service distributors participate in pallet exchange, according to a report on food service palletization. The report, released at the Food Distributors International productivity conference late last year in St. Louis, offered tips for better management of pallet programs.

The bad news for recyclers is that some 52% of food service distributors think pallet exchange is a more expensive option than third-party management. This is not all that surprising because they generally see third-party as a cost picked up by the product manufacturer. A slight majority of manufacturers sees pallet exchange as being more cost efficient for the very same reason.

Inconsistent, inequitable practices were at the heart of food service’s general distaste for pallet exchange. One participant, the logistics director for a major poultry processor, noted that a pallet exchange policy often is determined by the size and appearance of a truck driver. If the truck driver is big and ugly, he said, then there is no bad wood on his load. Conversely, if he is not so ugly, then the exchange pallets he gets back likely will be.

This is no way to run any part of a business, especially one that measures productivity in seconds. There is simply no time to stop for a jawing session when the truck with the next appointment is waiting to get to the dock, and a fleet of lift trucks is idle, waiting to put away pallets of product.

At another conference session on dock productivity, the CEO of a major trucking company said that pallet exchange — and the hassles it can encompass — is one of the main reasons his company does not pull loads for the food industry. In fact, he did a stint as his company’s pallet coordinator. He recalled his frustration at never being able to get his pallet ledgers to balance. His most important job as CEO was recruiting and retaining drivers, he said, and he did not want his drivers to have to deal with pallet exchange. The tight labor market is a concern in many industries, including the pallet industry and the food industry, too.

Distribution centers are perennially cash-starved and are looking to squeeze out direct costs, especially high visibility ones such as direct labor and inventory. Just as in the trucking business and other industries, finding and keeping good workers is a big problem for warehouses, too. Expect them to look increasingly to automation and reduced inventory strategies for solutions to labor problems, especially if the much-feared new ergonomics regulations from OSHA take hold.

Speaking of the new ergonomics rules, food industry experts predicted at the conference that they would cost their businesses $26 billion to comply. The food distributing organization was firmly against the OSHA regulations because of the high cost of compliance. The new regs would attempt to reduce repetitive stress injuries by limiting exposure to heavy and awkward lifting — for example, restricting time in freezers. Anybody who has spent any amount of time in a conventional grocery warehouse knows that awkward bending, reaching, and lifting are the way the job gets done in a lot of mature facilities across North America. However, it seems to me that the tight labor situation is going to push food distributors towards automation for purely market reasons, rule or no rule.

Enforcement of the new OSHA ergonomics regulations definitely would help tip the scale more quickly in favor of new facilities and automation. Self-management of pallets as a cost reduction strategy probably will not be on the radar screen of many food distributors if they are faced with potentially huge OSHA compliance issues. Ironically, the automated warehousing and inventory reduction strategies will motivate many grocery chains and distribution centers to specify pallet and container priorities more clearly. It will push them further into the third-party domain as well as get them more interested in case markings and case sizing to facilitate automation and automatic identification.

The food service pallet report is definitely not a pallet exchange obituary, though. The report acknowledged that third-party is one quick route to improving quality. However, it also suggested steps that food service companies can take to improve the quality of their pallet exchange programs, including self-regulation, enforcement of pallet specifications, and on-going communications and cooperation among trading partners.

These steps may seem simple, said Dan Raftery, the consultant responsible for the report, but many food service companies do not take them.

Better management of food service pallets will help stabilize and improve the food industry’s pallet exchange system — and hopefully result in more good quality cores for pallet recyclers.

The report also included a template that food service companies can employ to evaluate their present pallet program. It is available from FDI by calling (301) 843-3084.

Reusable packaging and pallet news briefs

JD.com expands reusable packaging program

E-tailers have long been criticized for using too much packaging materials in their shipments to customers. Now, at least one China-based e-commerce giant is attempting to address the issue, according to Air Cargo World.

Greystone Reports Record Quarterly Sales

Tulsa, OK, Oct. 22, 2018–Tulsa-based Greystone Logistics, Inc. has recorded quarterly sales for the first quarter of fiscal year 2019.

Sales for the three months ended August 31, 2018 were $18,206,110 compared to $10,287,075 for the three months ended August 31, 2017 for an increase of $7,919,035, a 77% increase. Greystone’s sales to major customers in the quarter ended August 31, 2018 were 84% of sales compared to 73% in the same period last year. Greystone’s net income was $764,908 in the three months ended August 31, 2018 compared to $530,282 in the same period last year. Greystone recorded net income available to common stockholders for the current quarter of $601,388, or $.02 per share, compared to $374,708, or $0.01 per share, in the same period last year. EBITDA for current quarter of fiscal year 2019 was $2,562,139 compared to $1,824,727.

“The continuation of record-breaking sales in the first quarter of our fiscal year 2019 was expected based on the burgeoning development of our customer base”, stated CEO Warren Kruger. Kruger continued, “The number of customers with over 15% sales volume increased from two to three over the prior period. Our margins have not developed consistently with the increase in sales as front loading of costs continue to remain high. These costs include equipment, facilities, infrastructure, training, and maintenance costs. Our dedicated employees work daily to flatten out these costs, maximize production and implement cost saving initiatives.”

“In this quest for efficiency, we have ordered automation on two production lines that will begin to roll out in the third quarter which we believe will have a significant positive impact for our employees and on earnings in the long term. We anticipate rolling this automation across all equipment lines in the future. Additionally, equipment is on order to increase Greystone’s capacity to refine recycled plastic and thus reduce total resin average price per pound. Based on the large volume of recycled plastic resin utilized by Greystone, penny reductions in the cost of raw materials should provide significant positive improvements in earnings. Our 48×45 automotive pallet mold has been shipped and this product will be available for sale in December. We have just completed installation of a new production machine that will start producing revenue in November, 2018 with an additional large tonnage machine scheduled for January.”

Arrows Up Stands Strong for Open Competition, Seeks Relief from Texas Appeals Court

Intellectual Property Suit against Sandbox Proceeds in Federal Court

HOUSTON – October 4, 2018 – Arrows Up, LLC, the latest target of Sandbox’s competition stifling litigation, will secure a stay for yesterday’s Texas State Court judgment (see post below) pending a ruling from the Texas Court of Appeals. Arrows Up becomes yet another company to be party to Sandbox’s demonstrated pattern of lawsuits against competitive innovation within the frac sand logistics industry.

“From the beginning, this lawsuit has been an attempt by Sandbox to shut out competition and we are committed to fighting for open competition within our industry while protecting our superior intellectual property claims,” said Kevin Shuba, CEO of managing affiliate OmniTRAX.

Arrows Up business operations continue without interruption while the company resolves the outstanding contract dispute in the Texas Court of Appeals.

“The lower court judgment is not enforceable until the appeals process is complete and it does not address the pivotal issue of contract enforcability,” added Shuba. “We remain convinced that the contract as written is an unenforceable restraint of trade and will seek relief in the Texas Court of Appeals.”

In addition to the Texas State Court appeal, Arrows Up, LLC continues its federal suit against Sandbox to protect its first in time superior intellectual property rights.

About Arrows Up, LLC.

Arrows Up, LLC began following a company’s request to create better products to serve the bulk storage and transportation industry. The management and operations teams of Arrows Up have over 65 years of combined experience in the packaging and logistics industry. Its mission is to create innovative, efficient and safer solutions for the bulk storage and transportation industries. This will be accomplished by research, customer involvement and continued experimentation with materials, design and assemble concepts. More information is available at http://www.arrowsupllc.com/.

Source: Arrows Up

U.S. Silica’s Sandbox Unit Receives Final Judgment Against Arrows Up

• Monetary damages to Sandbox of $49.2 million
• Judge declares Sandbox owns Arrows Up boxes
• U.S. Silica reports 10% Third Quarter proppant volume growth despite headwinds

KATY, Texas, Oct. 4, 2018 — U.S. Silica Holdings, Inc.  announced entry of final judgment in its trial in State District Court in Harris County, Texas, against Arrows Up, LLC, an affiliate of OmniTRAX, Inc., a Broe Group portfolio company. In July 2018, the jury returned a unanimous verdict in favor of SandBox Logistics, a wholly-owned subsidiary of U.S. Silica, on every issue presented in the lawsuit. Among other things, the jury found that both Arrows Up and John Allegretti, its founder and CEO, committed fraud against SandBox and breached a 2015 Settlement Agreement with SandBox. The jury also found that Arrows Up breached a 2014 Confidentiality and Non-Disclosure Agreement with SandBox.

After considering the parties’ post-verdict briefing, the Court entered final judgment in SandBox’s favor on October 2. The judgment requires Arrows Up to pay SandBox $49.2 million in damages. In addition, the judgment declares that all frac sand shipping containers that Arrows Up has manufactured, sold or leased since January 2015 are actually “owned solely and exclusively” by SandBox under the terms of the parties’ Confidentiality and Non-Disclosure Agreement. The judgment awards SandBox title to and possession of Arrows Up’s frac sand shipping containers, and it sets up a schedule by which Arrows Up is to deliver those containers to SandBox.

U.S. Silica President and CEO Bryan Shinn commented, “We’re very happy with the outcome of this case. The ruling reaffirms the strength of Sandbox’s intellectual property and its broad patent portfolio. As the leading provider of last-mile containerized solutions, our Sandbox unit continues to add customers and new product offerings that solidify its industry-leading position in this growing and dynamic market segment.” Shinn added that, “We will strongly support an orderly transition from Arrows Up to Sandbox that minimizes customer disruptions.”

Commenting on Company third quarter performance, Shinn said, “We are pleased to report that we grew sand proppant sales volumes 10% sequentially in the third quarter. Given the widely reported slowdown in well completions in the back half of Q3 and the continued growth of in-basin sand capacity, we do expect our Northern White proppant pricing will be down sequentially. However, West Texas volumes and pricing held up well during the quarter, despite the more than 12 million tons of high cost competitor Northern White capacity coming off line,” he concluded.

Norm Plotkin Named CEO of 48forty Solutions

ATLANTA–48forty Solutions, the largest supplier of recycled pallets in North America, announced that Norm Plotkin has assumed the role of chief executive officer. Plotkin will also continue in his position as executive chairman of the Company. Plotkin has a 30-year track record of achieving growth and operational improvement in companies in a number of industries, including distribution, retail, business services, manufacturing, and real estate.

Mr. Plotkin was most recently CEO and executive chairman of Honsador Holdings, LLC, the largest independent distributor of building products and electrical supplies in the state of Hawaii. Additionally, he has served as CEO and executive chairman of Binswanger Glass, Stratix Corporation, and Distribution International. Over the course of his career, Plotkin served as CEO of a multi-site retail operation and has held various senior management roles in the real estate, building products and retail industries. He holds a Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of Michigan and a Juris Doctor degree from George Washington University.

When Brambles Limited announced plans to divest itself of its North American recycled pallets business in August of 2017, it indicated that CHEP Recycled’s growth outlook would improve under alternative ownership.

Less than five months later, Grey Mountain Partners, a Boulder, Colorado-based private equity firm, seized the opportunity to purchase the spinoff and completed the acquisition of CHEP Recycled on February 14, 2018. The former CHEP Recycled rebranded with a bold new name and brand image that it said positioned it for growth while celebrating its position as the leader in one of the foundational businesses of the supply chain and logistics industry. Kyle Otting, a 14-year veteran of CHEP Recycled, was named the first Chief Executive Officer of 48forty Solutions.

48forty Solutions is North America’s largest pallet management services company with a national network of company-owned and operated facilities and fleet operation to serve customers. Comprehensive pallet solutions include supply and retrieval, on-site services, reverse logistics, and packaging materials delivered to national and local companies by a customer-focused network of 225 facilities and 2,200 employees. Visit www.48forty.com.

Smurfit Kappa’s Vitop® develops innovative new Delta tap

Smurfit Kappa’s Vitop® company, leading producer of Bag-in-Box® taps and connectors, has launched an innovative new tap for rigid tins and cans with high density products such as detergent, chemicals and oils. The Delta tap, which holds a worldwide patent, has been designed to permit air to enter without requiring an extra air fitting and can be screwed on to rigid plastic packaging.

Thanks to its inbuilt ‘no return valve’, the Delta tap prevents leakage. If external pressure is applied to the rigid container during pouring, an inner ball shuts air entry and prevents liquid from escaping. A measuring cap can be placed on the Delta tap to avoid any additional product wastage. Furthermore, the Delta tap is spring-free, improving recyclability and the reduced number of components has made it more economical.

“This innovative new Delta Tap is another step forward for Vitop® . Its clever design can contribute to the overall improvement of a packaging design to better fit the customer’s requirements,” said Didier Pontcharraud, CEO of Vitop® . The Vitop® tap occupies the No. 1 position in the world for wine taps and has revolutionised the Bagin-Box ® system.

Greif Reaches One Million Drum Production Milestone at Jubail Plant

Industrial packaging specialist Greif has shipped its one millionth steel drum from its newly opened facility in Jubail, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.

Greif’s plant in Jubail is capable of manufacturing tight head and open head steel drums with or without internal coatings and gauges ranging from 0.8mm to 1.2mm. These drums can be supplied using tailor-made solutions that allow automatic loading onto chemical filling lines.

The facility is strategically located in close proximity to major customers allowing for 24-hour, 7-days per week operations and supply, providing potential operational efficiencies for these customers.

Speaking about the milestone, Abdennour EL Mosor, Regional Manager EMEA, said; “Our team is fully engaged and working every day to provide solutions that improve our customers’ operational efficiency and profitability”. “Greif strategically located this plant close to key customers to ensure a reliable, quality service that meets or exceeds their expectations. Reaching this significant milestone is key for our business.”

Greif’s Jubail plant is a specialist supplier to the chemical sector in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and other GCC countries.

Intertape Polymer Group Completes Acquisition of Polyair Inter Pack

Acquisition of protective packaging offering strengthens IPG’s product bundle 

MONTREAL, QUEBEC and SARASOTA, FLORIDA – Intertape Polymer Group Inc. has closed the previously-announced transaction to acquire 100% of the outstanding equity value in Polyair Inter Pack Inc. , a North American supplier of protective packaging with headquarters in Toronto, Ontario and Chicago, Illinois. The aggregate purchase price of the transaction is approximately $146 million, subject to certain purchase price adjustments. All amounts in this press release are denominated in US dollars.

“The addition of Polyair’s protective packaging offering is a strategic acquisition that expands our offering into a new product line thereby strengthening our overall product bundle,” said Greg Yull, President and CEO of IPG. “Polyair’s complementary product offering and established customer base provide us a two-faceted approach for cross-selling opportunities. In addition, as the e-commerce market continues to experience out-sized growth, we believe protective packaging demand will continue to be a key component of our future growth.”

IPG estimates Polyair will generate approximately $133 million of revenue, approximately $14 million in adjusted EBITDA in the twelve months ending December 31, 2018 and will be accretive to IPG earnings in 2019, excluding advisory fees and other costs associated with mergers and acquisitions activity, including due diligence, integration and certain non-cash purchase price accounting adjustments. Deal and integration costs are expected to be approximately $2 million and $3 to $4 million, respectively, with the majority of integration costs expected to be recognized during 2019 and 2020. IPG estimates Polyair will generate approximately $20 to $22 million in adjusted EBITDA by 2021, which includes synergies and organic growth driven primarily by its e-commerce business channel.

The purchase price was financed with funds available under IPG’s revolving $600 million credit facility.

China Merchants Is Said to Weigh Sale of $1 Billion Loscam

State-owned China Merchants Group is considering a sale of pallet maker Loscam, according to Bloomberg, citing interest from investors including Asian buyout firms.

“The Hong Kong-based conglomerate is working with financial advisers on the potential divestment of a majority stake in Loscam, the people said, asking not to be identified because the matter is private. A deal could value the business at about $1 billion, said the people.”

CMG acquired Loscam from Affinity Equity Partners in 2010, moving its headquarters to Hong Kong.

Related: Loscam marks 70 years in business

Smith Plastics will be Showing Their Induostry Leading Returnable Packaging Containers at Empack Porto 2018

DS Smith Plastics’ polypropylene collapsible and reusable containers are known for their durability, light weight and reliability to safely transport goods for any market.

Empack Porto will be held on the 19-20 in Porto, Portugal, and the DS Smith Plastics’ team will be in the main exhibition hall at Stand F12.

The 24m² stand will feature a selection of customised polypropylene reusable packaging for a variety of markets. For the automotive industry, DS Smith Plastics will be featuring their AkyPak family of reusable containers, trays and boxes made from AkyLux polypropylene sheets.  Additional packaging solutions with functionalities and critical benefits such as durability, lightweight and customisability will also be highlighted at the show.

Polypropylene packaging solutions have become an industry standard in a variety of markets from automotive to foodservice. Because of its many advantages—such as superior printability—the DS Smith Plastics’ family of returnable transit packaging has gained popularity to safely transport an endless list of products. The surface of AkyPak boxes and container sleeves are the ideal surface for printing any company logos or labels to clearly mark the product when in transit. This industry leading transport packaging system is also known for its ability to carry large products like automobile parts that require a durable solution to keep the product safe, or seafood products that require watertight packaging to keep the product fresh.

Empack Porto will gather more than 4,000 professionals in search of products and solutions in order to minimize risks, create better control over processes and bring greater advantages to businesses. The wide assortment of businesses and products at exhibitions can make it hard to know what the best solution for any professional to learn what the best solution is for them. DS Smith Plastics assures that no matter the issue we will do our best to come up with a system to meet the requirements of any customer.

Come visit DS Smith Plastics at this amazing show, and learn about a wide variety of industry leading products.

U.S. Department of Labor Cites Ohio Wood Pallet Manufacturer After Employee Amputation

COLUMBUS, OH, Sept. 13, 2018 – The U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA)  cited pallet manufacturer Buckeye Diamond Logistics Inc. – which operates as BDL Supply – for lockout/tagout hazards after an employee suffered an amputation at the Columbus-based company. OSHA proposed penalties of $191,794 for two repeated and four serious violations.

The employee suffered a finger amputation while working with an energized pallet stack machine. OSHA investigators determined that the company failed to develop lockout/tag out procedures, install machine guards, and train employees on procedures to prevent machines from starting during service and maintenance; and exposed employees to electrical hazards. OSHA cited the company for similar violations at its Lima and South Charleston, Ohio, facilities in 2016.

BDL Supply had 15 business days from receipt of the citations and penalties to comply, request an informal conference with OSHA’s area director, or contest the findings before the independent Occupational Safety and Health Review Commission.

Under the Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1970, employers are responsible for providing safe and healthful workplaces for their employees. OSHA’s role is to help ensure these conditions for America’s working men and women by setting and enforcing standards, and providing training, education and assistance. For more information, visit https://www.osha.gov.

Menasha Now Offering ISTA 6-Amazon.com Testing, Certification

NEENAH, Wis., Sept. 11, 2018 /PRNewswire-PRWeb/ — Menasha, an industry-leading merchandising, packaging and e-commerce solutions provider, now offers International Safe Transit Association (ISTA) 6-Amazon.com testing and certification. The company is certified to conduct multiple series of ISTA testing for Frustration Free Packaging (FFP), Ships-in-Own-Container (SIOC) and Prep-Free Packaging (PFP).

An official participant in the Amazon Packaging Support and Supplier Network (APASS), Menasha also provides APASS services directly to vendors, sellers and manufacturers related to package testing in compliance with Amazon’s certification test methods.

“As an APASS partner and provider of ISTA certified testing, we are further simplifying e-commerce for consumer packaged goods companies and retailers with our multi-platform, adaptable supply chain solution,” says Jason Rottier, director of e-commerce for Menasha. “Conducting ISTA testing alongside our in-house design also enables us to increase speed-to-market for our customers and provide them with innovative, unbiased packaging that’s designed for delivery.”

Menasha is trained and certified in the following ISTA testing standards:

• ISTA 1 Series: Non-Simulation Integrity Performance Tests
• ISTA 2 Series: Partial Simulation Performance Tests
• ISTA 3 Series: General Simulation Performance Tests
• ISTA 6 Series: Member Performance Tests
• ISTA 7 Series: Development Tests

Menasha’s adaptable, innovative and personalized e-commerce offerings also include complete digital printing capabilities that enable late-stage customization and scalable supply chain solutions.

To learn more about Menasha’s e-commerce solutions and ISTA testing, visit https://www.menasha.com/onlinesolutions.

Recycling company president pleads guilty for underpaying Stewart’s more than $150,000

The president of an Amsterdam, New York, recycling company has pleaded guilty to stealing more than $150,000 from Stewart’s Shops Corp., according to the district attorney of Saratoga County’s office.

Sam Donadio, president of Power Pallet Recycling, pleaded guilty on Monday in Saratoga County Court to grand larceny in the second degree. Read more.

Surgere® Names Michael Silvio to New Role

Surgere® has announced the appointment of Michael Silvio to Vice President – Operations Innovation. A Detroit native, Silvio has 29 years of global supply chain experience, the last 17 in the global Tier I automaker supply chain. He has been an adjunct faculty member at the Mike Ilitch School of Business, Global Supply Chain Department, at Wayne State University in Detroit since 2003. In his new role, Silvio will work with new customers to deploy Surgere products’ hardware and software and ensure its smooth implementation. “Great ideas often come from the warehouse floor and local material departments,” Silvio said. “For this and many other reasons, it’s important for us to be close to the customer’s needs and get their ideas for process improvement.”

China Federation of Logistics & Purchasing Meeting with EPAL

On the 20^th August 2018, Mr Cai Jin, Vice-Chairman of China Federation of Logistics & Purchasing (CFLP), met Mr Thomas Beenen, Senior General Manager of European Pallet Association e.V. (EPAL), and Ms An Xiaowei, EPAL’s representative in Asia.

EPAL and CFLP aim to strengthen exchange and deepen collaboration together. Mr Thomas Beenen introduced the background and development of EPAL in detail, explaining that EPAL focuses on quality and assures the constant quality of EPAL load carriers worldwide. Besides, EPAL thinks that ultimately the market and users will choose which pallet type to use. Mr Cai delivered a warm welcome to Mr Beenen, and highlighted the existing cooperation between CFLP and EPAL. Mr Cai thanked EPAL for its efforts in the field of pallet standardisation over the years in China. Mr Cai also introduced the structure of CFLP briefly and pointed out that CFLP pays great attention to the promotion of pallet standardisation in China in such areas as production certification, standardisation, operating models and the application of new technology on pallets. CFLP and EPAL intend to strengthen and further promote these points to fulfil the huge demand for pallets in China. At the end of the meeting, there was a further discussion between the two parties on how to develop global pallet integration together in future.

The Department Directors of the Pallet Professional Committee (CPC), the International Cooperation Department and the Logistics Equipment Committee of CFLP also attended this meeting.

See the full range of CPL services in its new film: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5WHac85Fzco.

PACK EXPO Presentations Geared to Help Improve Manufacturing Operations

Professionals who attend this year’s PACK EXPO International and Healthcare Packaging EXPO in Chicago, Oct. 14–17, can learn about the latest smart manufacturing techniques aimed at delivering value across the enterprise. This year, Rockwell Automation will conduct a series of presentations and demonstrations for end users, machine and equipment builders in packaging and related industries to share the most recent innovations in independent cart technology, analytics and network security.

Rockwell Automation subject matter specialists will present at the PACK EXPO International and Healthcare Packaging EXPO Innovation Stages, featuring the following topics:

• Smart Flexible Manufacturing: Oct. 14 at 2 p.m. in Booth N-4560 – How companies are leveraging innovative technologies to add more flexibility into manufacturing

• Advanced Technology in Life Sciences: Oct. 15 at 11 a.m. in Booth W-320 – How business models in life science manufacturing are evolving to support changing market demands

• Analytics for Delivering Business Value in Industrial IoT: Oct. 15 at 2 p.m. in Booth N-4560 – Why big data will become less relevant in the future and increasingly be replaced with contextualized data and digital twins that are embedded in devices, machines and the cloud

• Cybersecurity in Manufacturing Operations: Oct. 16 at 10 a.m. in Booth N-4560 – Recommendations on best practices and actionable steps industrial companies can take with reference to network security and standards within the industry

“At PACK EXPO International and Healthcare Packaging EXPO, attendees can learn how they can leverage analytics to help generate increased productivity and flexibility in their operations,” said Steve Mulder, OEM packaging and segment leader, Rockwell Automation. “We look forward to sharing the latest in automation technology and offering new solutions for machine designers and end users.”

Attendees can also visit Booth E-8043 to see the iTRAK and MagneMover Lite motion control systems from Rockwell Automation. Designed for the precise movement, positioning and tracking of loads, these modular, scalable motion control systems can increase throughput and efficiency in applications such as packaging, pharmaceutical manufacturing, sterile and aseptic filling, lab automation and medical device manufacturing.

In conjunction with its participation in PACK EXPO International, Rockwell Automation is a title sponsor of the PACK gives BACK benefit event on Oct. 15 featuring Chicago-based comedian Sebastian Maniscalco. A portion of the proceeds from this event will go to the PACK EXPO Scholarship, which supports students pursuing advanced degrees in packaging or processing at PMMI partner schools. Tickets can be purchased at packexpo.com.

IMDA EXHIBITS AT PACK EXPO INTERNATIONAL

Be sure to visit the IMDA booth N-5000 to say hello. It is located in the Partner Pavilion, upper North Hall of 2018 PACK EXPO International, October 14 – 17, 2018, at McCormick Place in Chicago, IL

IMDA members will be there to greet you and discuss questions you may have about in-mold labeling, in-mold decorating and in-mold electronics. Click HERE to view the schedule of our member experts who will be at the booth during the show. (Check often as the schedule is updated daily.)

On display will be the winning entries from the 2018 IMDA Awards Competition plus many other interesting in-mold labeled packages (IML), in-mold decorated durable products (IMD) and in-mold electronics (IME) for you to examine and admire.

The winners of the 2018 IMDA Awards Competition will also be displayed in The Showcase of Packaging Innovations®, sponsored by The Dow Chemical Company. The Showcase highlights more than 300 award-winning packaging designs from internationally recognized packaging organizations.

PELICAN BIOTHERMAL OPENS NEW NETWORK STATION IN FRANKFURT

Latest facility to support the fast expanding Crēdo on Demand rental program

Pelican Biothermal Credo

(Frankfurt, Germany – August 14, 2018) – Pelican BioThermal, the global name in temperature controlled packaging, announces the opening of a new network station in Frankfurt. The new facility will service reusable Crēdo Cube parcel shippers, including refurbishment and repair. It will also serve as an additional network station for the company’s rapidly expanding Crēdo on Demand rental program, which offers a high performance, flexible rental option for temperature controlled pallet shippers, with global reach.

The network station is located in close proximity to Frankfurt’s Main Airport, a major logistics hub for both pharmaceutical manufacturing and transfer in the region. The latest location enables global Pelican BioThermal clients to receive and return the reusable Credo line of temperature-controlled packaging.

“Our Crēdo rental programs are specifically designed to provide our global customers with options,” said Dominic Hyde, vice president of Crēdo on Demand. “To serve the needs of our clients worldwide, we continue to make significant investments in key locations globally. Our Frankfurt facility offers operational processes and quality procedures replicated throughout all of our expanding network stations and service centers. Our aim is to provide our customers the convenience and flexibility to select the best logistics location for their business.”

The location complements the existing and expanding network of service centers, network stations and rental drop-off points spanning Europe, Asia and the Americas, providing customers with an additional option for returning and conditioning of Crēdo on Demand assets at the end of the rental period, including Crēdo Xtreme pallet shippers and Crēdo Cargo bulk shippers.

The Crēdo on Demand rental service offers daily, monthly and other rental terms, including qualification reports and clean, freshly refurbished shippers.

Visit www.pelicanbiothermal.com to learn more about the wide range of Pelican BioThermal products and offerings.

Pelican BioThermal is a division of Pelican Products, Inc., which is a portfolio company of Behrman Capital, a private equity investment firm based in New York and San Francisco.

DS Smith to Make All Packaging, Including Plastics, Reusable or Recyclable by 2025

DS Smith has just released its annual Sustainability Review, setting nine ambitious targets across Packaging, Plastics, Recycling and Paper Divisions

LONDON, UK, 23 July 2018 –  The DS Smith Sustainability Review 2018 has announced a total of nine new sustainability targets, including a target to manufacture 100 percent reusable or recyclable packaging by 2025.

The company will spend the next year establishing strong action plans and gathering robust data. For the Plastics Division this will likely include measures to:

• Reduce material complexity to single polymers for efficient, high quality and 100 percent product recyclability.
• Providing alternative end-of-life solutions where possible, through reuse or repair.
• Conceiving and designing new plastic solutions from post-consumer recycled material to stimulate secondary material markets.

The report tells the story of how the company embeds sustainability throughout business discussing key issues, being honest about challenges and sharing success in how we create sustainable value at every stage of the supply cycle.

Read the report to find out more about:

• The design and manufacture of durable, recyclable products with long-life cycles, such as returnable beverage crates that can be reused for up to 30 years; and returnable sleeve pack containers with a life-cycle of 7 to 10 years.
• The collection of end-of life plastics products at our manufacturing facilities and via mobile regrinding vehicles services at customer sites.
• The creation of new designs made from post-consumer material such as our European Recycling Award Winning Beaulex^®, used in rainwater buffering systems.
• The benefits of reusable, repairable lightweight transit packaging products that lower our customers’ C0₂ emissions.
• And finally, how DS Smith has reduced  carbon emissions from its manufacturing plants by over 7% in the last year.

More needs to be done to ensure that the positive role of good, reusable and recyclable packaging is not forgotten, states DS Smith, saying that these steps mark just the start of its journey towards a more sustainable packaging future, and ever closer to 100 percent reusable and recyclable packaging.

IPP is to join forces with MATCH Belgium

Source: Pooling Partners

July 2018.  Back in March, IPP, a division of Pooling Partners, introduced the “Pallet Pooling Next Level: simple works best” model onto the Belgian market. The focus on simplicity has already seen many logistics managers change tack, such as the supermarket chain, Match.

MATCH is also opting for “Simple Works Best”

As of July the Match logistics chain will differ slightly in that goods will be delivered on brick-brown IPP pallets. Significant cost-savings and enhanced efficiency across the entire chain were the deciding factors for Match to switch over to the Simple Works Best model.  “We started collaborating with IPP because of the simple invoicing, straightforward communication and guaranteed, premium quality stock levels on offer,” explained Laurent Vanden Brande of Match. “Moreover, the pooling model underpins our efficiency objective for the entire supply chain.”

Sharp increase in IPP pallet use in Belgium

The FMCG market is increasingly encouraging the use of rental pool pallets. This has seen one of the largest retailers in Belgium raising the fine for EPAL deliveries by a staggering 27% earlier this year. Indeed, the pooling model IPP is offering results in a 20% cost-saving, according to IPP.

According to IPP’s Mohamed El Miniti, Sales Manager Belgium & Luxemburg: “The price agreements reached with our partners frequently result in a 20% cost-saving. That’s quite something!”

Pallet pooling is simple; in a nutshell, it fully facilitates the customer. All the customer need do is say how many pallets he needs, and where and when. Moreover, no further investment is required. The product is leased as it were; a concept that dovetails seamlessly with the prevailing ‘to rent, not have’ trend. As such, pallet pooling takes up a significant share in the circular economy.

Martin Leibrandt leaves EPAL

Düsseldorf, 18th July 2018 – The Board and General Assembly of the European Pallet Association e.V. (EPAL) have decided to end cooperation with the EPAL CEO, Martin Leibrandt. He left EPAL after more than 6 years on 30/06/2018.

The EPAL Board will decide on a successor in due course. Until then the President, Robert Holliger, and the Vice-President, Dirk Hoferer, will jointly manage the association with the deputy CEO, Mrs Claudia Töller.

At the same time as his departure from EPAL, Martin Leibrandt’s position as Managing Director of Gütegemeinschaft Paletten e.V. (GPAL), the German National Committee, is also terminated. As usual, Mrs Sabine Dresbach and Mrs Suzane Giurlando are available at Gütegemeinschaft Paletten e.V. (GPAL).

Demand for Reusable Plastic Containers (RPCs) to Grow 7.6% Annually

The number of RPCs in use is much larger than demand

CLEVELAND, July 16, 2018  — Demand for new reusable plastic containers (RPCs) for fresh produce is projected to increase 7.6% per year to $185 million in 2022, making them one of the fastest growing produce packaging products. Gains will be due to the implementation of RPC-based logistical systems for produce by grocery chains. Walmart and several regional grocery chains have adopted full or partial RPC-based systems. Demand for new RPCs will increase much faster than the overall produce packaging average but is expected to continue decelerating due to the size of the existing RPC pool. These and other trends are presented in Produce Packaging Market in the US, 7th Edition, a new study from The Freedonia Group, a Cleveland-based industry research firm.

More information about this study is here: https://www.freedoniagroup.com/industry-study/produce-packaging-3632.htm

The number of RPCs in use is much larger than demand due to the multiple trips made per year by most of these containers and their ability to be used for up to 100 trips.

Still, there will be growth opportunities due to:

• replacement needs due to wear or breakage
• compatibility with modular corrugated box systems and other packaging formats
• handling efficiencies due to size standardization
• stacking efficiencies compared to boxes
• efforts to reduce overall packaging waste

US demand for all types of produce packaging is projected to increase 4.0% per year to $6.5 billion in 2022. This will represent an improvement over the 2012-2017 period, when domestic produce production declined. Beyond a modest rebound in production, a number of other factors will boost demand, including increased packaging of heretofore unpackaged produce items, and the widening availability of cut and shredded produce in convenience-oriented packaging.

Paxxal Inc. Names Ellwood Hunt as Chief Operating Officer

Noblesville, IN – July 12, 2018 — Following an extensive search, Paxxal Inc., an innovative provider of shipping platforms, announces the appointment of Ellwood P. Hunt III as Chief Operating Officer effective August 1, 2018. Hunt will report to Ben Stoller, Chief Executive Officer and Executive Managing Member of Paxxal, and have global responsibility for manufacturing, logistics and operations.

Hunt brings more than three decades of operational expertise to the role, most recently serving as Senior Vice President of Manufacturing & Product Development for IGPS Logistics, the world’s largest plastic pallet rental company. He has fostered key relationships with Fortune 500 Companies nationally and internationally in the supply chain industry and plastic pallet industry.

“Ellwood’s nearly 30 years of operational experience in the plastic pallet industry and at PepsiCo is extraordinary and will enhance our team tremendously,” said Stoller. “We look forward to him joining our executive team.”

Prior to joining Paxxal Inc., Hunt held key executive roles and gained invaluable experience with four other companies. In addition to IGPS, he spent five years as Vice President, Sales/Operations of Teph Seal Auto Appearance, the largest auto detailing company in the US, served as Vice President of Operations & Logistics and Customer Service for seven years with CHEP, the world’s largest wood pallet rental company and 23 years at PepsiCo, where he was Regional/Market Unit General Manager and held other operational positions.

Paxxal is a platform company that specializes in logistics related products and services in the supply chain sector. Its focus is on improving supply chain efficiencies through manufacturing, logistics, reusable rental markets, robust data analytics and services.  Paxxal’s portfolio consists of three main divisions Industries, Logistics and Analytics. Find more information at www.paxxal.com.

Yukon Supports Grey Mountain Partners’ Investment in 48forty Solutions

MINNEAPOLIS–(BUSINESS WIRE)–Jul 10, 2018–Yukon Partners (“Yukon”), a provider of mezzanine capital for middle market private equity transactions, is pleased to announce that it has partnered with Grey Mountain Partners (“Grey Mountain”) in its investment in 48forty Solutions (“48forty” or the “Company”), formerly a division of Brambles and formerly known as CHEP Recycling.

Headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia, 48forty is the largest whitewood pallet recycler in North America, recycling over 90 million pallets annually across its network of 73 company locations and more than 225 network facilities. 48forty has approximately 2,400 employees and serves over 2,700 customers, including manufacturers, distributors and retailers in the distribution & logistics, food & beverage, packaging, durables, and non-durables industries. The Company sources used pallet “cores” from the end of supply chains, repairs the pallets, and then re-sells them to manufacturers/distributors at the top of the supply chain.

Yukon provided mezzanine capital to facilitate the transaction and acquired a minority equity interest. Dorsey & Whitney LLP served as legal counsel to Yukon.

Bill Ross, Vice President of Grey Mountain commented, “We are excited to partner with Yukon and appreciate their flexible approach as the Company enters its next phase of growth as a standalone business outside of Brambles. We believe 48forty’s reputation as the industry leader and commitment to customer excellence will position the Company nicely for continued, profitable growth.”

Aaron Arnett, Principal of Yukon, added, “We are looking forward to partnering with Grey Mountain, as well as with the management team at 48forty, to support the Company in further penetrating the North American recycled whitewood pallet market. The Company’s diverse customer and supplier base, and network of over 225 facilities across the United States and Canada, are key differentiators relative to competitors, allowing the Company to provide a comprehensive one-stop-shop solution for both national and regional customers.”

Recycling Industry Unites with Goal of Addressing Key Issues

Washington, DC –  July 10, 2018 – In May, a group of organizations representing various segments of the recycling industry met to discuss ways to better collaborate to advance the industry as a whole. The initial meeting, which took place in Washington, DC, at the headquarters of the Institute of Scrap Recycling Industries, was an open discussion aimed at identifying ways throughout the recycling stream to improve quality, increase demand for material, and promote products made with recycled content.

As part of the initial phase, the organizations have released the following statement of cooperation:

“As representatives of the complete recycling chain, we understand that improving the quality of the recycling stream and increasing the demand for recyclables in the manufacture of new products will deliver economic and environmental benefits nationwide. We commit to actively engaging with one another to enhance the nation’s recycling systems, while simultaneously continuing our own organizations’ work to influence change.”

The groups have scheduled a meeting in August to determine specific courses of action and efforts to work on collectively.

Organizations participating in the effort include:

• American Forest & Paper Association
• AMERIPEN
• Association of Plastic Recyclers
• Institute of Scrap Recycling Industries
• Keep America Beautiful
• Northeast Recycling Council
• National Recycling Coalition
• National Waste & Recycling Association
• Plastics Industry Association
• The Recycling Partnership
• Southeast Recycling Development Council
• Sustainable Packaging Coalition
• Solid Waste Association of North America.

EPAL Board meeting and General Assembly in Ljubljana, Slovenia

The Board and the representatives of the National Committees of the European Pallet Association met on 28th and 29th June 2018 in the Slovenian capital, Ljubljana. The Ordinary Board Meeting took place on 28th June, and the General Assembly was held a day later. The meeting of EPAL members takes place annually in one of the member countries of the world’s largest quality assurance association for EPAL pallets.

The General Assembly elected two new country representatives to join them: Tatyana Sargsyan from the EPAL Baltic States National Committee and Ruben Hut, representing the EPAL Dutch National Committee, NEDERPAL. The Board and the participants at the General Assembly would like to express their sincere thanks to the Slovenian National Committee, SIPAL, represented by the President, Igor Sep and the Managing Director, Ivan Kerec, for their excellent organisation and professional support.

Stacey McGuire Appointed as General Counsel for Pelican Products, Inc.

TORRANCE, CA – July 2, 2018 – Pelican Products, Inc., the global leader in the design and manufacture of high performance protective cases, temperature controlled packaging and advanced portable lighting systems, has appointed Stacey McGuire as General Counsel to lead the legal function at Pelican

“Experienced legal counsel in-house is crucial to navigating the complex regulatory issues associated with doing business in today’s global economy,” said Don Jordan, Chief Financial Officer, Pelican Products. “I’m confident that her experience and guidance will help protect our brand and operations so we can continue delivering the quality products and services that our customers around the globe have come to rely upon.”

McGuire brings more than 15 years of transactional and litigation experience to her new position. Prior to joining Pelican, she served in a variety of high-level positions at companies and law firms that include J.T. Posey Company, Clinipace Worldwide and Sedgwick LLP.

McGuire holds a Juris Doctor degree from the Pepperdine University School of Law and a Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of California, Santa Barbara.

Pelican Products, Inc. is a portfolio company of Behrman Capital, a private equity investment firm based in New York and San Francisco.

MAUSER Expands IBC Footprint with Opening of North Wales, PA Facility

MAUSER USA, LLC opens IBC bottle facility in North Wales, PA to support rebottling operations in the northeastern United States.

July 2, 2018 – MAUSER USA, LLC has announced its latest expansion of intermediate bulk container (IBC) manufacturing capabilities with its new North Wales, PA site. The North Wales facility will provide on-site supply of IBC bottles to MAUSER’s reconditioning affiliate, National Container Group (NCG) as well as IBC bottle replacements via NCG for other users in the northeastern US market.

“We are excited to enter the northeastern market with IBC bottle capabilities,” remarked Ed Konyen, Senior VP Operations – IBC Division at MAUSER USA, LLC. “This new location will improve our carbon footprint as we optimize our supply of bottles to our NCG locations and further solidify our commitment to sustainable packaging.”

“IBCs and reconditioned packaging continue to be the drivers of growth within the industrial packaging industry,” stated Jeff DeLiberty, Director of New Markets and Business Development at MAUSER USA, LLC. “Providing these solutions in the northeastern US corridor is critical as it further completes MAUSER’s North American footprint. In addition, this new location is ideal for MAUSER to enhance lead times and improve customer service.”

Kamps Pallets and Corrloc LLC Announce Strategic Partnership

June 28, 2018. Kamps Pallets, a national pallet company headquartered in Grand Rapids, MI, has announced a partnership with Corrloc LLC, a corrugated pallet and packaging company.

Dan Gibson, Corrloc co-founder, says, “Corrloc will be widely adopted in the market place due to its cost to strength ratio. Our customers will no longer have to choose one or the other, it will be based off what best fits their needs.

“Because Kamps is a recycling company at its core, Corrloc was a perfect fit for us. It can be manufactured from recycled materials, and itself is 100% recyclable as well,” said said Brad Rietema, Kamps Executive VP of Corporate Services. “This product will allow Kamps to offer multiple solutions to our customers in both wood and paper, for their pallets, bracing, dunnage and packaging needs. We are very excited to partner with Corrloc and offer the product on a national scale.”

Kamps plans to add Corrloc technology and manufacturing to its national network and work with existing, and new customers to see how Corrloc can best benefit them. The first CorrLoc manufacturing site was fully operational in Niles, MI in May of this year.Corrloc offers many different packaging solutions including pallets, dividers, braces, rails and cases. Each solution is engineered to meet specific packaging needs.

Kamps Pallets is a full service pallet company delivering innovative pallet and packaging solutions to customers across the United States. It specializes in custom pallet management processes, high-quality products and excellent customer service. Based in Michigan, Kamps has nationwide facilities to meet the shipping needs of industries from coast to coast, including wood pallets, plastic pallets, and corrugated pallets

Primex Design & Fabrication Improves Prototyping Time With New Appointment

June 18, 2018.  Primex Design & Fabrication, PD&F, (formerly Woodruff Corporation), a leading manufacturer of reusable, returnable and recyclable plastic shipping containers, custom interior dunnage, point of purchase displays and retail packaging, recently announced the appointment of Debbie Robinson to the position of sample department coordinator. She was previously a design engineer for the company for twenty years.

Robinson will be responsible for the creation, production and delivery of prototypes and samples to PD&F customers. “Our design and rapid prototyping capabilities set us apart from our competition,” says Robinson. “We normally are able to design and deliver custom samples within a 24-48-hour window.

Robinson’s position represents a critical touchpoint with customers during the initial phase of a new project. “I will be communicating with customers, answering questions and helping them with design solutions. With my 20 years’ experience as a designer, I have a good insight on what a customer needs in a finished product,” Robinson says.

PD&F is committed to accurate functional prototypes. The goals are to provide a perfect solution to the customers’ design needs, faster turnaround and accurate prototypes the first time. The appointment of Robinson brings stronger, more experienced management to this function.

Amstel and Kronenbourg Choose DS Smith’s Box2Keep Beer Crates to Promote Their Beer in the UK during the World Cup

The injection moulded One Way Box2Keep crate is the ideal tool to promote beer brands during international sporting events.

International football events are always the perfect times to have a beer with friends and thus, for beer brands, the perfect time to increase sales. With the World Cup 2018 on going, famous beer brands Amstel and Kronenbourg were looking for an original, supplementary packaging solution to promote their beers at POS in the UK.

In order to extend the existing offering with a special ‘FIFA World Cup Russia 2018’ promotion, the brands were looking for a sustainable packaging with a triple function: to transport the bottles, to promote the brand at the POS and to keep as a functional FIFA 2018 souvenir.

The world-famous beer brands chose DS Smith Plastics’ Box2Keep beer crate, a standard injection moulded one-way crate that can be personalized by screen printing, stickers, and ultra-thin IML labels, thus providing a lot of opportunities for an affordable cost. The supplementary inside dividers protect the bottles during transport. Its durability transforms the stackable box into a timeless promotion because it can be re-used by the customer to store all kinds of things.

The Amstel and Kronenbourg ‘must-haves’ will be available in Tesco warehouses in the UK during the FIFA World Cup 2018. The boxes are 100% recyclable after their long life.

Corrugated & Recycling Industries Work to Increase Residential Recovery

Corrugated packaging and recycling industry groups recently met to review recommendations for increasing residential recovery of old corrugated containers (OCC). The recommendations are a result of research conducted by RRS for the Fibre Box Association (FBA). The research asked more than 1,000 Americans about their residential OCC recycling practices.

Corrugated packaging is the most widely recycled packaging material with a recovery rate near 90 percent for the past seven years. To retain this leadership role, the corrugated industry is exploring how shifts in consumer purchasing patterns could impact recovery.  The group recognized the need for a renewed focus on promoting the recyclability of OCC and agreed to proactively pursue a broad set of initiatives to help increase recovery.

These initiatives include activities to generate greater ease of access and specifically address multi-family and rural residential recovery. The group agreed to:

• Promote the use of carts instead of bins for curbside collection of OCC where applicable to accommodate greater collection
• Support efforts to match the frequency of recycling and trash collection to provide for equal access to recycling
• Establish clear and harmonized messages and graphics for household recovery of OCC including what can be recycled and how to do it
• Develop more direct recycling messages on boxes to remind consumers to recycle
• Work with additional groups on recycling education to increase understanding and encourage recycling behaviors
• Support the development of building codes that make recycling easy for multi-family dwellings
• Encourage replication of successful multi-family and rural recovery programs

For years OCC has been a recycling success story. The group believes a renewed focus on its recyclability will spur additional recovery efforts.

The group led by FBA included AICC – The Independent Packaging Association, American Forest & Paper Association, AMERIPEN, Institute for Scrap Recycling Industries, Waste Management, and member companies Cascades, Dusobox, Georgia-Pacific, International Paper, Kruger, PCA, Pratt Industries and WestRock.

Source: Fibrebox.org

Pregis enters into definitive agreement to purchase FP International

FSK calls for entries for the 2018 Innovation Award Foamed Plastics

Stuttgart, 19.06.2018 – The Specialist Association Foamed Plastics and Polyurethanes (FSK) is once again calling for entries for the Innovation Award Foamed Plastics in 2018.  The competition is open to young talents and specialists, professionals and companies – to submit innovative ideas, forward-looking concepts and new developments in the field of foam plastics.

The Specialist Association Foamed Plastics and Polyurethanes (FSK) has set itself the goal of promoting young industry professionals and motivating them to submit new ideas, concepts and developments.  Each year, the FSK presents an innovation award in the categories “Technology” and “Design and Construction”. The prize is awarded alternately to the Foamed Plastics and Polyurethanes divisions. In 2018, the competition will be specifically for innovations in the field of foamed plastics. Applications are open until        3 September 2018 to individuals and groups from universities and companies across Europe.  Submissions from junior professionals and senior professionals or companies will be evaluated and awarded separately in order to ensure a fair and appropriate assessment and according to the level of knowledge and experience.  The evaluation is carried out by a jury of experts selected by the FSK. The criteria are the newness and innovative power of the submitted products and solutions, as well as their market and competitive ability.

Application documents can be requested from the FSK office or downloaded from its website. The award ceremony will take place in Papenburg on 28/29 November as part of the 19th International FSK Specialist Conference Foamed Plastics. The winners in the category junior professionals will receive an additional cash prize of up to 3,000 Euros in order to establish their innovations on the market.

Application documents can be found on the FSK-Website.

For further information, please send an e-mail to fsk@fsk-vsv.de or call +49 (0)711 993 7510.

Polymer Logistics to Showcase Reusable Packaging & Merchandising Systems for Produce and Floral at 2018 United FreshMKT & International Floriculture Expos

See innovative produce and floral transport and display solutions at United FreshMKT booth #1538 and IFE booth #5255 in Chicago June 25-27, 2018

Tampa, FL (June 18, 2018) – Polymer Logistics, a global leader in reusable packaging and merchandising systems, will present innovative products and services for transport packaging, retail and promotional display, and asset management at the 2018 United FreshMKT and International Floriculture Expos at McCormick Place in Chicago, June 25-27, 2018.

“We are laser focused on helping retailers and growers deliver delightful shopping experiences and profitable growth across the store,” said Fred Heptinstall, CEO of Polymer Logistics North America. “Our transport and merchandising systems work together from source to store to door. We work with our partners to strengthen the total supply chain through innovative design, sustainable and efficient operations, unsurpassed quality and freshness, enhanced retail merchandising, and cutting-edge asset management systems.”

The Polymer Logistics Fresh Look flower stand will be featured at IFE booth #5255. Modular, easy to assemble, and flexible, this innovative merchandising unit enhances the presentation of flowers and brings an instant market fresh look to the entire floral department.

At United FreshMKT booth #1538, attendees can see and learn more about Polymer Logistics reusable transport, display, and in-store decor, product handling and mobile merchandising options for perishable food and floral applications. All Polymer Logistics packaging and merchandising solutions can be ordered in the color that best complements store decor.

“Our high-impact product presentation and efficient supply chain packaging systems deliver results,” said Heptinstall. “We look forward to seeing everyone in Chicago and discussing how we can work together as supply chain and merchandising partners.”

Molson Coors Celebrates Father’s Day with a Dedicated Returnable Beverage Crate for Their Croatian Beer Brand Ožujsko

June 17th, we will be celebrating dads around the world. To celebrate the occasion, Croatian beer brand Ožujsko contacted DS Smith Plastics to design a special Father’s Day returnable beer crate.

Returnable beverage crates are the ideal tool for advertising or seasonal promotions. From a simple means of transport, they have evolved to a hi-tech marketing tool with limitless possibilities.

To increase the brand awareness of their customer’s product and with Father’s Day coming up, Molson Coors’ Croatian beer brand Ožujsko decided to celebrate fatherhood with a special beer crate. They contacted the DS Smith Plastics design department to create a returnable beverage crate with silk screen printing and with extra free space to personalise with the father’s name.

The text ‘Žuja za tate’, is silk screen printed together with the brand’s name. Žuja is a nickname for Ožujsko, given by customers and ‘za tate’ means ‘for dads’.  To promote the beverage crate on their website all Croatian dads who became a parent in 2018 can register for a free beer crate filled with 20 beers and chocolate. Every crate is personalized with the name of the father.

The returnable beverage crates last for decades and are 100% recyclable after their long life, which allows for significant savings on packaging and CO₂ emissions.

Automotive Manufacturers Use Dividers Made of Polypropylene Plastic to Protect and Efficiently Transport Small Automotive Parts Between Plants

DS Smith Plastics Alcala de Henares offers customized polypropylene plastic dividers to transport small automotive parts, such as auto forks, between assembly plants.

One challenge shared by automotive manufacturers is the safe transportation of small automotive parts such as auto forks, between assembly departments or plants. To meet these requirements, DS Smith Plastics offers customized dividers with special hollows to separate the parts for maximum protection and space optimization. The dividers are also completely customizable, so they can be designed to fit in any sized container the customer may need and can specialize in the transportation of a variety of automotive parts.

Some small automotive parts are soiled with oil as the result of the production process, requiring a material, such as polypropylene plastic, that is resilient to oil, water and other chemicals maintaining the sleek and clean design of the dividers, making them perfect for the luxury sector. Dividers made of polypropylene plastic are reusable, and when used as single-use by the customer, they can be recycled for a second life-cycle.

Polypropylene dividers manufactured by DS Smith Plastics can be fit to an outer packaging box and both the dividers and the outer polypropylene plastic box. The dividers can be customised or adapted to any part to securely protect and efficiently transport them throughout the supply or manufacturing chain.

DS Smith Plastics capabilities include designing services for optimizing the packaging thus maximum the number of parts that could be transported per divider or box.

IPP is to further strengthen its ties with PepsiCo in Belgium

Eindhoven, June 2018 – Back in March, IPP, a division of Pooling Partners, introduced the: “Pallet Pooling Next Level: simple works best” model onto the Belgian market. This model embodies simplicity, resulting in immediate and significant cost-savings.

FMCG supply chains are opting for IPP pallets

The timing of the new model’s launch is opportune, according to Pooling Partners. The FMCG market is increasingly encouraging the use of pool pallets – the reason being superior quality and efficiency enhancement throughout the supply chain. In essence, pallet pooling results in an all-encompassing, easy service provision for the customer. One only needs to inform on needed pallet quantities, the timing and place. Moreover, no further (upfront) investment is required. The product is leased as it were; a concept that dovetails seamlessly with the prevailing ‘to rent, not own’ trend. As such, pallet pooling is Circular Economy-aligned, for it provides easy repair of breakages, free of additional charge.

PepsiCo Belgium’s snack division is also opting for IPP

IPP states that its pooling offer is all about simplicity: simple invoicing, straightforward communication and guaranteed stock levels are its key benefits.

The focus on simplicity ensures smooth-running partnerships, and has already seen many logistics managers change tack. This year PepsiCo Netherlands has opted to continue its partnership with IPP. Additionally, beginning in June, PepsiCo in Belgium will start supplying snacks on IPP pallets. Harold Notkamp, 3PL & Productivity Manager Benelux – ‎PepsiCo, concurs: “We have extended and expanded our partnership with IPP due to the smooth-running processes and cost-efficiency the model generates, whilst simultaneously contributing towards our sustainability policy.”

Source: Pooling Partners

Alstom Chooses AkyPak Reusable Containers to Transport Train Components

When Alstom, a French multinational supplier and developer of high speed trains and trams, approached DS Smith Plastics, Extruded Products they were looking for reliable and durable packaging to protect their train assembly components while they are being transported between different manufacturing locations. Alstom needed a reliable and reusable transport container which could better protect the components they were transporting.

DS Smith Plastics offered AkyPak polypropylene containers because of their durability, longer life cycles of at least five years, low maintenance and simplified material handling and logistics when compared to traditional solutions. Furthermore, AkyPak three-piece foldable polypropylene containers could be reused from one shipment to the next.

To delight its customer, DS Smith Plastics Extruded Products assigned one engineer to the project and relocated him to another DS Smith Plastics location in La Chevrolière, France to be closer to the customer.

Due to the flexibility of DS Smith Plastics at La Chevrolière, France, the business was able to develop customized plastic containers with a variety of fittings used to protect ridged and delicate parts for Alstom France.

Story and image credit: DS Smith

Svenska Retursystem Hires New Sustainability Manager

Svenska Retursystem continues to reinforce its sustainability work through the hiring of Pontus Björkdahl as new sustainability manager.

“I am looking forward to working in an organization that has incredible ambitions with its sustainability work and which has previously had a high level of competence in the field,” said Björkdahl. “My mission is to ensure that the company is still at the forefront.”

Former sustainability manager Marie Winslow Andersson continues the company in the role of Central Sustainability Specialist and will focus on running internal work on the company’s production and logistics facilities as well as sustainability efforts linked to company carriers. The transport is a key issue for how sustainability can be achieved in the return system. Anna Elgh, CEO of Svenska Retursystem stated that strengthening its sustainability efforts “…is a strategically important issue to ensure that the return system continues to be the most sustainable alternative for the grocery and restaurant and the large-scale industry.”

DS Smith Plc to Acquire North American Corrugated Packaging Business

DS Smith Plc has announced an agreement to acquire Corrugated Container Corporation (CCC), a high-quality corrugated packaging company in North America.

The acquisition follows DS Smith’s recent purchase of Interstate Resources, building on the company’s paper and packaging capacity in the region.

CCC is a family owned business employing approximately 190 people across its four operations in Tennessee, North Carolina and two sites in Virginia. The acquisition of these packaging sites will significantly boost DS Smith’s box-making capacity, and complements its existing footprint in North America.

CCC’s capabilities include a strong focus on high-quality, sustainable retail ready and display packaging, an area where DS Smith is achieving strong growth in Europe.

Chris Powell Appointed as Corporate Controller for Pelican Products, Inc.

LOSCAM Sponsors Inaugural MEGATRANS 2018 Melbourne

May 28, 2018 – LOSCAM was a supporting sponsor of the inaugural MEGATRANS 2018 exhibition, held in Melbourne during May 12-14. Supported by the Victorian State Government, Australian Logistics Council, Port of Melbourne and the Victorian Transport Association, MEGATRANS showcased the forefront of innovation and collaboration across the logistics, warehousing, infrastructure and transport sectors.

LOSCAM returnable packaging solutions, including IBC’s I6 & I8, Foldable Bin LB750 and Heater Mat, were among the solutions showcased. LOSCAM Customer teams performed product demonstrations to illustrate each product’s functionality and to facilitate discussions on the product designs, features and benefits.

Along with demonstration sessions on Loscam product solutions, LOSCAM supported the inaugural event with a pop up Pallet Café, which encouraged networking between Australian and international supply chain industry partners and Customers to survey the end to end effective flow of goods, services and related information.

Michael Winter, LOSCAM Australia Customer Solutions Manager, said, “We welcomed the opportunity to demonstrate LOSCAM’s complete returnable packaging solutions. Our networking lounge provided an engaging environment for our team to promote the benefits of pooling equipment through various applications in supply chain.”

Over the three days, 9,604 visitors attended the MEGATRANS 2018 Expo.

LOSCAM Café & Bar

Product displays and demonstrations

Orbis is shifting its Mentor headquarters in $15M move

May 20, 2018 – ORBIS, a pallet and plastic packaging producer, searched widely for room to grow but satisfied its outsized space requirement three miles away as it seeks to consolidate to one site from its two current locations on Tyler Boulevard in Mentor.

The subsidiary of Neena, Wis.-based Menasha Corp. has leased 276,000 square feet at the former Caterpillar plant, 7206 Justin Way, now an industrial park that S.L. Equities of Los Angeles created by subdividing the former Caterpillar plant where tow motors once were made. Justin Way is a side street of Tyler. Read more at Crain’s Cleveland Business.

Pallet Machinery Group Features Storti Freedom, HY-400 and Ultimizer at the Richmond Show

May 15, 2018 – Pallet Machinery Group will be featuring three products from its diverse line at Expo Richmond, taking place May 18 and 19 in Richmond VA.

The first featured product is the Storti Freedom pallet nailing system, which the company has been advertising in Pallet Enterprise Magazine. “It is stringer only, as opposed to most Storti lines which are block and stringer,” explains Greg Wine, owner of Pallet Machinery Group.

Storti Freedom features of note include fast changeovers, as well as a two board hopper system as opposed to a single hopper. “This could be loaded by a conveyor from a robot,” Wine says. “Robot can feed boards onto the conveyor and the conveyor can feed the hopper.” While Storti pallet nailing lines have been used with robots in Europe for 10 or 15 years, Greg notes, the trend is newer in the U.S. He is aware of two or three installations with robots in Texas, and one in Virginia.

Another advantage for Freedom is that it nails the entire board in one stroke, as opposed to stopping three times to nail a 6-inch board. For example, on a GMA pallet, it would stop just seven times as opposed to 16 times.

The second featured product Expo Richmond is the HY400 saw, which Wine states is ideal for softwood splitting applications in the Western states. He describes it as faster, thinner kerf and more flexible than the competition. “We can put three saw blades on top and three blades on the bottom,” he notes. “We have customers running it at 400 feet per minute.”

Pallet Machinery Group will also be featuring a board scanning system from Ultimizers. They will demonstrate a board scanning system that can be used in conjunction with the HY saw. “We have several customers who have done Ultimizer inline with our HY saw,” Greg reports.

“Those are the show highlights,” he concludes. “We will have many more features as well.”

For more information, visit Pallet Machinery Group at Expo Richmond, or online at www.palletmachinery.com.

USA Made Light Duty Stackable Pallet

May 9, 2018 – Chicago, IL – One Way Solutions announces the release of an “unbeatable” USA made, stackable light duty 3 runner plastic pallet, offering high capacity, low tare weight, and reinforced perimeter for increased impact-resistance. This 40×48 pallet weighs only 18 lbs, yet provides 2,800 lbs of dynamic capacity. High pressure injection molded with high quality recycled HDPE resin, this pallet has a 9,000 lbs static capacity- heavyweight characteristics at light duty pricing.

Every consideration has been taken to minimize weight while maintaining strength and durability:

• 9 legs feature structurally neutral knockouts to reduce weight and cost.
• Tapered edges assist fork tine entry and assist splitting a pallet off a nested stack.
• The pallet deck perimeter is reinforced with extra ribs to increase impact resistance.
• 3 runners are installed prior to shipping or by the buyer – a simple assembly to reduce to freight costs.

Ideal for one way export shipments, light-medium duty reusable applications, WIP, storage, display, and distribution applications.

The 4 way entry is compatible with nearly all fork trucks and hand trucks. The open deck design allows for easy handling and cleaning. A 53’ truck fits 1600 unassembled pallets (540 if shipped assembled).The product is now available on the One Way Solutions website and will ship out next business day to any location.

Compact Line – New IBC Size Offered by WERIT

Altenkirchen – 9 May 2018 – WERIT has developed a new IBC (Intermediate Bulk Container). The Compact Line with 300 l capacity, a comparatively small IBC, closes a gap in the market. The container is ideal for production environments with limited space and for liquids that need to be processed quickly.

Source: WERIT, German translation

ORBIS^® CORPORATION ACQUIRES HINKLE MANUFACTURING

Customers to benefit from decades of highly engineered custom dunnage design experience

OCONOMOWOC, Wis. — May 1, 2018 — ORBIS^® Corporation, a subsidiary of Menasha Corporation, has acquired Hinkle Manufacturing of Perrysburg, Ohio. Hinkle serves the automotive market with highly engineered custom dunnage designed for part protection. Hinkle also operates a thermoforming plant in Dearborn, Michigan, where it produces trays and other plastic components. Terms of the transaction were not disclosed.

Hinkle’s plastic and foam dunnage expertise solves unique protective packaging needs with decades of specialized design experience. Founded in 1962, Hinkle employs 125 at its two locations.

“The expertise and capabilities of Hinkle Manufacturing expand our portfolio of custom reusable packaging products and bring even more solutions to the evolving and growing needs that we are seeing in the marketplace,” said Bill Ash, president of ORBIS Corporation. “Our commitment to providing unmatched products and services includes ensuring that our customers have the best options for their reusable packaging needs. Hinkle Manufacturing and our recent acquisition of Response Packaging will strengthen our custom solutions offerings.” ORBIS Corporation announced its acquisition of Response Packaging of Piedmont, South Carolina, on April 2, 2018. Response Packaging designs and manufactures reusable custom fabric dunnage and fabricated steel rack solutions.

ORBIS Corporation manufactures plastic reusable totes, bulk containers, pallets and dunnage. Additionally, it offers the ability to track and manage these assets in the supply chain through its Reusable Packaging Management (RPM) services offering. ORBIS has 2,500 employees in more than 50 locations across North America and Europe.

“We are delighted to welcome Hinkle Manufacturing to our ORBIS business. We see strong complementary value in combining the custom products of Hinkle and ORBIS, and we look forward to offering customers a wider array of solutions,” said Jim Kotek, president and CEO of Menasha Corporation.

For more information about ORBIS, please visit orbiscorporation.com.

Trilatec optimistic its squAIR-timber pallets will prove ‘a weight winner’

The squAIR-timber system offered by Trilatec is up to 80 percent lighter compared with conventional pallets. Moreover, disposal of the new material can be carrier out in an environmentally friendly way, using a paper recycling facility. Costs for special wood disposal are saved because squAIR-timber is manufactured of 100 percent recycled material.

One metre of the material carries up to five tons if weight is evenly distributed, and it has a net weight of only 1.2 kg/m. Timber of the same dimensions has a net weight between three and four kg/m. “The key to the stability lies in the manufacturing process,” said Stefan Trinkaus, technical director at Trilatec. “After working cold glue combinations into layers of cardboard fibres, they are laminated together under pressure. This process enables water resistance in the product, thus it is suitable for multiple use and at the same time ISPM15-compliant.”

Read more.

RM2 Raises $18.2 Million

April 14, 2018.  RM2 has raised $18.2 million after issuing 1.28 billion first tranche placing shares and 3.16 billion conversion shares. Shareholders passed all resolutions put to them at an extraordinary meeting held April 13.

RM2 reported that it has entered into a Phase 1 agreement for an initial deployment of RM2 ELIoT (tagged) pallets through June 30, 2018, with a Fortune 500 company in North America following a year-long trial in the customer’s supplier network.

In addition, it announced having completed a major trial with another North American company and discussions on a large-scale implementation are expected to commence.  The Company has also expanded ongoing trials with other major US-based customers.

Brambles Limited Divests its interest in the Hoover Ferguson Joint Venture to Focus on Core Businesses

April 11, 2018.  Brambles Limited has completed an agreement to divest its 50% interest in the Hoover Ferguson Group Joint Venture (HFG) to its co-venturer, First Reserve, a leading global private equity investment firm exclusively focused on energy. The principal terms of the divestment were:

• HFG repaid to Brambles on completion the principal and accrued interest on HFG’s US$150 million subordinated shareholder loan
• At the time of its formation in October 2016, Brambles received consideration of approximately US$77 million from First Reserve to equalise their respective ownership interests in HFG. Of this amount, approximately US$37 million was deferred. The deferred consideration remains in place and will continue to accrue interest at 6.25% per annum and be guaranteed by First Reserve. The maturity date of the deferred consideration will be no later than 31 July 2026
• Brambles’ interest in HFG was transferred to First Reserve for nominal consideration.

The divestment of Brambles interest in HFG will give rise to a non-cash write-down of the investment which had a carrying value of US$4.9 million as at 31 March 2018. This charge will be included in the full year FY18 results and will be classified as a significant item.

“Focusing investment in our core businesses that provide significant opportunities for growth and strong returns is one of our strategic priorities,” stated Graham Chipchase, Brambles CEO. As a result, the Board no longer sees the logistics operations in the oil and gas industry as a core business for Brambles and saw limited opportunity to deliver strong shareholder returns from our investment in HFG.

“We are pleased, therefore, to have reached a mutually-beneficial agreement with First Reserve to exit our investment. This includes securing repayment of our $150 million shareholder loan and preserving our long position in relation to the deferred consideration.

“We will use the funds from the shareholder loan repayment to pay down debt and to fund automation projects across the Group.”

PNEUMATIC LEVELER AUTOMATICALLY ADJUSTS PALLET LOAD HEIGHT

The P3 All-Around level loader from Presto ECOA Lifts is economical as well as ergonomic.  Though it requires no electrical power and little maintenance, it virtually eliminates the productivity-robbing, injury-producing bending, lifting, reaching, and stretching common to pallet-loading applications.

PORTABLE TILTER POSITIONS CONTAINERS FOR EASY ACCESS TO CONTENTS

Flexcon’s New ASRS Tote Boxes, Plastic Pallets, Divider Systems on Display at Modex 2018

Flexcon Container will exhibit its new Universal and ASRS Tote Boxes, Divider Systems and Pallets at Booth #4037 in the 2018 Modex Show in Atlanta from April 9 to April 12th ,2018. Flexcon’s Totes and Divider Systems can handle, store and protect an infinite range of products in any automated, semi-automatic or manual system with maximum space efficiency!

Flexcon will feature their newest ASRS totes which are compatible with virtually any robotic system. Their ASRS totes have unique reinforced bottoms which resist deflection under heavy loads to enable their clients’ ASRS systems to be more space efficient, permit higher product density and to run faster. Other new products include “X-Corr” triple-strength totes and pallet-sleeve systems and a new line of molded plastic pallets. “We will also display several major client-based product innovations in our booth this year,” according to Ken Beckerman, President and CMO. “Flexcon now has the perfect containers, pallets and dividers for any part of any client’s supply chain. All of our containers, divider systems and pallets help protect and organize our clients’ products throughout their supply chains.”

Flexcon helps make carousels, ASRS, VLMs and virtually any form of automation, storage and production system better by providing the ideal containers, dividers, pallets and bulk boxes to protect the end users’ products throughout their supply chains. They work closely with their clients to help optimize their operations by focusing on space efficiency, functionality, aesthetics and cost. Flexcon has been supplying these solutions for over 50 years and is proud to have over 70% of the Fortune 500 Companies as clients.

Flexcon is also pleased to announce its new and improved heavy duty 45×48 stackable pallet with lip.  At 35% stronger than the previous version, its durable one-piece construction helps it achieve 3,000 lbs. dynamic capacity, 20,000 lbs. static capacity. This pallet is high pressure molded for increased durability & strength. An improved deck substantially reduces deflection under load.

Features:

• 4 way forklift entry
• 1″ discontinuous lip
• 6-runner (Cruciform) bottom
• 100% recyclable
• 468 per trailer

This pallet is ideal for in-house, closed loop and export applications. These pallets can be sanitized with water or steam, making them safe & sanitary for storage and shipping.

For more information, visit www.flexcontainer.com.

ORBIS^® Corporation Acquires Response Packaging

Customers to benefit from broader packaging solutions and capabilities

OCONOMOWOC, Wis. — April 3, 2018 — ORBIS^® Corporation, North America’s leader in reusable packaging and part of Menasha Corporation, has acquired Response Packaging, headquartered in Piedmont, South Carolina. Terms of the transaction were not disclosed.

Founded in 2009, privately held Response Packaging conceptualizes, designs, prototypes and manufactures reusable custom dunnage and fabricated steel rack solutions. Included in the acquisition are design, testing and manufacturing facilities in Piedmont, and Greenville, South Carolina; Auburn Hills, Michigan; and León, Mexico.

Response Packaging will operate and be branded as a part of ORBIS Corporation. “This acquisition brings us talented people, efficient plants and strong capabilities in geographic areas where ORBIS wants to grow,” said Bill Ash, president of ORBIS Corporation. “Response Packaging is strongly aligned with ORBIS in areas like supply chain expertise, innovation and customer knowledge.”

Response Packaging has 245 employees in the U.S. and Mexico and serves the automotive and industrial markets with highly engineered custom dunnage designed for part protection. Additionally, it specializes in fabricated steel rack and dunnage systems for the safe and efficient transport of vehicle components in the supply chain.

“ORBIS has been pursuing a strategy to expand its custom business to serve customers with a broader portfolio of solutions,” said Jim Kotek, president of Menasha Corporation. “The acquisition of Response Packaging supports this objective by adding complementary capabilities and establishing a manufacturing presence in the Southeast, and expanded capabilities to meet our customers’ needs in Mexico.”

As a leader in automotive parts packaging, ORBIS Corporation manufactures plastic reusable totes, bulk containers, pallets and dunnage. Additionally, it offers the ability to track and manage these assets in the supply chain through its Reusable Packaging Management (RPM) services offering. ORBIS has 2,300 employees in 50 locations across North America and Europe.

 Industrial Container Services acquires Tote Detailing Specialists’ operations

(April 2, 2018) Industrial Container Services, has acquired the intermediate bulk container (IBC) reconditioning and recycling operations of Tote Detailing Specialists.

The acquisition includes all of the machinery, equipment and inventory utilized at TDSI’s Joliet, Illinois and San Antonio, Texas facilities. The businesses will become operating entities of Industrial Container Services, LLC.

ICS president and CEO Charles Veniez said: “The acquisition of Tote Detailing is yet another example of ICS’ commitment to our fast-growing IBC platform.

“With TDSI as part of our team, we are now firmly ensconced in the robust Chicago industrial market and the booming Texas oil patch. Combined with the full ICS product and service portfolio, this will create real opportunity for our customers, shareholders and employees alike.

“We are pleased to welcome the TDSI group into the ICS family and look forward to their help in supporting our mission to provide customers with the highest quality products and the most dependable service, all while adhering to the strictest environmental standards found anywhere in the industrial packaging industry.”

TDSI president and CEO Brad Noyes said: “I am excited to announce the merger of Tote Detailing into the ICS group of companies. When it came time to choose the best partner for TDSI, our customers and our employees, ICS was clearly the best fit.

“I would like to thank everyone at both TDSI locations, as well as our valued customers for their many years of support, knowing they are in good hands going forward. I look forward to helping transition the business over to ICS in order to make sure our customers always to get the high-quality products and excellent customer service they are accustomed to.

ICS is the largest provider of reusable container solutions in North America. Through multiple brands, ICS operates over 50 strategically located facilities in 21 US states and 6 Canadian provinces. ICS is well-positioned to service local, regional and North American customers alike, and strives to be the supplier of choice for high-quality, environmentally-responsible container solutions.

ICS offers unparalleled expertise with over 100 years of experience in the industrial container space and is focused on anticipating customer needs and exceeding expectations. The company offers the most complete container management systems available including reconditioning, manufacturing, distribution, used container collection and recycling services for all major industrial packages.

STAY-RITE Introduces an All-in-One Reusable Material Handling Device

Top corner support boards allow for the safe stacking of open top bulk containers and gaylords; eliminate the risk of 

STAY-RITE Universal Stacking Platform Device, with a uniquely simple patented design, provides an all-in-one, innovative packaging, material handling, and storage solution for bulk open-top containers. By reducing direct contact between stacked containers and pallets, STAY-RITE instantly removes the vulnerability where damage and breakdown occur with these containers. Made with recycled plastic material, STAY-RITE is a reusable and economical material handling solution, placed in each of the four corners of an open top container, helping to prevent a stacked container and pallet from collapsing into the container below.

Because of its rigid, yet lightweight and durable design, STAY-RITE fits onto octagonal, hexagonal, square and circular open-top containers. It also supports a variety of pallet sizes. Without the need for any additional assembly or equipment, STAY-RITE’s load bearing capability can support thousands of pounds of static load weight to various heights. Every STAY-RITE is manufactured from recycled material and can be easily recycled as-is, after multiple reuses. STAY-RITE offers the ability to strengthen and reinforce box corners, reduce liability from falling inventory, and increase productivity through its smooth handling application.

For additional information and ordering for STAY-RITE visit www.StayRiteSolutions.com.

Wood Packaging Supports Healthy Forests and Strong Communities

The National Wooden Pallet and Container Association (NWPCA) has released “Wood Packaging Supports Healthy Forests and Strong Communities” video that puts a spotlight on the vital role wood packaging plays in our communities.

NWPCA collaborated with leading forest conservation organizations to produce this video. Participating in this project were Tom Martin, President and CEO, The American Forest Foundation; Larry Selzer, President and CEO, The Conservation Fund; Jay Farrell, Executive Director, The National Association of State Foresters; Carlton Owen, President and CEO, U.S. Endowment for Forestry & Communities; and Vicki Christiansen, Interim Chief, U.S. Forest Service.

“We’re proud of the work of our members in supporting the missions of these conservation organizations, providing economic and employment opportunities in rural communities, and improving the health of our nation’s forests,” said Brent McClendon, CAE, National Wooden Pallet and Container Association (NWPCA) President and CEO.

“The wood packaging industry is a critical player in advancing the health of our forests because they use the small diameter wood for making pallets that cannot be used in higher end products,” stated, Carlton Owen, President & CEO, U.S. Endowment for Forestry & Communities. “Without markets for that low value material, we can’t move our forests to a healthier, more resilient condition.”

The 3-minute video is a project of Nature’s Packaging®, a North American initiative to promote the use of wood-based packaging to users seeking sustainable, responsible and economical packaging solutions. View the video on YouTube. Learn more about Nature’s Packaging at NaturesPackaging.org.

Pooling Partners appoints Duncan Moser as new CEO Production Companies

Eck en Wiel, March 16th 2018 – Pooling Partners has appointed Duncan Moser as CEO Production Companies. Starting April 2, he will be committed to strengthening the international position of the production companies of Pooling Partners in The Netherlands, Belgium, Germany and France.

Moser brings with him extensive knowledge and experience in the field of operations and supply chain management. He started his career with Heineken more than 20 years ago. Since then, he has been responsible for operational improvement activities in Asia-Pacific and worked as Brewery Manager in Suriname. In recent years, Moser was in charge of packaging operations and supply chain optimization at Heineken Nederland Supply. He closely collaborated with suppliers to reduce costs and improve sustainability and innovation.

Future-proof

As the new CEO Production Companies, Moser will dedicate all of his knowledge, experience and time to the production companies of Pooling Partners. Developing a long-term vision and strategy are his main priorities.

“Pooling Partners is an incredible family business with a strong position in the European market,” according to Moser. “I look forward to contributing my knowledge and experience to the next stage in the development of Pooling Partners.”

Ingrid Faber, CEO of Pooling Partners, is excited: “Duncan is another valuable addition to our organization. Duncan will focus entirely on the production companies and thanks to his extensive knowledge and experience, I have the utmost confidence that we will develop a clear, long-term strategy that arms us for the future.”

New Heavy Duty Stackable Pallet Offers Unbeatable Capabilities For The Cost

Chicago, IL – One Way Solutions announces the release of an incredible new heavy-duty stackable plastic pallet that offers a stable, stackable body at a cost-effective price. This 40 x 48 pallet has a light-weight cruciform perimeter base, making it extremely stable for heavy-duty loads and perfectly suitable for block stacking and automation.

Benefits of the pallet include: 

• 100% recyclable
• Resistant to insects, bacteria and fungi
• No sirex treatment required
• Maintenance free
• Hygienic and clean

The product is now available on the One Way Solutions website and will ship out the next business day.

Rebranding and Major New Products Lines

BUBL Bag will trade as BUBL Packaging following strong Sales growth and Innovation Funding Award

BUBL Bag is to trade from now on as BUBL Packaging; the change of name reflects the company’s rapidly expanding number of product lines and follows strong sales growth in the past year of the original BUBL Bags. Following the recent win of prestigious EDGE Award funding BUBL Packaging invested in product development and two new product lines are now available.

BUBL Packaging’s products replace cardboard boxes, padded envelopes, void fill and bubble wrap; the packing process takes much less time than traditional packaging. In addition, they take up very little space and can be reused many times, so they are much more cost – effective that traditional packaging. All material used is recyclable.

The products inflate to provide a secure, air – filled pocket that offers maximum protection for valuable or fragile goods, so transit damage, which accounts on average for up to 8% of all product returns*, and a much higher percentage in some categories, is dramatically reduced.

Two new product lines have been added since the original BUBL Bag: –

• BUBLPods provide advanced protection for high – value products ranging from mobile phones and laptops to crystal, artwork, and televisions. The air – filled tubes can be customized for specific product variants.

• BUBLCases are perfect for transporting valuable technical and audiovisual equipment. The robust design is ideal for heavy duty, multi-trip use.

The company has also created BUBL Tec to highlight the technology behind the packaging system and enable rapid customization.

Ross Woodburn, managing director, BUBL Packaging said: “The rebranding makes it very clear that we are in the business of packaging, and the new product lines extend our offer to address a much wider range of product categories.

AkyPak Reusable & Foldable Bulk Containers

Kayserburg, France, March 12, 2018 – DS Smith Plastics, Extruded Products has launched their new line of AkyPak bulk containers designed to optimize costs associated with logistics management.

AkyPak bulk containers are composed of a thermoformed lid and pallet and a customizable sleeve for cargo optimization. When empty, the sleeve is folded in between the lid and pallet and shipped flat reducing the cost associated with returned logistics & transportation.

The lid and pallet are made of thermoformed HDPE and the sleeves of polypropylene plastics. All three components are highly reusable (average of 7 years) and can be recycled at the end of their useful life. Other benefits include lightweight, stackability and ergonomics.

DS Smith Plastics’ AkyPak line of bulk containers includes three main models:

• AkyPak Classic, a returnable in 3 separate, stackable parts to optimize logistics flow.
• AkyPak Advanced is compacted into a single unit return position to avoid loss of pieces.
• AkyPak 4You, a custom-designed bulk container per customer’s specification.

RM2 Extends Life into April, Will Focus on IoT Technology

After warning investors that it would run out of money in mid-March unless new support emerged, composite pallet company RM2 reported on March 9 that it has generated extra cash through selling a building, giving it enough cash to carry it into April. It said it continues to proactively transition the business to focus on IoT technology in pallet applications, “servicing its existing customers and developing new relationships with certain Fortune 500 companies.”

As a part of that transition, RM2 will continue to reduce resources and investments in non-core, nonvalue-add activities so that it can increase its investment in service. Following the sale of a non-core office building in Switzerland and repayment of the related mortgage, it received net proceeds of approximately $2 million and is, therefore, able to extend its cash resources to continue operating through mid-April based on information available to it at the time.  The timeframe is dependent on the outcome of ongoing discussions with third parties, including manufacturing partners and sources of financing.

It stated that it is in advanced stages of financing discussions with the support of its existing shareholders and will announce developments to the market at the earliest possible opportunity.   

RM2 reported that trials of its ELIoT smart pallets are producing remarkable results for customers’ supply chains in North America.  The RM2 ELIoT proprietary tracking technology communicates the precise location of specific pallets, allowing misdirected or mishandled goods to be identified immediately, permitting customers to reduce loss, mishandling, spoilage, and theft, thereby creating significant cost savings and supply chain efficiencies.

Significant opportunities with Fortune 500 companies are in final trial phases, RM2 reported, saying that the conversion of a subset of these opportunities, deployed and financed on schedule, is expected to result in RM2 generating positive EBITDA in 2019.

RM2 also noted that its ELIoT Pallet won the Material Handling Product News’ 2017 Product of the Year award in the category of Packaging and Pallets.  

Industrial Container Services, LLC Acquires Next Day Container

Maitland, FL — Industrial Container Services, LLC (ICS) of Maitland, FL announced today that it has acquired the intermediate bulk container (IBC) reconditioning and recycling operations of Next Day Container, Inc. (NDC). The acquisition includes all of the machinery, equipment and inventory utilized at Next Day’s Delphi, IN facility, and the business will become an operating entity of Industrial Container Services, LLC.

“The acquisition of Next Day Container is a big step forward for our fast-growing IBC platform,” said Mr. Charles Veniez, President and CEO of ICS. “Their central location and brand-new high-speed production line, combined with the full ICS product and service portfolio, will provide great opportunities for our customers while opening up new markets for ICS. We are pleased to welcome Ken Mushen and his team into the ICS family and look forward to their help in supporting our mission to provide customers with the highest quality products and the most dependable service, all while adhering to the strictest environmental standards found anywhere in the industrial packaging industry.”

“Speaking for the owners and employees of Next Day Container, we are all excited to announce the merger of our IBC business into the ICS group of companies. When it came time to choose the best partner for NDC and our customers, ICS was the clearly the best fit” said Mr. Ken Mushen, President/CEO of Next Day. “Along with my partners Mark and Steve, we would like to thank all of our customers for their many years of support. I look forward to continuing on as the Facility Manager for the Delphi, Indiana plant and making sure our customers always to get the high-quality products and excellent customer service they are accustomed to.
ICS is the largest provider of reusable container solutions in North America. Through multiple brands, ICS operates over 50 strategically located facilities in 21 U.S. states and 6 Canadian provinces. ICS is well-positioned to service local, regional and North American customers alike, and strives to be the supplier of choice for high-quality, environmentally-responsible container solutions. ICS offers unparalleled expertise with over 100 years of experience in the industrial container space and is focused on anticipating customer needs and exceeding expectations. The company offers a complete container management systems including reconditioning, manufacturing, distribution, used container collection and recycling services for all major industrial packages.

Recognizing & rewarding excellence at Industrial Pack 2018

Industrial Pack hosts the Industrial Pack Awards

Atlanta, US (03/09/2018) – The industrial packaging industry will be gathering in Atlanta to celebrate excellence as the winners of the inaugural Industrial Pack Awards are announced at 5.30pm on April 4 in the Networking Bar at Industrial Pack 2018.

The event will provide the world’s first recognition of those organizations and individuals within the industrial packaging community that have made a significant contribution to the advancement of packaging materials and/or processes. The awards ceremony, which comprises of five categories, will be hosted by Industrial Pack’s show manager, Tim Rusbridge, and will provide guests with an opportunity to join friends, colleagues and peers in celebrating innovation.

The five categories include:

• Excellence in Industrial Packaging
• Excellence in Transit Packaging
• Excellence in Protective Packaging
• Environmental Initiative of the Year
• Best Booth in Show (judged onsite at Industrial Pack 2018)

“We have received a tremendous response with a high number of excellent entries”’ said Tim Rusbridge, Event Manager”. The awards will be judged by the event’s Advisory Board members: Susan Nauman, Executive Director, Industrial Packaging Alliance of North America (IPANA); Paul W. Rankin, President, Reusable Industrial Packaging Association (RIPA); Steve Mohr, Executive Director, National Accounts, Sigma Supply of North America, Inc and Lonnie Jaycox, CPP, CDGP, Independent Packaging Engineer.

Paul Rankin, President, Reusable Industrial Packaging Association (RIPA) commented “I am very excited to be a part of the Industrial Pack Awards as a panel judge. I am also looking forward to sharing my thoughts on topics of immediate and long-term interest to the North American container reconditioning industry. The conference offers an excellent opportunity to network with fellow packaging engineers and see firsthand the latest product designs, and industry trends that deliver the best possible solutions to the packaging supply chain.”

Industrial Pack exhibitors and visitors will have exclusive access to the Industrial Pack networking drinks and awards. Additionally, all attendees will be entered into a free raffle, with five lucky winners each receiving a bottle of bourbon!

For more information on Industrial Pack 2018, and to register free of charge in advance, please visit: www.industrialpackexpo.com

Sanitizing RPCs in Small Scale Produce Distribution

For many smaller produce distributors like family farms and Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) operators, reusable transport packaging can help streamline operations and significantly reduce costs for the recurring purchase of cardboard boxes. However, most of these smaller operators don’t have commercial washing equipment to ensure sanitary conditions of their transport packaging materials, especially critical in the distribution of fresh produce. A new guide offers best practices for RPC sanitation in small-scale operations. The guide was published by published by Use Reusables, a project by public agency StopWaste. It is available in English, Spanish and Chinese.

New Guides: Reusable Transport Packaging in Small Scale Operations

Reusable transport packaging can help streamline operations and reduce packaging costs for businesses of all sizes. However, for smaller scale operators like family farms, it is usually not economical to invest in automated maintenance equipment such as commercial washers sanitize, or RFID tag systems to track reusables totes, pallets and pallet wraps. A new series of guides for small-scale operators offers best practices, including cleaning and sanitation (available in three languages) and container loss prevention. The guides were published by Use Reusables, a project by public agency StopWaste.

Hygiene and Strength Optimized in New Flow-Through Pallet Design

A NEW plastic pallet offering optimum hygiene and strength has joined the range offered by Goplasticpallets.com.

Manufactured from recycled high-density polyethylene by SmartFlow and available exclusively in the UK through Goplasticpallets.com, the SF 1210 M3R and M5R have a 100% flow-through design.

Jim Hardisty, Managing Director of Goplasticpallets.com, said: “Cleanliness and strength are two key offerings with this new pallet and, thanks to the smooth and robust design, both will be maintained with use. The SF 1210 M3R and M5R are not porous – it physically cannot absorb any liquid it comes into contact with – and its smooth shape gives nowhere for contaminants to hide and multiply. With demand increasing for solutions where hygiene can’t be compromised, there is further peace of mind in the open structure of this pallet, which makes it easy to clean efficiently, and it is fully recyclable.”

With no ridges, joins or wood grain to trap dirt, it is ideal for food and pharmaceutical applications where clean handling and storing is a priority. It includes the option of reinforcing metal bars, doubling its racking capacity from 500kg in rack to 900 – 1000 kg. Depending on the number of runners, the SF 1210 comes in at a weight of 13.5kg (M3R, with three runners) and 14kg (M5R, with five runners).

As a multi-way pallet for light and medium weight products and a one-way solution for products which have to be stored in racks, the SF 1210 M3R and M5R pallet measures 1200mm (L) x 1000mm (W) x 150mm (H). It is available without a rim, with a 7mm rim, and even a 22mm rim, which is the perfect choice for the automotive industry.

Goplasticpallets.com is the UK’s leading independent supplier of plastic pallets with 160 different varieties to choose from, many available for next day delivery.

Goplasticpallets.com’s new SF 1210 M5R

Goplasticpallets.com’s new SF 1210 M3R with reinforcing bars.

Relogistics takes step to help end hunger with donation to Second Harvest

Relogistics Services, the leader in pallet and container management services, has announced their philanthropic efforts will support the Second Harvest Food Bank of Central Florida with a $10,000 financial donation. Second Harvest is an organization they have partnered with in various locations across the country in previous years.

About Second Harvest Food Pantry, Orlando Florida

The Second Harvest Food Bank of Central Florida is a private, non-profit organization that serves more than 550 feeding partners located in six Central Florida counties. Their motto is fight hunger, feeding hope; and this is exactly what they do. Last year, volunteers, donors, and a caring community distributed more than 56 million meals to struggling families, seniors, kids, veterans, and others. Statistics conclude that 1 in 6 people in Central Florida are food insecure and that approximately 498,000 people turn to Second Harvest food pantries to feed themselves and their families. According to Second Harvest Food Bank, every $10 contributed provides forty meals for those in need.

Mike Hachtman, President, Relogistics Services stated, “We are fortunate enough to run businesses in the state of Florida, and more specifically in the Orlando area. Supporting the residents of the area and families who need a helping hand is a critical component of our framework and something we feel extremely passionate about.”

“While hunger in Central Florida remains a daunting challenge, we are able to keep closing the gap of need with generous support like the recent gift from Relogistics,” said Dave Krepcho, President & CEO of Second Harvest Food Bank of Central Florida. “We are proud to be able multiply the gift up to nine times in terms of the dollar value of food being provided for our neighbors in need,” he added. The financial gift from Relogistics will allow Second Harvest to distribute approximately $90,000 worth of groceries to those in need.

About Relogistics Services

Headquartered in Houston, Texas, Relogistics is the leading provider of pallet and container management services. Relogistics supports customers at 58 locations, servicing more than 1,000 retail outlets and processes more than 325,000 trailers including 80 million pallets and 110 million reusable containers annually.

MAUSER Acquires MaschioPack North America From Colonial Group, Inc.

MAUSER USA, LLC has acquired the manufacturing assets of MaschioPack North America of Atlanta, GA.  This acquisition provides MAUSER the opportunity to expand its North American intermediate bulk container (IBC) footprint, as well as supply additional manufacturing support for its reconditioning affiliate, National Container Group (NCG).  MAUSER will continue to supply former MaschioPack customers from the Atlanta location while investing in the facility to align it with other MAUSER product offerings.

“We are excited to further expand our presence in the Southeastern US market,” remarked Glenn Frommer, President and CEO of Mauser USA LLC.  “This acquisition provides us the opportunity to more effectively service our North American customers while at the same time, welcoming new customers into our family.”

“IBCs and reconditioned packaging are the two fastest growing segments within the industrial packaging industry,” stated Jeff DeLiberty, Director of New Markets and Business Development.  “These assets will not only serve as a critical part of Mauser’s growth strategy in North America, but will also provide the necessary support for NCG as the reconditioning industry continues to expand.”

In the coming months, MAUSER personnel will work closely with the MaschioPack team and their former customers to ensure a seamless transition to the MAUSER design of products.

EcoVadis: LPR is recognized once again for its commitment to CSR

For the third year running, the European pallet-pooling specialist LPR-La Palette Rouge (a division of Euro Pool Group), has been rated “Gold” by EcoVadis for its Corporate Social Responsibility policy. With a score of 71/100, a 4 point improvement on 2016, LPR is once again in the top 1% of the companies assessed.

As a major player in the supply chain, LPR is fully aware of the importance of its contribution to “responsibility” and continues to pursue the goal of social responsibility across the whole range of its activities, including with respect to its employees.

This commitment is based in particular on its relationships with its customers, its network of partners and subcontractors, and also its policy of procuring raw materials from PEFC-certified forests. LPR’s business (pallet pooling) is circular by nature and thus a perfect candidate for the circular economy.

LPR has long sought to provide a service involving optimized, multi-modal transport systems and transport loops for its customers, reducing “empty kilometers”, and service centers located close to distribution hubs.

With this in mind, and with its customers’ interests and satisfaction at the heart of the objective,  in 2018 the pallet-pooling specialist will offer its partners the opportunity to partially offset their environmental impact by planting trees, whilst helping them calculate saved CO²_.

LPR aims to pursue all of these objectives and reduce its own carbon footprint by 20% by 2025.

CHEP Recognized as Green Provider by Supply & Demand Chain Executive

Supply & Demand Chain Executive (S&DCE) magazine congratulates CHEP Pallecon Solutions and CHEP Automotive & Industrial Solutions on being named to their 2017 Green Providers list.  The annual award recognizes companies whose products, services or exemplary environmental stewardship are promoting sustainability within supply chains while making a positive impact on the environment as well as their bottom line.

This recognition follows a recent announcement that Brambles, the leading supply-chain logistics company operating through the CHEP and IFCO brands, was ranked as the top performing company by the Dow Jones Sustainability Index (DJSI) in the global Commercial Services and Supplies industry category for 2017.Brambles’ approach to sustainability has helped establish the company as a leader in this area, with recognition from publications like S&DCE speaking to their continued efforts to reduce carbon emissions, water usage and waste sent to landfills.

Clients who convert from one-time use cardboard packaging to CHEP reusable containers save valuable storage space and streamline transportation, ultimately reducing the number of trucks on the road and minimizing greenhouse gas emissions.  Additionally, CHEP’s collapsible stackable containers can be reused for several years, then fully recycled after their useful life, avoiding the landfill waste and the depletion of natural resources associated with single-use packaging.

As a part of the Brambles family of companies, CHEP Pallecon Solutions and CHEP Automotive & Industrial Solutions continue to innovate in an effort to achieve their outlined 2020 Sustainability Goals (shown at right). For more information on our sustainability efforts, please visit www.brambles.com/sustainability.

Flexible Intermediate Bulk Container Market in North America

The flexible intermediate bulk container (FIBC) market in North America is expected to grow at a CAGR of around 7% during the period 2018-2022, according to a new market research study by Technavio.

According to a senior analyst at Technavio, “There are many risks associated with the use of FIBCs. To curb these risks, the polypropylene fabrics are first UV treated and made insulation proof. Therefore, the bags can be made shockproof while filling or discharging of products. Furthermore, the use of FIBCs enables cost reduction of around 45%-55% associated with packaging when compared with traditional corrugated cartons. The benefits of FIBCs over other kinds of packaging will create greater demand for FIBCs for industrial applications, which will drive the FIBC market in North America during the forecast period.”

Market trend: innovative FIBCs available in the market

The diversity of offerings by FIBC vendors has been increasing steadily by incorporating more innovative FIBC products, which have been catering to the needs of the end-user segments. Vendors provide bulk bags in various shapes, sizes, capacities, and properties. Vendors offer new innovative bulk bag solutions, which further cut down the packaging cost.

Market challenge: fluctuations in raw material prices

The instability in raw material prices is one of the key challenges faced by vendors. Polyethylene and polypropylene are usually derived from crude oil. But, the growing fluctuations in the crude oil prices have a drastic impact on manufacturing cost. These price fluctuations have a major impact on the cost of producing FIBCs.

The Global Folding IBCs Market Expected to Grow at a CAGR of 4.8% During 2017-2027

A new research report by Future Market Insights, titled ‘Folding IBCs Market: Global Industry Analysis 2012 – 2016 and Opportunity Assessment 2017 – 2027’ says  that the global folding IBCs market is expected to grow at a CAGR of 4.8% during the forecast period, reaching a market size of over US$ 520 Mn by the end of 2027.

Based on material, plastic material leads in terms of market size, with an expected market size of over US$ 430 Mn by the end of 2027. However, the metal material for folding IBCs segment is expected to witness faster demand in the coming years. Metal is expected to lead in terms of CAGR with 5.1% during the forecast period.; On the basis of capacity, 500-1000 L capacity has the highest expected market share US$ 240 Mn by the end of 2027. In terms of CAGR, 1000-1500 L dominates the global market.

Based on packaging content, the liquid segment is way ahead solid and the semi-solids segment with a market share of over US$ 400 Mn by the end of 2027. However, the solid and semi-solid segment is expected to reflect a higher growth rate of over 5.1% during the forecast period.; Among the various application areas of folding IBCs automotive and mechanical part is expected to witness the fastest growth during the forecast period. However, chemicals segment is the dominating segment in terms of market size and is also not much behind mechanical segment in terms of growth rate.; Based on region, APEJ is expected to reflect highest market share among all the major regions, with the highest demand for Folding IBCs by the end of the year of assessment.

Brambles announces completion of the sale of its recycled whitewood pallets
business in North America

Sydney – 15 February 2018. Referring to its announcement of January 9, 2018, that it had entered into an agreement to sell its non-core North American recycled whitewood pallet business, CHEP Recycled, to Grey Mountain Partners for an enterprise value of US$115 million, the sale has now been completed.

Following the necessary regulatory approvals, the completion of the sale took place on 14 February 2018 in New York.

The proceeds of the sale were broadly in line with the carrying value of the CHEP Recycled business. The related cash inflow will be reported in Brambles’ full-year results for the 2018 financial year in August 2018.

RM2 Provides an Update on Its Financial Position

February 12, 2018. RM2 has provided an update on its financial position. Based on the information known to it today, as a result of collection of receipts from debtors as well as continued careful cash management and cost reduction measures, it has sufficient cash to continue operating through the first third of the month of March, although this could vary depending upon the outcome of ongoing discussions with third parties, including manufacturing partners and alternative sources of financing. 

RM2 previously announced on 19 January 2018 that it estimated its cash balance at the end of January 2018 would be approximately $2.0 million and that it would have sufficient cash to continue operating through the third week of February 2018.   

The company remains committed to further reducing its overheads and continues its efforts to monetize certain non-core assets where possible.

Trials of the Company’s ELIoT smart pallet continue to elicit positive feedback from customers.  RM2’s active pallet tracking system has demonstrated to customers how they can rapidly increase supply chain efficiencies.  Pallet losses are reduced through the swift identification of pallets that have exited their authorized supply chain locations.  This has enabled customers to quickly recover those pallets.  Equally importantly, active pallet tracking has enabled customers to identify the root cause of pallet leakage and thereby eliminate further losses.

RM2 states that it continues its discussions with potential funding partners, strategic investors, and customers in order to progress the business.  It continues to take appropriate advice as it explores the financial and strategic alternatives available to it, and will provide further updates as and when appropriate. 

Producers and retailers exceed 1 billion tray movements with Euro Pool System in 2017

“This milestone of 1 billion tray (RPC) movements is achieved with all parties in the chain. We are happy to help our partners to drive the efficiency and sustainability of the fresh food supply chain. Choosing for reusable packaging implies a conscious choice for an efficient and sustainable supply chain.” says Gerjo Scheringa, CEO of Euro Pool System. “We believe that an increasing number of stakeholders will join our pooling formula, reducing the CO2 emission, preventing food waste and creating a better world for the next generation.

“Each and every day, producers, transporters, processing companies and retailers benefit from the advantages of our reusable trays and pallets: they are strong, always available, stackable, clean, traceable and 100% recyclable”.

Swisslog secures order to implement AutoStore in new distribution center for syncreon, a leading contract logistics company

February 8, 2018. Swisslog Logistics Automation, a leading provider of best-in-class warehouse automation and software, will implement AutoStore for syncreon, a leading specialized contract logistics company consistently recognized for its operational excellence. The newly constructed, automated distribution center in Carlisle, PA will serve both e-commerce and retail fulfillment. The new facility occupies approximately one million square feet and is scheduled to begin fulfillment operations in June 2018.

syncreon is globally recognized for optimizing customers’ supply chains, providing tailored, innovative, and scalable solutions that reduce costs and improve performance. According to David Minns, Senior Vice President, Global Procurement, for syncreon, “We believe that a proven goods-to-person picking solution like AutoStore will be a perfect complement to our more conventional picking operations. We are particularly attracted to the easy scalability of AutoStore for our future growth. As a global company, we selected Swisslog as our implementation partner because of their strong global footprint and support organization.”

Swisslog is the leading global integrator of the AutoStore system with more than 85 installations. Swisslog’s AutoStore solution combines intelligent SynQ warehouse management software and unique pick stations not offered by other integrators.

Markus Schmidt, President Swisslog WDS Americas, commented, “It’s exciting to see this technology really take off in the United States. American companies are rapidly adopting goods-to-person automation and turning to Swisslog because of our vast experience compared to other integrators. After installing more than 85 projects, our realization has been perfected to the point that our team can install in short time frames while tailoring solutions that work for our diverse clientele in the E-commerce/retail, consumer goods and production logistics industries.”

New Nestable Plastic Pallet Combines Best Features Into One Powerful Shipping Product

Chicago, IL – One Way Solutions has released a new nestable plastic pallet that combines the high capacity, low tare weight and reinforced perimeter for increased impact-resistance. All of these heavyweight characteristics come at light duty pricing, which makes it the ideal pallet for one way export shipments, light-medium duty reusable applications, WIP, storage, display, and distribution applications.

This 40 x48 USA made pallet weighs only 17 lbs, yet provides 2,500 of dynamic capacity. High-pressure injection molded with high quality recycled HDPE resin, this pallet has a 8,800 lb static capacity.

Every consideration has been taken to minimize weight while maintaining strength and durability:

• 9 nesting legs feature structurally neutral knockouts to reduce weight and cost.
• Tapered edges assist fork tine entry and assist splitting a pallet off a nested stack.
• The pallet deck perimeter is reinforced with extra ribs to increase impact resistance.

The 4-way entry is compatible with nearly all fork trucks and hand trucks. The open deck design allows for easy handling and cleaning. A superior nesting ratio allows 2100 pallets to fit in a 53’ truck, significantly reduces the per pallet shipping costs.

The product is now available on the One Way Solutions website and will ship out next day. Pricing for this item can go as low as $8.99 per pallet.

One Way Solutions is a 3rd generation family-run business specializing in plastic pallets for the Material Handling Industry.

U.S. Department of Labor Cites Pallet Manufacturer After Employee Injured by Machine

NEW LENOX, IL – The U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) cited Supplyside USA, a New Lenox-based pallet manufacturer, for machine safety violations after an employee was injured while conducting maintenance on equipment. The company faces $91,832 in proposed penalties for two repeated, six serious, and three other-than-serious violations.

OSHA inspectors found Supplyside USA, which operates as Prime Woodcraft Inc., failed to install adequate machine guards, implement energy control procedures to prevent equipment from unintentional operation, and train workers about noise hazards; and allowed combustible dust to accumulate on surfaces.

“Too often, employees are injured because companies lack adequate machine safety procedures and safeguards,” said OSHA Chicago South Area Office Director Kathy Webb. “Employers have a responsibility to evaluate their workplaces for hazards, and ensure safe operations.”

Prime Woodcraft has 15 business days from receipt of its citations and penalties to comply, request an informal conference with OSHA’s area director, or contest the findings before the independent Occupational Safety and Health Review Commission. View current citations.

Under the Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1970, employers are responsible for providing safe and healthful workplaces for their employees. OSHA’s role is to ensure these conditions for America’s working men and women by setting and enforcing standards and providing training, education, and assistance. For more information, visit http://www.osha.gov.

CHEP Launches New Advanced Container Management Facility in Southern California

 Redlands, CA – January 31, 2018 – CHEP recently opened its newest container service center just outside greater Los Angeles.  The larger space, optimized layout, and investment in state of the art semi-automated cleaning equipment are key enablers to support CHEP’s growing west coast customer base and ensure just-in-time availability of high-quality sanitized containers.

Southern California represents one of the largest consumer markets in the United States. As an established partner with a large number of food and beverage manufacturers in the region, CHEP provides supply chain solutions including container rental, tracking, and optimized logistics.  Redlands emerged as an ideal location for this new site due to its proximity to the concentrated manufacturing hub outside a major metropolitan area.

With consumers driving industry improvements in food safety and sustainable business practices, CHEP has implemented key innovations to better align with their customers’ values and goals. The new CHEP facility in Redlands boasts a high-efficiency hot water pressure washing system in combination with organic drain-safe cleaning chemicals to reduce the environmental impact and ensure consistent quality.

In addition, customers benefit from CHEP’s long-standing business model which replaces corrugated packaging that would have otherwise been sent to landfills, reduces transport miles and emissions, and improves the safety and traceability of food throughout the manufacturing process.

For further information on CHEP’s supply chain solutions, visit www.chep.com/us/en/bulk-liquid-and-dry or call 888-873-2277.

TOMRA Partners with Michigan United Conservation Clubs to Help Protect the State’s Outdoor Heritage

Shelton, Conn — February 1, 2018 — TOMRA has partnered with Michigan United Conservation Clubs (MUCC) to raise funds through Tomra Makes Change, the reverse vending provider’s recycling loyalty program.

TOMRA Makes Change members can now exchange their loyalty points for a donation to MUCC. Four-hundred points in the program equates to a $1.50 donation.

TOMRA has more than 500 TOMRA Makes Change-connected reverse vending machines (RVMs) located at retailers throughout the state of Michigan. Any TOMRA Makes Change member who recycles at a TOMRA RVM connected to the program can earn one point per bottle recycled. Points can be redeemed for an array of rewards and charitable donations.

“As an organization helping to preserve the environment, we look to partner with those who share our mission,” said Chuck Riegle, SVP Government Affairs, TOMRA Collection Solutions North America. “Michighan United Conservation Clubs has more than 200 affiliated local clubs and does tremendous work in advancing environmental programs in the state, and we are proud to play a small role in helping them continue their work. They are also an organization that really resonates with the TOMRA Makes Change community, a group of highly-engaged recyclers.”

MUCC led the petition campaign that passed the Michigan Bottle Bill and has multiple conservation programs uniting citizens to conserve, protect, and enhance Michigan’s natural resources and outdoor heritage.  To learn more about the success of the container recycling law in Michigan, visit http://www.container-recycling.org/index.php/media1/videos/436-keep-michigan-first.

How TOMRA Makes Changes Works

For every container redeemed through the TOMRA Makes Change program, members receive one point in addition to their state’s container deposit value. Members log in to their account on the RVM screen before beginning their recycling session to collect their points. Participating TOMRA RVMs without a touch screen instead print a QR code at the end of the recycling session, which the member can then scan using the TOMRA ReAct app. The app also tracks recycling activity and the environmental impact of a member’s recycling.

Points can be accessed through the ReAct app or tomramakeschange.com and redeemed for gift cards, tech products and eco-friendly goods. Users can also choose to donate their points to a variety of non-profit organizations, converting the points into a monetary donation.

The company established TOMRA Makes Change to reward consumer participation in beverage container return programs. More than 37 million containers have been recycled through TOMRA Makes Change reverse vending machines (RVMs) since the program’s launch in September 2016.

TrackX to Implement Supply Chain Management Solution for Global Appliance Manufacturer

DENVER – TrackX Holdings Inc., an enterprise Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT) software platform provider, has announced that a leading, household appliance manufacturer has selected TrackX to implement yard distribution and supply chain logistics solutions. The initial implementation will be at one of the customer’s principal U.S. manufacturing and distribution facilities with 3 additional U.S. locations identified for deployment in 2018.  The solution includes hardware and recurring SaaS (Software as a Service) fees as well as professional services to integrate with existing Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) software.

In the first phase of deployment, TrackX’s GAME (Global Asset Management for Enterprises) for Supply Chain Management (SCM) software platform will focus on optimizing yard, dock, and gate related business activities. In the yard, GAME for SCM provides real-time equipment visibility utilizing a variety of IIoT devices to enable real-time tracking of transportation equipment and trailers throughout a large business park. GAME for SCM will manage the arrival, departure, and inventory of all transportation equipment within the facility.  It will also dynamically assign tasks to the shunt drivers responsible for the movement of trailers to and from inventory locations, at the distribution docks and between facilities. The result will include: improved equipment utilization, efficient labor management, increased efficiency at the dock, a reduction in carrier detention charges, improved security and accountability at the gate, accurate inventory, and labor savings across all yard related business processes. Future expansions could include returnable container tracking and further optimization of other high-value assets.

“We are excited to be working with another multi-billion dollar enterprise that is spearheading IIoT initiatives to optimize their supply chain,” said Tim Harvie, TrackX President & CEO. “This customer, a leader within their industry, fully understands that asset tracking and inventory management are fundamental competitive advantages, and we’re proud that they have chosen TrackX to increase efficiencies within their operations.”

Futuropalette 2018 to be Held in Paris, April 5.

Whether you are a pallet user, professional transport, logistics or supply chain, manufacturer or repacker or public sector employee, the Futuropalette 2018 Meetings in Paris, France, organized on the initiative of the FNB and SYPAL, will provide an unmissable meeting of all the participants in the wood pallet sector, according to event sponsors. Click here to find out more.

January 24, 2018. Polymer Logistics, a global leader in reusable packaging and merchandising solutions, will bring fresh inspiration and innovative new products for retail and promotional display, transport packaging, and asset management to Fruit Logistica February 6-8, 2018.

New merchandising products being featured at Fruit Logistica include a modular spill-over display that can be used to extend the primary produce table or as a stand-alone unit in a secondary display location; a larger produce fixture for combined display and storage of high volume seasonal fruits and vegetables; and a modular display solution for enhanced presentation of floral products. All these packaging and merchandising solutions can be ordered in the color that best complements store décor. In addition, the displays and the siding panels are easy to assemble, interchange, and store, making them an efficient, effective, and attractive way to support holiday, seasonal, and other theme promotions.

“Applications for our merchandising units extend to all fresh departments in the store,” said Fred Heptinstall, CEO of Polymer Logistics North America. “Not only do they look great, they are designed to protect product freshness and quality. In addition, our panels can be readily adapted to fit existing fixtures and refrigerated units, making them a cost-effective way to create a consistent look around the fresh perimeter.”

The comprehensive range of products and services offered by Polymer Logistics help transform the shopping experience. Through innovative design, sustainable and efficient operations, unsurpassed quality and freshness, leading-edge merchandising solutions, and effective asset management systems, Polymer Logistics helps its partner growers and retail customers increase shopper satisfaction and realize profitable growth.

To see these new products and more, stop by the Polymer Logistics booth #E-09 in Hall 21 at the 2018 Fruit Logistica, February 6-8 in Berlin, Germany.

January 22, 2018

Sonoco Leads Fortune’s Most Admired Companies, Packaging Sector

Sonoco, one of the largest global diversified packaging companies, has been selected for Fortune’s World’s Most Admired Companies in the packaging sector, and named first in its industry. Among industry peers, Sonoco ranked first in nearly every category – including Innovation, Use of Corporate Assets, Social Responsibility, Financial Soundness, Long-term Investment Value, Quality of Products/Services and Global Competitiveness.

“We are honored to lead the packaging sector this year on Fortune’s Most Admired list,” said Jack Sanders, Sonoco president and CEO. “At Sonoco, we’re guided by the principle of Better Packaging. Better Life. Our goal is to improve the lives of all our stakeholders – including our customers, the consumers who use our packaging, our shareholders and our employees – through innovative packaging and a solid long-term growth strategy.”Fortune’s World’s Most Admired Companies list is the definitive report card on corporate reputations. Executives, directors, and analysts rate companies in their own industry on nine criteria, from investment value to social responsibility. A company’s score must rank in the top half of its industry survey to be listed. Learn more about Fortune’s World’s Most Admired 

January 22, 2018. Tulsa-based Greystone Logistics, Inc. reported sales for the three months ended November 30, 2017 totaled $9,722,102 compared to $9,221,711 for the prior year period for an increase of $511,391, or 6%. Sales for the six months ended November 30, 2017 were $20,009,177 compared to $17,065,972 for the prior period for an increase of $2,943,205, or 17%.

Greystone recorded net income attributable to common shareholders (after preferred dividends and income attributable to variable interest entities) for the six months ended November 30, 2017 of $363,371, or $0.01 per share, compared to a net loss attributable to common shareholders of $(76,330), or $(0.00) per share, for the prior period. For the three months ended November 30, 2017, Greystone recorded net loss attributable to common stockholders (after preferred dividends and income attributable to variable interest entities) of $(11,337), or $0.00 per share, compared to a prior period net income attributable to common stockholders of  $41,109, or $0.00 per share.  EBITDA was $3,204,732 for the six months ended November 30, 2017 and $1,315,798 for the three months ended November 30, 2017.

“Although we are pleased with the company’s top line growth, our results from operations were affected by extraordinary costs of ramping up production for our new leasing customer and completing the installation of the previously reported new 3500-ton injection machine”, stated CEO Warren Kruger.  Kruger continued, “Increased margins while growing sales continue to be a major focus for Greystone. On January 17, 2018, we received a purchase order for our 48X40 heavy duty pallet totaling in excess of $4.5 million from a new national customer.  We first called on this potential opportunity over 15 years ago.  Our persistence paid off.  We continue to diversify our customer base and create innovative recycled pallet solutions.  The revenue from this new customer will be recognized over several months beginning about March 2018. Our production and operation teams work diligently to maintain a high degree of utilization of equipment.  This goal has a positive impact by lowering fixed costs allocation per pallet produced thus driving increased margins on greater sales volume. We look forward to our third and fourth quarters which are historically Greystone’s strongest.  Additionally, we are continuing to invest in equipment and facilities to drive growth and shareholder value.”

Greystone Logistics reprocesses and sells recycled plastic and designs, manufactures, sells high quality 100% recycled plastic pallets that provide logistical solutions needed by a wide range of industries such as the food and beverage, automotive, chemical, pharmaceutical and consumer products. The company’s technology, including that used in its injection molding equipment, proprietary blend of recycled plastic resins and patented pallet designs, allows for the production of high-quality pallets quickly and at lower costs than many processes. The recycled plastic for its pallets helps control material costs while reducing environmental waste and provides cost advantages over users of virgin resin.

January 15, 2018.  CHEP, the supply chain solutions company, won the coveted Environmental Sustainability Award at the sixth Automotive Global Awards. The award recognizes the company’s excellence in delivering a sustainable global supply chain. CHEP received the award along with its customer Endurance Technologies, a leading auto parts manufacturer in India, for their shared achievements in reducing CO2 emissions and their commitment to deforestation.

The Automotive Global Awards honor outstanding achievements in 22 categories of the automotive industry in the areas of logistics, purchasing and supply chain. The annual award, organized by media company Three6Zero, brings together industry-leading logistics providers, OEMs, and external logistics providers to celebrate innovation and growth in the automotive industry.

“Through CHEP’s efforts alone, materials and emissions equivalent to around 360 trees per year have been saved. The huge size of automotive and logistics functions in India is a good example of how much small changes can be made if they are implemented on a larger scale, “says DK Rai, Director, CHEP Automotive in India.

CHEP has been working with over 3,000 customers since 1975, including leading vehicle manufacturers and Tier 1 brands. CHEP reduces the total cost of the supply chain per item while improving the efficiency and carbon footprint of its customers with its environmentally friendly, cost-saving multi-use pooling service. CHEP also optimizes transport routes to save empty kilometers.

Atul Deodikar of Endurance Technologies explains: “Working with CHEP has allowed us to reduce our carbon footprint and achieve much better sustainability performance. On the one hand, trees can be saved with the reusable packaging solutions from CHEP for the automotive industry. On the other hand, less packaging material ends up in the landfill. Our company benefits greatly from CHEP’s business model ‘divide, reuse, recycle and reduce waste’. It also helps us make the most of our logistics resources. ”

The jurors commented: “The contribution of CHEP and Endurance Technologies clearly falls into the category of holistic sustainability. By reducing overall transports, there is a demonstrable, measurable and positive reduction in fuel consumption, both for packaging materials and vehicle operation. The work situation itself also benefits because fewer steps are required in all phases. In addition, further pooling opportunities arise. The described process represents a worthwhile and successful application of reusable rather than disposable packaging. ”

The Automotive Global Supplier Award honors CHEP for the second time in a row. In 2016, CHEP Automotive Europe and Tier 1 supplier Eberspächer received the Product Innovation Award for a new, efficient and reusable packaging solution developed to optimize the Eberspächer intercontinental supply chain.

Sydney – 23 October 2018: Brambles Limited has reported sales revenue from continuing operations of US$1,420.6 million for the first three months of the financial year ending 30 June 2019 (FY19), representing an increase of 3% on the prior corresponding period at actual FX rates and 6% at constant FX. The difference between actual and constant FX growth reflects the strengthening of the US dollar relative to all other operating currencies.

Group sales revenue growth of 6% is in line with Brambles’ stated objective of delivering annual mid-single digit revenue growth and reflects revenue momentum across all segments:

• CHEP Americas sales revenue growth of 5% was driven by volume growth and price realisation in the US, Canadian and Latin American pallet businesses;
• CHEP EMEA sales revenue growth of 8% reflects strong volume growth in most markets and increased pricing in response to inflationary cost increases over the last 12 months;
• CHEP Asia-Pacific sales revenue increased 1% as higher demand for pallets in Australia & New Zealand more than offset a 2 percentage point impact in the quarter due to the cycling of the final month of a large Australian RPC contract; and
• IFCO sales revenue growth of 5% was driven by strong volume growth across Europe, South America and Asia with volume declines in North America partially offset by price increases in the region.

Click to download the Brambles Annual Report

Brambles’ CEO Graham Chipchase said: “Constant currency revenue growth was 6% in the first quarter, reflecting ongoing customer demand for our share and reuse logistics solutions. The business is, however, challenged by ongoing cost inflation across our major markets, including the US and Europe. Despite escalating costs, effective pricing which includes surcharges offset approximately two-thirds of the inflationary cost increases experienced during the quarter. In addition to pricing actions, we continue to look to our own operations for further opportunities to reduce costs.

“Given the exceptional cost pressures facing our business and the combination of higher compensations and lower costs in 1H18, Underlying Profit in 1H19 is expected to be broadly in line with the prior corresponding period, on a constant-currency basis. We expect constant-currency Underlying Profit growth to improve in 2H19 reflecting increased pricing growth, a higher cost base in the prior comparative period and the delivery of cost efficiencies across the Group. Our global automation and procurement programmes remain on track and are expected to deliver margin benefits over the medium term despite the current cost environment.”

2018 Brambles Results

Graham Chipchase commented on 2018 results at the Brambles Annual General Meeting, October 23, 2018:

Before addressing our results for FY18 and the first-quarter trading update for FY19, I believe it is important to outline the dynamic and challenging nature of the operating conditions we faced during FY18 and the first three months of FY19.

Since the beginning of FY18, we have experienced significant input-cost inflation, particularly in our US and European pallet businesses. At the same time, our customers are increasingly turning to us to deliver additional cost savings and efficiencies in their supply chains.

We have also actively defended ourselves against increasing competition and, in most regions, have had to offset structurally higher network costs. This included investing in innovation and digital, enhancing our service offering, improving our asset quality and delivering additional organisational and operational efficiencies.

FY18 financial performance

Looking at our financial performance, in FY18 we delivered constant-currency sales revenue growth of 6% reflecting ongoing expansion with new and existing customers in key CHEP pallet and IFCO markets, as well as price realisation in US pallets, emerging markets and IFCO North America.

Underlying Profit remained in line with the prior year despite inflationary cost pressures, direct cost challenges in CHEP Americas and the adverse impact of RPC and automotive contract losses in CHEP Australia, which we announced to the market in 2016. These contract losses as well as lower margins in CHEP Americas also impacted our Return on Capital Invested metric, which declined 0.9 percentage points to 16.1%.

Our cash flow generation improved significantly during the year as Cash Flow from Operations increased by US$300.9 million and we delivered positive Free Cash Flow after dividends for the first time since FY15. Profit after tax from continuing operations was US$773.5 million, up 67% at constant-currency, driven by the higher operating profit and a one-off, non-cash benefit to income tax expense of US$127.9 million associated with the lowering of the US tax rate from 35% to 21%, effective 1 January 2018.

Our balance sheet remains strong, as reflected in our two key financial ratios – net debt to EBITDA of 1.46 times and EBITDA interest cover of 15.0 times. Both metrics remain within the Company’s policy and well within the levels required by our banking covenants.

Source: Brambles

Editor’s note: Do corrugated pallets get a fair shake? While their usage has been long accepted in loading platform applications such as export and air freight (as well as of course in shelf supported pallet racking systems at IKEA), one paper pallet supplier is calling out U.S. retailers for not giving them a chance, in spite of their stated freight benefits resulting from lighter weight and reduced requirement for reverse logistics (bales of corrugated vs empty pallets). 

U.S. Retailers Continue to Refuse Shipments on Emissions and Cost Saving Corrugated Pallets Despite Proof of Efficacy, States Green Ox

Green Ox® Pallet Technology (http://www.greenoxpallets.com), the exclusive global provider of  Green Ox corrugated pallets, publicly released its new Testing PowerPoint that tracks pallets with loads >2,000 lbs in end-to-end air and sea freight segments.

“The Report debunks the market myths that IKEA’s global paper pallet initiative is a one-off and that corrugated pallets are not up to the task in today’s global supply chains, says Adam Pener, Green Ox President. “Moreover, Green Ox pallets are engineered to be one-way, handling many forklift and pallet jack ‘touches’ along the trail. The pictures don’t lie.”

Slides, above and below, from the Green Ox report

The Testing Report was exclusively released via LinkedIn with the following introduction:

“While many U.S. logisticians still claim that lightweight, fully-recyclable, emissions- and waste-reducing, truck-eliminating corrugated pallets don’t work, Green OX pallets continue to perform day-after-day, month-after-month in harsh conditions. Whether it’s airfreight from Africa or Latin America to Europe, weeks at open sea carrying >2,000 lbs of fruit, clearing customs faster and easier, or being trucked to their final destination, Green OX® Pallets Deliver. But don’t take our word for it. See for yourself in this Testing Report. When you’re done, drop me a line and ask me why U.S. companies employ heavy wood and plastic pallets that harm the environment and cost taxpayers and consumers money. My answer will surprise you.”

In responding to questions about the release teaser, Mr. Pener states: “U.S. retailers prohibit shipments on corrugated pallets that have been proven to reduce emissions and Take Trucks Off the Road. Those policies are out of date, fail to consider technology advancements like those we have demonstrated, and are antiquated in a time of pressing climate change challenges. Hopefully, this proof of technology Testing Report will help drive long-overdue relaxation of these counterproductive policies prohibiting the use of a proven emissions—reducing technology. Sustainability-minded companies should be free to ship on lightweight, recyclable pallets if they so choose.”

Green Ox Pallet Technology is the exclusive global provider of Green Ox pallets. The company was recently featured by leading industry publication Material Handling Network: http://www.mhnetwork.com/news/we-make-pallets-smarter/

Green Ox’s point-of-use delivery model is unique and transformative, giving F500 customers — and their suppliers — the capability to employ a ubiquitous, proven pallet system throughout global supply chains.

In 2012, IKEA® became the first global company to institute a system-wide corrugated pallet program, thus proving the model in their supply chain. For more information on the global precedent set by IKEA, please see: https://classic.qz.com/perfect-company-2/1148962/the-worlds-largest-furniture-company-built-its-empire-on-cardboard/

For more information, visit http://www.greenoxpallets.com.

Source: Green Ox

An essential part of the Group strategy is to invest in employees to better equip them and improve the company’s processes and service delivery

London, UK – 5th November 2018 – Brambles, a leading logistics solutions company operating primarily through the CHEP and IFCO brands, has recently received the “Learning Programme of Excellence” 2018 by the internationally respected Learning & Performance Institute (LPI) for its Commercial Academy focused on attracting and retaining talent.

Beginning life in 1995, the LPI has become today’s leading authority on workplace learning. In 2017 it introduced the Learning Programmes of Excellence, a prestigious award recognising exceptional, state-of-the-art learning programmes across the globe.

“This Learning Programme of Excellence Award is a huge achievement and recognises the strides Brambles has made in attracting, engaging and empowering employees,” said LPI CEO, Edmunk Monk. “The individuals and organisations recognised with this award are inspirations to us all and deserve the fullest praise for their achievements. We have been impressed by Brambles’ Commercial Academy, which places Brambles among the very best companies in the world for innovative, leading talent development.”

Brambles’ Commercial Academy supports the company’s continuous improvement across areas like customer support, account management, field service and asset protection. Over the last 12 months alone 1,180 people in Brambles commercial teams globally completed 16,482 learning hours in the programmes that form the Commercial Academy. Where applicable, programmes were delivered in local languages, using face-to-face, online and virtual methodologies. Commercial teams in Europe and the Middle East also underwent practical in-store experiences with some of Brambles major grocery store customers as part of their development.

“We designed the Academy, firstly to upskill and prepare our commercial teams for our rapidly changing world and the rapidly changing needs of our customers,” stated Lynne Rutherford, Brambles Group Vice president. “It is not just for customer-facing teams, but all employees, whether they are in the front lines or in customer support roles. In addition, our learning programmes are also an excellent inducement for new young talent to join us.”

“With the Retail Immersion Programme, we were able to take the view of our retail customers, to look at process gaps, innovation and offerings not only from a Brambles perspective but from our customers’ side” added another attendee, Sebastian Krug, Retail Director, Sales & Services, CHEP Germany. “Doing ‘real work’ at the grocery store shelf helped us push through internally the idea of how our learning system can help retailers.”

Brambles employs over 12,000 people in more than 60 countries and in the last couple of years it has been ranked by the Top Employers Institute as Top Employer in Europe and South Africa. This certification recognises the Group’s collaborative and progressive working practices, specifically around areas of talent management, learning and development, leadership development and employee engagement, from which the Commercial Academy is a good example.

Export and import pallet implications of international trade plus e-commerce are top trends to watch

Will international pallet usage increase in the face of lower freight rates? Nail-free and with curved corners, Litco’s Exporter pallets are approved for export as-is per ISPM 15.

Modern Materials Handling (MMH) Magazine recently hosted its Annual Pallet Report Webcast, (available on demand here) once again featuring Dr. Marshall (Mark) White, President of White and Company, and moderated by Josh Bond of MMH. The webcast was sponsored by ORBIS Corporation. Here are some takeaways from that event.

Does a lower prioritization on pallet price reflect that customers are more interested in pallet quality?

Price as a most important factor in pallet selection has dropped from 60% of respondents in 2016 to 59% in 2017, and down to 57% in 2018.

“The importance of purchase price in the pallet selection process has slowly waned in recent years and is now tied with strength (57%),” Bond wrote last month in MMH. “In an age of increased focus on supply chain performance, sustainability and resiliency, it is not surprising to see this theme repeated throughout the survey. Cost per use—and even pallet weight—are of less concern than reusability and durability.”

While most of us would like to see more pallet buyers take a broad approach to understand their total pallet cost impacts versus pallet price, as Bond intimates above, Dr. White suggests an alternative possibility.

“I think this is clearly showing a very tight pallet market,” he told Bond. “Demand is very high and supply is struggling to keep up, so when you are in a market like that, availability becomes very, very important. And actually, price becomes less important. You know me, I’m a performance-based fellow…But in the end, this is a reflection of a very tight pallet market. And quite frankly, users are struggling to find quality pallets to meet their needs.”

Pallet market is growing, and even faster for plastic–especially for export

Shuert Ex Air export pallet. Are lightweight units leading the way in plastic pallet market growth?

Dr. White commented that wood pallet production has grown from 750 million pallets annually in 2011 to 849 million in 2016, a 13% increase. Over a similar period of time, plastic pallet production has grown by 25%. He sees a huge demand in using plastic pallets for exporting. “These are one-way pallets going into that export pallets,” he said. “I think that’s where most of the increase is coming from in the plastic pallet market.”

Is the block pallet trend ebbing?

In 2006, 6% of pallet production was block style, Dr. White noted. In 2016, 21% of production was a block style pallet. With retailers such as Costco demanding block pallets, and their availability through poolers such as CHEP and PECO, more and more pallet users have become familiar with block pallets. “People began to recognize that the block pallet is very functional. In many ways, it is much more functional and can reduce operating costs. He noted that the slide is consistent with manufacturing trends–75% stringer and 21 to 25% block.

“I think we are starting to see that growth in block manufacturing starting to ebb a bit, and it makes sense. Certainly, the rental companies are all on block pallets, and the pools are maturing. But the growth in the  recent past from stringer to block pallet  was significant.

More new wood pallets, fewer recycled being purchased

This year’s survey showed an increase in wood pallet purchasers buying new, with a significant drop in those purchasing used pallets, which speaks to the continuing degradation of pallet core quality.

“The availability of the core that becomes the basis for used repaired or remanufactured pallets in the marketplace has declined,” Dr. White said. “And as that declines, the quality of used pallets has also declined.” He cautioned, however, that the used pallet market very much pertains to the 48×40 pallet, which is only 35% of the pallet market. “This doesn’t really tell us what is going on with repairing the odd sizes…” He suggested that increased purchases of new pallets might help improve quality in the used pallet market.

Sustainability as a rationale for purchasing plastic pallets declines

Dr. White remarked on the steadily decreasing importance of sustainability as a motivation for increased plastic pallet usage since the 2015 survey. “I find that interesting,” he said. “Because if you can reuse a pallet, capture it and not lose it, and it lasts a long time, and the cost of repair is not very great, which is the market that plastic should be in, you can basically form an argument that in certain markets and certain situations, a plastic pallet could be more sustainable and have a lower environmental impact than a wood pallet. But apparently, that is declining. That is an interesting trend, and that is something we should follow.”

More companies interested in alternative pooling options

The survey indicated that at least 37% of pallet users would be interested in an alternative pallet pooling service to major providers such as CHEP, PECO,iGPS, and 9Bloc. According to Dr. White, the trend makes sense. Pallet rental can be a poor fit for many smaller manufacturers.

“What we are seeing here is that these companies, which are not a fit for rental, recognize the benefits of managing pallets, and they look to other companies to help them manage their pallets,” he said. “Some of them may do it internally, but many look to third parties that can manage pallets for smaller industry segments.”

He emphasized that a lot of third party companies are making pallet management services available for manufacturers of a smaller scale or in non-48×40 pallet applications. “I’m happy to see this. It is good for our environment, and it continues to control the cost of consumer goods,” he continued.

Trends to watch #1: International freight

According to Dr. White, the leading trend to watch in terms of pallet implications is international trade. He notes that the U.S. usually exports roughly 12 million TEUs (twenty-foot equivalent units) annually. Roughly half of that volume is still floor loaded, while the rest is palletized. If the floor loaded portion was converted to palletized, it would require an extra 60 million pallets annually.

“Now, that’s not going to happen overnight,” he cautioned. “That is going to be an evolutionary process. But it will increase the demand.”

Dr. White noted that freight container rental has decreased by 45% between 2014 and 2017. While the use of pallets can reduce freight capacity by as much as 10%, there are significant labor-saving benefits to palletization. He noted that loading a 40-foot container can take six to eight labor hours, while palletized freight can be loaded in less than one labor hour.

“When you look at those costs, what does it mean?” he asked. “We are going to increase palletization going out of this country, (and) we may see palletization increase coming into this country.” With a trade deficit of 3:1, there is the potential for a huge influx of pallets. The main problem with that, he said, has to do with their overall poor quality. “I think what we see as we palletize more and more products for international shipments, we are going to see an impact on the pallet market that we should monitor very closely in the future.”

Trends to watch #2: E-commerce

Dr. White noted the rapid increase in e-commerce volumes. He said it will be difficult to tell what the impact will be, at this point in time. For now, the major difference is in the last mile of distribution, which is the last leg to the retail store, or in the case of e-commerce, the last from the fulfillment center to the online customer’s home. He noted that currently, the front end of the e-commerce supply chain is still highly palletized. It is possible, however, if improvements are made in parcel-direct shipments direct from the manufacturer, it could impact pallet usage related to shipping goods from the manufacturer to the fulfillment center, as well as for order picking.

To view the webcast, follow this link.

Pallet and plastic container theft: whether the postal system, automotive parts movement or grocery industry, and whether America or Europe, pallets and containers are being specifically being targeted by criminals, or at least falling into their lap.  These are the stories.

File photo: stolen plastic pallets at recycler location.

Police seize stolen fresh food trays

September 3–Following recent thefts of Euro Pool System fresh food trays, the police have raided various locations where suspicious batches of trays have been found. The police also carried out arrests and started criminal proceedings against suspects.

As well as cooperating with the police, Euro Pool System has been working for a long time, with insurers, to combat the theft of the fresh food trays that are used, amongst other things, for fruit and vegetables. Euro Pool System has, for example, further tightened up the return policy for its trays. The company has also set up a special team in collaboration with the police and legal advisers, that can monitor the usage, return patterns and the origins of trays. Consequently, the team can identify suspect situations and parties, and then report them directly to the police. In recent months, the police have carried out raids in the Netherlands and Belgium and have thus solved a number of thefts.

Euro Pool System is also investing in the traceability of the fresh food trays. The company can now track the routes of trays with increasing accuracy,  so that suspicious activity and routes, are identified. This has led to encouraging results in the Netherlands, Belgium and Germany.

Tips to prevent theft

Euro Pool System, owner of the fresh food trays, calls on users of the trays to take measures to prevent theft:

• Always place reusable fresh food trays on the company premises under lock and key
• Return the fresh food trays to Euro Pool System as soon as possible after use
• In case of tray theft, report to the police

1,400 Stolen Pallets Recovered in Riverside, California

 On Monday, October 1, 2018, at approximately 2:09 am, deputies from the Fontana Sheriff’s Station responded to a 9-1-1 call involving a robbery and an assault at a truck yard, according to a press release. When deputies arrived, they located a victim with a head wound sitting in the front  of the driveway. The victim told deputies, he had been pistol whipped and tied up by four subjects while he was sleeping in his bed. The victim gave deputies detailed suspect descriptions that were captured on video surveillance.

During the course of the investigation, information was obtained involving a pallet yard in the County of Riverside with suspicious subjects unloading pallets from two tractor trailers in the darkness. Deputies drove to the County of Riverside and located five subjects at the Riverside location attempting to flee. After a thorough search of the area, they were all captured and taken into custody without further incident.

1,400 stolen pallets, and one stolen tractor trailer were recovered and returned to the owner of the business. The victim was taken to a local area hospital for medical treatment and is expected to recover. The five subjects were arrested and transported the West Valley Detention Center, where they were booked for charges involving home invasion, assault with firearm, vehicle theft and conspiracy. Anyone with information regarding this investigation is encouraged to call the Fontana Sheriff’s Station.

Postal Pallet Theft: California Recycling Executives Sentenced to Two Years and Ordered to Pay $3.4 Million in Restitution

LOS ANGELES–The central players in a scheme to recycle stolen postal pallets have been sentenced to two years in federal prison after pleading guilty to conspiracy to convert government property and conspiracy to launder money.

Jorge Villalobos, 41, of Riverside, was sentenced in April, and Hugo Guzman, 40, of Fontana, was sentenced in July, both by United States District Judge Manuel L. Real. In addition to the prison time, they were ordered to pay $3.4 million in restitution, the largest restitution amount ordered for theft of United States Postal Service (USPS) property, according to a press release. Based on court records, this restitution has been paid in full.

Villalobos is President and Guzman is Vice President of Go Green Industries in Riverside. The business is a plastics recycler, processor, and compounder. According to court records, between 2008 and 2014, Villalobos and Guzman, through Go Green Industries, knowingly acquired stolen USPS plastic pallets, shredded them, and sold the resulting plastic on the open market for corporate profit. Further, Villalobos and Guzman laundered the proceeds from this illegal activity by transferring the money to two straw-person accounts, and then using those accounts to promote further unlawful activity.

“These defendants siphoned millions of dollars from the USPS by actively seeking out stolen pallets, and pumping money from the sales into their business,” said United States Attorney Nicola T. Hanna. “They intentionally incentivized theft of government property and their sentences should deter those who would follow in their footsteps.”

According to coverage in Plastics Recycling Update, the illegal activity involved shipping the shredded material to Mexico, and then returning it to the U.S.:

In an affidavit accompanying the search warrant, a Postal Service inspector said that after authorities began investigating Go Green, instead of shipping flake directly from Alameda Recycling to Go Green, as had been done before, flake was shipped from Alameda Recycling to an operation in Mexicali, Mexico. There, it was given a manifest and certification falsely claiming it originated in Mexico, and it was then re-imported and trucked to Go Green.

“Delivering mail over 1.5 billion miles last year to over 157 million residences, businesses and P.O. Boxes each day takes many containers, pallets, carts and trays,” said Nichole Cooper, Inspector in Charge of the Los Angeles Division of the Postal Inspection Service. “Theft of this equipment feeds an industry and Postal Inspectors are dedicated to identifying and recovering postal equipment and assets, and seeking prosecution when necessary. The Inspection Service is proud at the result of this investigation and the award of over $3.4 million in restitution to the Postal Service.”

In its sentencing papers, the government argued that these executives directed the affairs of a company that “played an integral role in the black market of stolen government property in Southern California” and that the company “aggregated the efforts of multiple plastics thieves” and “created a demand for further theft.”

“Villalobos and Guzman executed a money laundering scheme whereby they used bank accounts in the names of two other individuals to hide proceeds of Go Green’s dirty activity,” said R. Damon Rowe, Special Agent in Charge of IRS Criminal Investigation. “We are proud to work with our law enforcement partners to investigate and prosecute individuals who attempt to enrich themselves by fraudulent means and to help put a stop to this and other types of white collar crime.”

Trucking Company President Faces 20 Years After Automotive Plastic Container Theft

DETROIT–The president of a Michigan truck hauling business pleaded guilty in Detroit federal district court to wire fraud and to willfully failing to file a tax return, according to the Plastics Recycling Update and a press release from the U.S. Attorney’s office.

According to information presented in open court and filed documents, Arshawn Kenard Hall, a resident of Farmington, Michigan, operated a truck hauling business called RAMA Enterprise, Inc.  Hall was hired to transport plastic crates filled with automobile parts on behalf of an automobile company.  After transporting the parts, Hall was expected to return the empty crates to a facility in Detroit. Instead, Hall diverted these plastic crates and sold them to a plastic recycling company for approximately $460,000.  The actual value of the plastic crates that Hall stole was approximately $2,921,000.

The defendant’s plea agreement states:

The defendant was hired to transport plastic crates of automobile parts on behalf of FCA LLC, commonly known as Fiat-Chrysler Automobile Company, primarily from Detroit, Michigan, to other locations in southeast Michigan. After transporting the parts, the defendant was supposed to return the empty crates back to a facility in Detroit on behalf of Fiat-Chrysler. However, from approximately June 2012 through approximately 2013, Hall sold the empty plastic crates that belonged to Fiat-Chrysler to a plastic recycling company located in Wixom, Michigan for approximately $460,000. The defendant deposited the checks from the recycling company, which were drawn on PNC bank, into RAMA’s account at Comerica bank, causing Comerica bank to initiate interstate wires with PNC bank. The value to Fiat-Chrysler of the plastic crates stolen by Hall was approximately $2,921,000.”

In addition, Hall failed to file a 2012 federal income tax return on behalf of RAMA and failed to pay the taxes due.  The tax loss associated with Hall’s conduct is $142,069.

U.S. District Judge Terrence G. Berg scheduled sentencing for November 29, 2018.  Hall faces a statutory maximum sentence of twenty years in prison for his wire fraud conviction, and one year in prison for failing to file a tax return.  He also faces a period of supervised release, restitution, and monetary penalties.

Pallets Worth 2.7 Million Euros Stolen Over Five Years

GIETEN, the Netherlands–Meanwhile in the Netherlands, three men and a woman were convicted in July for their role in large-scale and systematic pallet theft at the distribution center of supermarket group C1000 in Gieten. They are given community service orders of 80 to 240 hours. This report is a rough translation of a Dutch language news report dated July 23.

The men worked as a forklift and truck drivers. As a wife, the woman profited from the income from her husband’s illegal trade. One employee and his wife were acquitted.

A 58-year-old man from Gieten was the main suspect in this pallet scam. He worked as a forklift driver and was responsible for the stock management of the pallets. After investigation by a detective agency, it turned out that from 2008 to 2013, he systematically reported fewer pallets to his supervisor than there were at the company. As a result, more and more pallets were ordered than was necessary. He sold the extra pallets to two truck drivers. They put their profits into their own pocket.

The punishments were lower because this criminal case took so long to prosecute. Since the start of the investigation, it took 3.5 years before the case came to court. Normally the reasonable period is two years. Because of this overrun, the court does not impose a prison sentence on the main suspect but a community service order. The punishments in the other cases are also lower for this reason.

Another man and his wife were acquitted. The file does not show that he was actively involved in pallet theft. The man occasionally loaded a truck with ‘black’ (unlawfully released) pallets, but assumed that it was okay. He eventually suspected something was wrong. But this is insufficient to establish that he has stolen and resold pallets together with the main suspect pallets. Nor does it appear that the man and woman at that time had more money than normal. Because the man is acquitted of the illegal trade, this also applies to his wife.

The court did not rule on the compensation of more than 2.7 million euros sought by Jumbo Supermarket, because a civil lawsuit related to this claim is already underway.

Related stories:

U.S. Postal Pallet Theft Ring Uncovered

Plastic Pallet Theft Ring Charged in Michigan

Plastic Pallet and Container Theft Ring Uncovered in New Jersey

Reusable Packaging: So Hard to Hold?

Princes, one of Europe’s fastest growing food and drink groups, has been working with leading pallet pooling business LPR, to improve the efficiency and reliability of automated pallet handling systems at the company’s soft drinks production facility in Bradford.

Analysis based on the Life of a Pallet, has helped the company make improvements to pallet quality, reducing downtime on its automated production lines and improving efficiency in warehouse and factory operations.

Princes’ facility in Bradford is its largest soft drinks production site in the UK, covering over 30,000m3³ and handling 54,000 pallets in a complex, fast-moving environment for the production of own and customer branded carbonated and fruit drinks.

The efficiency of the automated handling systems on the site was, however, being impacted by inconsistent levels of pallet quality, causing downtime and potential loss of revenue.

As part of the partnership with Princes, LPR jointly formulated a plan to investigate the issues and implement solutions to improve levels of uptime and efficiency.

The Life of a Pallet analysis formed a key part of this work with members of the LPR depot team spending time on site to understand Princes’ automated processes and the challenges facing the company’s warehouse and production staff.

What became clear was that chips or splinters within the pallets could affect the efficiency of the automation systems, causing downtime while they were rectified. It was also discovered that machine guards were not being refitted correctly, further extending downtime.

Additionally, the team identified issues with forklift trucks causing damage to pallets leading to an increase in the time required for sorting, additional repair costs and downtime. It was agreed that modifications to pallet construction would further improve safety for loaded pallets stored in high bay racking.

Following the investigation, LPR made a number of changes, including additional quality checks, to ensure that issues with chips and splinters were identified and rectified at inspection. LPR also took steps to enhance the strength and rigidity of pallets. Similarly, Princes retrained their production teams and forklift operators, to ensure machine guards were replaced correctly.

An important aspect of our partnership with Princes has been the phasing out of the use of composite wood blocks used in pallet construction. Although these are commonly used in the industry, LPR identified as early as 2010 that solid wood blocks are significantly stronger, more durable and environmentally responsible, as they are free from formaldehydes. LPR have been steadily replacing all composite blocks across their business, reducing their use to just 1%, based on volume deliveries. These steps have resulted in a level of pallet quality of almost 99% and Princes has been able to identify cost savings from the programme, which run into tens of thousands of pounds on an annual basis.

What does a Life of a Pallet analysis involve?

• Receipt of pallet deliveries
• How to inspect the pallets
• Consequences of mis-loading/misuse of the pallets when being lifted/moved by forklift truck
• How pallets are used in the automated process
• How pallets are stored while loaded into the high bay racking system
• Loaded pallets being dispatched for onward product distribution

LPR-La Palette Rouge, a division of Euro Pool System Group, is a pallet-pooling company for manufacturers and distributors in the fast-moving consumer goods sector. LPR operates throughout Europe, providing a full pallet service to its customers and their retail partners. The company manages more than 83 million pallet movements per year throughout Europe. www.lpr.eu

SRS RPCs in automation at Everfresh

 In the last year, CO2e emissions have decreased by 15% per round trip as RPCs repeatedly cycle in the return system.

“Our driving force is to develop as simple, efficient and sustainable solutions as possible for the grocery industry,” says Anna Elgh, CEO of Svenska Retursystem. “Every day, we send out more than 500,000 return boxes in the system, so a 15% reduction in emissions per round trip and box will reduce the industry by over 1500 tonnes CO2e in one year.”

Thanks to an increased share of renewable energy in manufacturing and an extended service life of its reusable containers, the climate impact per return trip for an RPC has decreased from 72 to 61 grams CO2e.

• Manufacturing : Return boxes are manufactured in Great Britain. Svenska Retursystem has had an ongoing dialogue with its suppliers about the importance of increasing the share of renewable energy. During the past year, their plastic crate supplier has achieved a dramatic improvement, increasing usage of renewable energy from 30 to 84%.
• Lifespan:  Extending the life of its reusable containers to avoid creating new boxes is crucial to the system’s sustainability performance. Through physical checks of the stock of RPCs, Svenska Retursystem has found that life expectancy is at least 15 years on average. This has been achieved through efficient storage methods and good handling practices throughout the entire supply chain.

The basic idea of the return system is that the distribution of the grocery trade is to be done on its reusable plastic pallets, which can also be used over and over again. Svenska Retursystems crates are made of durable, recyclable plastic. When a return box is broken and no longer ready to be painted, the plastic is recycled and reused for the production of new RPCs in a closed circular business model.

Pallet and Reusable Packaging Headline Roundup From Around the Web

November 21, 2018. Curiosity and Lots of Pallets Generate Success at Prime Woodcraft

November 20, 2018. RPCs are more sustainable. Here’s why.

November 13, 2018. Beer keg manufacturer Entinox turns to Henkel for pickling process

November 13, 2018. New plastic packaging tax and what this means for plastic pallets

November 13, 2018. Lidl store branded “disgusting health hazard” after snaps show rotting fruit and stained floors

November 12, 2018. The Pentagon is Spending Big on RFID Tech

November 6, 2018. Reinventing the Humble Beer Keg

June 28, 2018. Jettainer signs up for the ten golden rules in preventing ULD damage

June 27, 2018. Are You Paying for the Air in Your Packaging?

June 21, 2018.  Getting the price right — how the right packaging approach can help keep medicines affordable

June 18, 2018. Hemp Plant Planned for Pallet Production

June 14, 2018.  DS Smith launches Made2fit to help reduce e-commerce packaging size

June 13, 2018.  Decathlon Swaps Out Old Reusables for New (with Recycled Content)

June 7, 2018.  Packaging company Monoflo’s partnership with KraussMaffei breeds business success

June 6, 2018.  Greif opens intermediate bulk container facility in Netherlands

June 4, 2018. Macro Plastics partner with Tri-Wall to transform the Automotive supply chain

May 31, 2018.  Amazon’s new codes on boxes encourage re-use

May 30, 2018. China faces ‘staggering’ shortfall in recovered fiber supply

May 11, 2018. Industrial wire containers find use in new applications

February 14, 2018. Report: Cargo theft dropped by 15% in 2017

February 14, 2018. Loading Dock Distractions: Improve Safety by Clearly Communicating Danger

February 14, 2018. Wooden Pallets on Their Way Out?

February 13, 2018. Survey reveals serialization’s potential across industries

February 6, 2018. The damage is (no longer) done

February 2, 2018. Automation and reusability core to supply chain success in 2018 – PSE

January 10, 2018.  Wood pallet, crating manufacturer to invest $1.3 million, create 28 jobs at Holly Hill plant

December 19, 2017.  Coca Cola sets higher green targets for recycling and reuse

December 19, 2017.   BUBL Bag wins with ecommerce packaging at the Scottish Edge Awards

December 18, 2017.  US firm Industrial Container Services buys Dayton Industrial Drum

December 18, 2017. THE EVOLUTION OF SMART TEMPERATURE CONTROLLED PACKAGING

December 15, 2017. Finding Answers to: No Time, No Tools, No Talent

December 12, 2017. Cleanpal delivers supply chain savings for Freshlinc

December 2, 2017. Famous names get fingers burnt in bonfire of high-tech pallets

November 30, 2017. What New Military Vendors Need to Know About RFID Requirements

November 6, 2017. Business Is Stacking Up – Pallets and Logistics. Vendor perspective from the UK.

October 31, 2017.  Looking for a Circular Packaging Solution? Meet RePack

October 31, 2017. Euro Pool System and LPR Share Pooling Knowledge 

October 24, 2017. PSE Joins FTA Logistics Awards Shortlist

October 18, 2017. Live long and prosper: just how long do RPCs really last?

September 21, 2017. Logistics supplier CHEP invests EUR 600,000 in pallet reconditioning line. CHEP in Romania.

September 20, 2017. How Much Does Custom Packaging Really Cost? Blog post, not news. Doesn’t answer the question but raises several of the variables to be considered in its calculation.

September 19, 2017. Creating a Lean Culture of Accountability. A feature about Rehrig Pacific.

September 12, 2017. How Grocers Can Help Sink Reusable Plastic Piracy.

September 5, 2017. PSE Delivers For Ocado. PSE to provide reusable transport packaging wash and inspection service for the online retail giant.

September 5, 2017. There is big money in the recycled material market and thieves know it.

September 5, 2017. Pilot project connects blockchain and “smart” pallets. Susan Lacefield reports on the collaboration between BASF, emerging pallet technology company AHRMA, and blockchain startup Quantoz.

September 5, 2017. Equipment Report: The Modern Pallet. Modern’s annual look at pallets includes input from Dr. Mark White, RM2, CHEP and ORBIS.

August 31, 2017. Shongai Packaging (Nigeria) exports plastic pallets to ECOWAS countries

August 27, 2017. Connected pallets shown to enable supply chain sustainability. A new study suggests that longer lasting, lighter weight pallets will be more sustainable, especially in conjunction with IoT technology to reduce loss and dwell time.

August 14, 2017. Lantech Applauds Packaging Distributors’ Commitment to Load Testing Pallets

August 11, 2017. The Next Generation of Automated Warehouses

August 3, 2017.  The Next Big Waves in Value Proposition for Reusable Packaging

August 1, 2017. The Push for Reusable Packaging.

July 13, 2017. Pallet Lifetime costs matter. More pallet options necessitate more diligence.

July 25, 2017. Collaboration for Logistics Innovation: An IoT Pallet Designed for a Circular Economy.

July 21, 2017. The Amazon Effect, Recycling Challenges, and Reusable Packaging Solutions

July 18, 2017. Lincoln Hill Holdings Acquires Fibre Tec Partitions, LLC.

July 18, 2017. Futuristic Packaging Technologies to Transform Industrial Packaging.

July 18, 2017. Retailers Say That Wood Look RPCs Increase Sales by 6 to 9%

July 14, 2017. Pallets manufacturer Leap India eyes seven-fold bump in top line in 3 years.

July 13, 2017. Sonoco Releases Cost of Damage Calculator.

July 9, 2017. How smart sensors and the IoT will evolve supply chains.

June 26, 2017, The Waste and Recycling Industry and the Internet of Things. Includes a discussion of the asset tracking systems offered by various leading recycling cart manufacturers.

July 6, 2017, PSE CELEBRATES EXPANSION WITH NEW LEEDS FACILITY.

July 6, 2017, Tosca Uses Hazleton Facility to Bring “Reusable Revolution” to Grocery Supply Chain.  The company recently expanded the size of its Hazelton PA facility in in order to support significant growth and to increase the facilities’ capabilities.

July 5, 2016, Plastic Pallet Factory Burns in Taiwan.  A fire at a plastics factory sent toxic black smoke churning up into the air over Pingtung’s Wandan Township, prompting local evacuation. Still burning after 30 hours.

June 30, 2017, RM2 International Full-Year Loss Narrows, Appoints New CEO. The company has announced that Jasper Judd will succeed John Walsh as CEO and has been appointed to the board effective immediately.

June 30, 2017, LEAP plans to raise ₹100 cr in two months.  LEAP India, a supply chain solutions company, plans to raise ₹100 crore in next two months to enhance its wooden pallet capacity and improve geographic reach. The company currently supplies about one million pallets made of wood imported from Russia and 20,000 containers to over 200 fast moving consumer goods and automobile companies on daily rental basis of ₹1.20-1.60. Typically, the contract for rentals is for three years. LEAP (Leading Enterprise in Advance Pooling) through its in-house software MyLeap tracks the movement of each pallet and places it with another customer once the goods are delivered to the warehouse.

June 30, 2017, Ohio-based CTC Plastics grows by knowing strengths, sticking to them.  An interesting report on CTC Plastics, a Dayton, Ohio-based company that recycles polypropylene and compression molds new plastic pallets.

June 27, 2017, No More Bubble Wrap: Clever Reusable Packaging System Eliminates Waste.

June 26, 2017, How to Reduce Product Damage and Save. Article from Signet discusses unit load wrapping and carton tape best practices.

June 18, 2017, PA Businesses Hit by Rash of Wooden Pallet Thefts.

June 16, 2017, Mahindra and Mahindra Adopts Innovative Supply Chain Packaging.

June 15, 2017, Rethinking the Use of Wooden Pallets Across Global Supply Chains. Makes a case for the Sumo Glove forklift tine attachment, aimed at reducing related damage.

June 14, 2017, Peli doubles the size of its center in Kent. Peli has doubled its UK plant to keep up with demand for its reusable rotomolded and foam products.

June 6, 2017, Molded wood pallets optimize space and shipping costs. Nestable Litco pallets come in full and fractional sizes. They help save space in the plant and in transit for an Ohio pump manufacturer.

June 5, 2017, The Humble Pallet Gets Smart. A discussion of the pallet industry and the opportunity for IoT. The focus is on RM2’s IoT offering.

June 2, 2017,  Active RFID Tracks Kit Carts Through Assembly.  The Wave Reusables Kit Cart Solution has been used by an undisclosed heavy equipment manufacturer for roughly a year, according to Wave Reaction, and has reduced the costs related to kitting cart loss by 83 percent, according to a report in RFID Journal. The customer asked if  “Wave Reaction could provide a solution that would not only track the reusable kitting carts that move from a kitting facility to product assembly, at a separate location, but also link each cart to the items loaded onto it.”

June 2, 2017, Cost-cutting the key growth driver in 2016 as Gefco profits surge. Gefco: “In 2017, our aim is to grow our finished vehicles logistics business, while continuing to develop the overland, warehousing and reusable packaging, freight forwarding, and 4PL expertise by testing new technologies and concluding new partnerships.”

May 31, 2017, The Mighty Pallet: A Supply Chain Powerhouse. This Inbound Logistics feature touches briefly on the 48×40-inch pallet situation for the CPG sector, noting a slight increase in market demand due to increase demand plus catching up on postponed purchase during the recession (Freedonia), the growing importance of recycled pallets as a cost-effective alternative to new pallets, the reluctance of carriers to backhaul empty pallets, the benefits of pooled pallets in terms of quality assurance and compatibility with automation, as well as the case for high quality plastic pallets in terms of food safety, compatibility with automated equipment and durability.

May 21, 2017, ‘Recycling in Australia is dead in the water’: three companies tackling our plastic addiction (Article in the Guardian looks at companies utilizing recycled plastic, including plastic pallet producer, Range International.)

May 16, 2017, Orana pallet factory at Para Hills West to restart production in a week after massive fire (A rare lightning strike fire at a wood pallet operations burns 15,000 pallets in Adelaide, Australia.)

May 1, 2017, Everything Pallets! (Pallet terminology)

May 1, 2017, Buying Used Pallets? 6 Crucial Considerations

April 27, 2017, Plastic 7 and Tecnicarton develop an automotive container (Collaboration between DS Smith and tier supplier leads to innovative solution)

April 16, 2017, Ratto Bros: Diversification gives relevance for a century (Ratto Bros endorses RPC usage)

April 12, 2017,  St. Pete business advocate jumps into crowded city council race (Justin Bean of Reusable Transport Packaging)

April 10, 2017, Plastic Pallet Manufacturer Range finds its mark on ASX

April 5, 2017, Kite expands range of pallet top sheets and gusseted covers

March 30, 2017, NWPCA’s pallet design software produces certified sustainable USDA BioPreferred wood pallets

March 16, 2017, Greenpeace study finds fault with bottle sustainability

March 15, 2017, Reusable Plastic Pallets Offer Long Life Expectancy

March 15, 2017, Orbis showcases bulk container and pallet lines at LogiMAT event in Germany

March 7, 2017, Brambles announces shake-up of North American pallets unit

March 6, 2017, UIC protests at termination of pallet exchange deal

March 6, 2017, Shipping and the Physical Internet

March 2, 2017, The Complete Package

Feb. 22, 2017, Green campaigners welcome Coca-Cola U-turn on bottle and can recycling scheme

Feb. 21, 2017, Do-It-Yourself Corrugated Pallets

Feb. 15, 2017, AT&T to launch network for Internet of Things

Feb. 1, 2017, RDB Pallets produces about 10 million pallets per year

Jan. 30, 2017, Packaging company opens a second plant in Greenville County

Jan. 29, 2017, Cairns man sues Woolworths over serious back injury

Jan. 25, 2017, Goplasticpallets unveils new GoBox 1208 BBCJ pallet container in UK

Jan. 23, 2017, Case Study: Making Strawberries Cool Again (Discussion of post-harvest cooling options for fresh produce and a strawberry case study)

Jan. 23, 2017, Anti-slip dimpled pallets launched by Exporta

Jan. 23, 2017, How Head & Shoulders, Unilever are washing beaches clean of plastic (Discussion of aspirations to increase plastic recycling from 14% to 70% within three years.)

January 2017, Case Study of 2016 Excellence Award Winner Now Available for Download

Jan. 18, 2017, E-Grocery: Challenge or Opportunity for Reusable Packaging?

Jan. 12, 2017, Translating the 5S system to food safety (includes a brief discussion of pallet management in a food production environment)

Jan. 11, 2017, Wine without hassle: Washington state eyes store refills (expansion of growler usage from beer to include wine)

Jan. 10, 2017, Change the Pallet Publicly Releases White House Presentation

Jan. 10, 2017, Axios Mobile and its “educated pallets”

Jan. 9, 2017, The Benefits of Waste Tracking and Waste-to-Energy Initiatives (Toyota reusable packaging reference)

Jan. 5, 2017, Is Reusable Packaging the Right Fit for Your Company? (Sponsored Content from UPS)

Jan. 4, 2017, PPS grow turnover to £6m with help of £1.8m investment

Jan. 5, 2017, Smart sensors on automated packaging machines enable Big Data advantages

Jan. 4, 2017, Tank Holding Acquires Agri-Plastics Material Handling Division

Jan. 4, 2017  Ford cancels plans for plant in Mexico as GM defends its position

Jan. 4, 2017, Green Packaging Market: Go Green Trend to hit the Market reaching US$203.1 bn by 2021

Jan. 4, 2017, Corrugated Board Packaging Market Will Continue to Grow by 2020

Jan. 1, 2017, Is Softwood Just as Good (for Pallets)?

Dec. 28, 2016, Pallet Supplier Plans 165 Layoffs in Indianapolis

Dec. 20, 2016, Brambles Announces Appointment of Sean O’Sullivan as Vice President, Investor Relations

Dec. 13, 2016, LPR UK announces new logistics partnership with W.R. Carter & Sons

Dec. 6, 2016, Rehrig Pacific Funds EREF Internship

Mr. Song Rong, Chairman of Loscam

On 18 Oct 2018, Loscam China celebrated its milestone 10-million-pallet achievement in Beijing China. The celebration was comprised of a Pallet Pooling Forum followed by 10-Million-Achievement Ceremony, joined and witnessed by around a hundred of guests and customers from China’s major logistics-related industry associations, retailers, FMCG manufacturers and logistics companies.

At the 10-Million-Achievement Ceremony, Mr. Song Rong, Chairman of Board of Loscam, delivered a welcome speech to the guests. Mr. Song said, pursuant to the strategic reorganisation between CMG and Sinotrans & CSC, Sinotrans Limited had become the integrated logistics operation platform for CMG. Among its main missions, to build one standardized products & services sharing platform is Siontrans’ important task, while its ultimate mission is to establish a supply chain & logistics ecosystem. Mr. Song expressed his hope that, Loscam, being an important member of this ecosystem, would play a key role in CMG’s total logistics solutions and become the pioneer in CMG intelligent logistics system.

Mr. Dai Zhengnan, Executive VP of Loscam & GM of Loscam Greater China, made a review on Loscam China’s growth while in the meantime presenting his new vision for future growth. During the past eight years, Loscam China had successfully undergone two important growth stages, namely firstly to establish a basic customer base and service network to remain competitive; secondly, to acquire a strategic customers portfolio and strong operations capability for large-scale palletization for FCMG supply chain. 10-Million-Pallet Milestone means that Loscam now enters its third strategic growth stage. The focus of this stage will be to upgrade and optimize Loscam’s core pooling capabilities in its operations, customer services and IT systems to get fully ready for the new pooling era in China.

The highlight of the celebration was when the guests were invited to the stage to complete the final fabrication of the 10,000,000^th pallet, marking the new stage for Loscam China’s next journey ahead.

Pallet No. 10M was fabricated by (from left to right):
Mr. Dai Zhangnan, Professor Wu Qingyi, Mr. Sirin Limpaitoon (President of Loscam), Mr. Song Rong, Mr. Spencer Liu (Supply Chain Director of Carrefour China), and Mr. Alan Chen (Logistics Director of Unilever China)

Innovative advances in technology, coupled with seamless in-store shopping experiences, are among the IGD’s top predictions for 2019’s global retail trends:

• Data, and particularly customer data, will offer more personalised shopping
• Sustainability concerns will change the way retailers do business
• Stores will offer more seamless shopping experiences
• Healthy eating and wellness will grow in popularity
• Shopping opportunities will increasingly be available anywhere, anytime

The past twelve months have seen new, faster payment systems and collaborations between retailers and healthcare providers to encourage healthy eating. Developments such as these are expected to go even further in 2019.

“2019’s biggest trend of all is likely to be the continuation of rapid and radical change in the food and grocery industry,” said Toby Pickard, Head of Insight, Innovation and Futures at IGD. “We have already seen a significant pivot towards innovative new technology, and there is no sign of this letting up next year. Shoppers’ expectations have changed, and the retail and grocery sectors are working to meet those expectations in every area of business.”

Five key retail trends for 2019

1. Data dictates the way: data will be one of the main building blocks of retail growth

2018 has seen data become more valuable to the retail sector than ever, with 46% of supply chain experts now actively prioritising data-driven business. As well as helping to boost sales, accurate data will be vital for tools that allow retailers to understand customer behaviour – and reward their loyalty.

Through customer datasets, artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning in-store, retailers can target products and offers more effectively whilst maintaining appropriate stock levels and improving customer service. Insights gained through closer customer engagement will provide invaluable guidance to retailers looking to grow their businesses: making stronger connections beneficial to both groups.

2. Doing good is good businesses: firms will increasingly take the lead on sustainability

Issues such as food waste and plastic pollution are headline news, and this has translated to changing attitudes across the generations. Nearly three quarters (74%) of UK shoppers say that they have become more aware of the environmental impact of plastic packaging over the past year, and this has led to innovations such as biodegradable wrapping and plastic-free supermarket aisles. Retailers are no longer thinking about just reducing waste, but want to make a positive, tangible contribution. The next wave of innovative and leading retailers and brands will move beyond reducing their impact.

3. Seamless stores: physical stores will become more digital, and offer a more ‘seamless’ shopping experience

Physical stores will offer a much more digital experience in 2019, by using technology to make it easier for customers to find items and gain more product information. 85% of UK shoppers would like to see the rollout of more in-store technologies. This should lead to a faster shop for many, where searching aisles and shelves for the right item is replaced by an app that guides shoppers to where they want to be.

“Physical stores offer customers a more tangible shopping experience, where they can see products before they commit to purchase,” said Pickard. “This gives these spaces an advantage over online providers, and we are seeing stores begin to capitalise on that and add in extras to incorporate more of the benefits of online.

“A recent example of this is Il Viaggiator Goloso, a premium Italian brand, which has enabled its electronic shelf-edge labels to show the online reviews and scores products have received. This gives customers a more informed choice in store.”

4. Help me be healthy: retailers will play a more active role in supporting the health and wellness of consumers

Most shoppers aspire to eat and live well, with 85% saying they are actively trying to improve their diet, but aspirations don’t always translate into action. We believe shoppers will be more health conscious going forward, so supporting them to both look and feel good will be a major priority for retailers and their suppliers. This means that both consumers and businesses will be thinking more about wellness and the role of retail in promoting cleaner living going forward.

5. Anywhere, anytime: social commerce will grow with more options for purchasing products ‘on the go’

We expect new innovative social commerce solutions to emerge throughout 2019. Retailers and suppliers will deliver targeted marketing, and new ways to make online shopping more social, instantaneous, and convenient.

“In 2019 we’ll see retailers think increasingly about making every moment shoppable,” Pickard continued. “A recent innovation was easyJet making it possible for Instagram users to find and book holidays to new destinations, simply by clicking on a photo they have seen.

“Whether through targeted marketing or simple ways to make purchasing more seamless, shopping is becoming not just more convenient but more instant as well.”

Shopping will become seamless and omnipresent. People will no longer need to visit a retailer’s online store. As they look at pictures, watch videos or TV they’ll be able to just add products to a shopping cart. This has the potential to change the way that retailers think about selling in the future.

See these trends in practice with a range of global retail case studies.

Quite literally green, CPR System also offers wood pallets. Its plastic pallet is shown below.

 

“Conad has placed a strong focus on sustainable development in recent years,” stated Andrea Mantelli, Conad’s supply chain director. “The commitment has grown and is highlighted by all the initiatives put in place to reduce the environmental impact of distribution activities. Conad products are successful thanks to a combination of factors: quality, attention to supplier selection, supply chain controls, convenience, but also optimization of distribution flows. The latter, on which we have worked hard, in terms of logistics centralization and the development of innovative projects. The award is the recognition of our commitment to sustainability and a project that improves the quality of the environment by improving the modes of transport.”

“The partnership with Conad has allowed us to develop important projects aimed at preserving the quality of fresh products and food safety, optimizing transport, making them more efficient and reducing their environmental impact,”, emphasized Francesco Avanzini, the president of CPR System. CPR is sustainable and we consider sustainability an opportunity also for the economic development of the country. The award crowns a long-standing commitment, which we pursue to provide the modern distribution with the best and most effective answers, with a view to a circular economy that is increasingly our distinctive character.”

The new pallets provide better cube utilization and weigh less than corresponding wood pallets, according to Conad, resulting in better freight utilization and reducing product damage by 20%. The generation of wood and nail waste is also eliminated.

“It is above all the environment that benefits from it: the emissions of greenhouse gases – that is CO2 – related to transport are reduced by 42% compared to the traditional system with wooden pallets due to the lower mass of plastic pallets, to the higher quantities transportable of products and, therefore, to the lower number of vehicle journeys,” the Conad announcement concludes.

Japan Pallet Rental. (This story first appeared in February 2017.)

With a pool of over 8.5 million pallets, Japan Pallet Rental Corporation is the leading pallet rental provider in Japan. And while it was launched as wood pallet rental service back in 1971, it began introducing plastic pallets in 2000. Today, plastic pallets encompass over 65% of its pallet inventory, and almost 100% of those plastic pallets are RFID tagged.

While Japan Pallet Rental began with wood pallet rental, the market has gradually shifted. Japanese customers are increasingly interested in plastic pallets.  “Customers value plastic pallets for sanitation,” explained Toshifumi Okabe, Executive Director of Development Sales and Overseas Sales Dpt. & Supply Chain Management Dpt. at Japan Pallet Rental Corp. (He is also Vice-Chairman of the Japan Pallet Association.) The other key driver for plastic pallets, he explained, is the popularity of multi-tier automated warehouses in Japan, and the need for dimensionally accurate, good quality pallets. The demand for warehouse automation, in turn, has been influenced by the lack of real estate availability and labor in the country.

I was greeted by Okabe, and Minako Ito, a marketing specialist, at Japan Pallet Rental’s Tokyo head office on a sunny and expectedly warm Thursday morning in December. The location is close to the immense Tokyo Station and the Emperor’s Palace. I had read that punctuality is extremely important in Japan, so I allowed myself an extra 45 minutes, given it was my first trip to this country. After several minutes of disorientation in the crowded station, I did somehow make it to the building on time after I went back and reread Ito’s detailed instructions containing references to various landmarks (“Look for the Lawson convenience store”) and station exit numbers. At the building entrance, I asked the attendant if it was the right building for Japan Pallet Rental. “Ah, JPR,” he said, and handed me a pre-prepared visitor ticket with my name on it.

Japan Pallet Rental was launched in 1971. Today, plastic pallets constitute over 65% of its rental units.

“We are somewhat like CHEP,” Okabe explained. “But they are not here because we are here already,” he quipped. Japan, like South Korea, utilizes the 1100 x 1100 mm footprint, and with material handling and transportation equipment all geared to that size, that size is firmly entrenched. The 1100 x 1100 footprint is also one of the two standard sizes in China, Okabe told me, along with the 1200 x 1000.

Japan Pallet Rental has a pool of over 8.5 million pallets, and over 5.6 million of them are plastic, either polypropylene or polyethylene. It has another 2.6 million wood pallets. The company issues about 37 million pallets annually and generates revenue of ¥22 billion or slightly less than $US 200 million at current exchange rates. It has been affiliated with the Korea Pallet Pool and Chinese Logistics & Rental (formerly Taiwan Pallet Rental) since the mid-1980s, as well as CPR (China Pallet Rental, Shenzhen China.) JPR is also a member of Asia Pallet Pool, which is a collaborative effort of pooling providers across Asia.

Japan Pallet Rental customers include several major companies familiar internationally, including Nestle, P&G, 7-11 and Walmart, as well as a number of other leading domestic players. One of the challenges for pallet pooling in Japan is the relatively small market share of major retailers in comparison to North American or Europe. The top ten grocery retailers in Japan have an aggregate market share of less than 35%. The wholesale trade remains very strong, and small format stores remain important, while modern convenience stores remain the fastest growing segment. The leading grocery retailer in Japan is 7-Eleven (7 & I Holdings) which had a 12.2% market share in 2015.

Japan Pallet Statistics (from Japan Pallet Association report)

• Total annual pallet production (April 2015 – March 2016): 58,925,606
• Annual production of wood pallets: 37,474,668
• Annual production of plastic pallets: 11,228, 176
• Annual production of metal pallets: 2,069,051 
• Annual production of other pallets: 8,151,711
• Total plastic rental pallets in Japan: 12,610,633
• Total wood rental pallets in Japan: 6,550,457
• Standard pallet size: 1100x1100mm

Japan Pallet Rental Corporation Statistics

• Annual pallet issues: around 37 million
• Total number of pallets: 8,589,021
• Total plastic pallets: 5,633,378
• Total wood pallets: 2,639,881
• Others: 315,762

Pallets are scanned upon arrival and departure from JPR depots.

Okabe acknowledged that such a fragmented distribution system can complicate pallet retrieval, however. One benefit of the Japanese market is that pallets typically do not flow through to the retail store. They are emptied at the distribution center or at the wholesaler, from where they are retrieved. The company enjoys a 99.8% recovery rate on a per trip basis. While the recovery is excellent, he observed that when you are talking about moving 37 million pallets annually, the replacement cost for unrecovered pallets, with a replacement value of about $70 each, is still a big number.

Japan Pallet Rental utilizes technology to help it manage its pallets, and it also offers management services for the mobile assets of others. Back in 2002 it first launched “epal,” its web-based logistics equipment tracking program. Today, the company offers logistics equipment management services as well as information services in addition to pallet rental. For example, it provides its epal information management solution to the grocery industry, managing a collective industry pool of 2 million handheld crates, involving 56 distribution centers of 29 companies.

The company launched its rebranded Logiarx service in 2016 (Originally started as Llink in 2013), which provides visibility of pallets through customer supply chains while generating actionable data to support analytics and continuous improvement.  One client of note is AEON, a leading Japanese retailer. It uses Logiarx to help it track its inventory of 650,000 roll cages, used for the delivery of assembled orders to retail. The result has been that AEON has been able to reduce the number of roll cages it needs, allowing it to cut back on new purchases. Other benefits included labor saving, inventory accuracy, the elimination of paper invoices and automatic data capture.

Automated data capture helps to streamline supply chain operations.

Moving forward, Japan Pallet Rental will soon be offering a forklift-based RFID reader and weighing system to allow customers to drive more efficiencies into their supply chains.  For example, actual load weights can be communicated to the WMS to compare the actual versus calculated load weight in order to validate order accuracy. It has been working with Portland, Oregon-based Cascade Corporation in developing this offering.

As our brief meeting ends, Okabe asks me about the latest trends in the U.S. rental market, about which, not surprisingly he already seems up to date, given that JPR is a company that continues to monitor global best practices in its efforts to best serve its customers. Japan Pallet Rental has 80 depots across the country. For more information, visit www.jpr.co.jp/english/.

Sidebar

Plastic and Pallet Theft ‘Not a Problem’ in Japan

The outside storage of reusable packaging is a common site in cities such as Kyoto, Japan, shown in this photo.

One interesting thing I learned in Japan is that the theft of plastic containers and pallets is not a problem, as it is in many other countries around the world. Speaking to an executive of a plastic container pooling company, I learned that theft is not an issue. He joked that it is the nature of the Japanese culture, and that if you lose your wallet, for example, you are very likely to receive it back, still intact. Walking the streets of Tokyo and then Kyoto, I remarked that plastic containers are often stored outside. There are also a lot of bicycles left outside, and many, if not most of them were not secured against theft.

How can corporate social responsibility (CSR) enhance rather than dilute a company’s competitive advantage? As Joe Hebblewhite of pallet pooling specialist LPR explains, good CSR is a win-win-win strategy. In the case of environmental sustainability policy, the first win is a reduction in costs. For example, a ‘reduce, re-use and recycle’ approach means you spend less on materials, while more efficient transport cuts fuel bills.

The second win is avoiding fines, and reputational damage, for breaking environmental regulations. Legislation is becoming stricter all the time, so why not make the necessary changes now and avoid a costly last-minute panic to comply?

Win three is an increase in income from happy customers and consumers. The buyer’s opinion of your company’s ethics now plays a big part in purchasing decisions. Over the next 10 to 15 years we will see huge global growth in consumer numbers and spending power, so get ready to make your company their ethical choice. Similar arguments apply to other aspects of CSR, such as health and safety, business ethics, treatment of staff and your general contribution to society.

Link your sustainability efforts

A key driver for sustainability is the need to reduce CO2 emissions, as required by the 2015 Paris Agreement in particular. By 2050, consumer packaged goods (CPG) companies must achieve a reduction of over 90%  in their carbon intensity (greenhouse gas emissions per unit of output). Importantly, sustainability should be considered across the whole supply chain, including all suppliers, energy providers and other partners involved in product manufacturing and distribution.

The environmental and social effects of a consumer company supply chain go way beyond the company’s own activities. They have been calculated to account, typically, for over 80% of consumer-goods-related greenhouse gas emissions and over 90% of the sector’s impact on air, land, water, biodiversity and geological resources.

If yours is a consumer business, you are in a strong position, through your purchasing power, to influence your suppliers’ practices. But wherever you are in the chain, your CSR or lack of it affects others.

Pool resources for nature

As a large pallet pooling company, LPR has a central role in making its supply chain partners’ businesses greener and setting a good example. LPR’s CSR policies have a gold rating from EcoVadis, an organisation which assesses sustainability in global supply chains.

LPR recently undertook a carbon footprint audit of its European operations, helped by the French Environment and Energy Management Agency (ADEME). This evaluated greenhouse gas generation by activities including pallet production, transport, depot management and waste recycling.

Thanks to more rational transport, emissions from pallet pooling were 50% lower than those of other pallet management systems such as pallet exchange.

LPR works with partners to reduce fuel consumption further by, for instance, merging deliveries and collections wherever possible.

For most purposes, LPR uses pallets made from wood, the only material with a zero carbon footprint. By contrast, the non-renewable, oil-based materials and high energy consumption involved in plastic pallet manufacture account for much higher emissions. Provided the timber comes from sustainably managed woodlands, you can be sure that the growing trees absorb as much greenhouse gas as the pallet’s wood emits in its lifecycle. LPR was one of the first pallet-pooling company to be certified by PEFC (Programme for the Endorsement of Forest Certification), guaranteeing the wood’s sustainable origins.

Go green and win

With so many good business reasons for going green, now is the time to look at your own approach to CSR and choose responsible suppliers. It will improve your bottom line today and ensure you are well positioned to take advantage of the next decade’s expected consumer spending boom.

About LPR-La Palette Rouge

LPR-La Palette Rouge, a division of Euro Pool System Group, is a pallet-pooling company for manufacturers and distributors in the fast-moving consumer goods sector. LPR operates throughout Europe, providing a full pallet service to its customers and their retail partners. For more information : www.lpr.eu – T: 00 33 (5) 62 71 86 14.

Backward compatible active RFID sensor capabilities support new DoD audit requirements

Savi®, an innovator in big data/machine learning analytic solutions, supply chain management software and sensor technology, has added two new devices to its current suite of active RFID transponders and interrogators available for use by the US Department of Defense (DoD), NATO, and Federal Government agencies.

The new devices are Savi Locate, which is a GPS location sensor and Savi IoT, which is a hybrid active RFID interrogator (reader) and transponder (transmitter). Savi Locate will deliver real-time, in-transit visibility data from the Savi Visibility solution to the DoD’s Radio Frequency In-Transit Visibility (RF-ITV) system. Both devices send data over a mobile network. Because the Savi IoT device is backward compatible, it can both transpond or interrogate active RFID data to and from the thousands of active RFID tags and readers the military has already deployed. Savi IoT can also send active RFID data over a mobile network without the use of fixed readers. When acting as an active RFID reader, data is sent over a mobile network to Savi Visibility and to the DoD’s RF-ITV system. Now, whenever a mobile network is available, the location of government assets in a yard, or in-transit, can be known in real-time.

“Today, military logisticians must provide a more mobile, agile fighting force with the equipment, materiel and supplies they need for a global mission. Sensors that can go anywhere, streaming real-time data on the count, location and condition of critical assets support always-ready, cost effective lethality,” said Rosemary Johnston, Senior Vice President of Operations, Savi Technology. “Savi Locate and Savi IoT both provide enhanced support to military supply chains, recognizing the need for more flexible implementation options. The new products we are offering demonstrate our commitment to continued innovation in the active RFID environment and provide a bridge to new IoT technologies.”

The Pentagon just completed a multi-year audit of $2.7 trillion worth of DoD inventory as part of its Department of Defense Agency Financial Report FY 2018. The audit identified major flaws in IT security processes and inaccuracies with its internal asset tracking databases. These findings reinforce how sensors that pinpoint the location of vehicles, weapons, heavy equipment, technical tools and supplies from moment to moment are crucial to tracking and managing that valuable inventory with the potential to save taxpayers hundreds of millions of dollars.

Savi Locate and Savi IoT have recently received HERO certifications and will be ready for sale to government and military customers upon Notice to Proceed in Savi’s sole-provider active RFID-IV contract (#W52P1J-14-D-0014) with the U.S. Department of Defense.

LF & LOSCAM, all about the shift from complication to simplicity 

As a subsidiary under the wing of Li & Fung Company, LF Logistics’ (LF) network covers Greater China, ASEAN, Japan, Korea, the Middle East, and the Indian subcontinent. Partnering with 400 renowned global businesses, the daily throughput is greater than 100 million units. LFL reached out to Loscam for solution assistance 13 years ago and it’s been a successful partnership ever since.

Chua Lian Teck, General Manager of Transport for LFL, explains that when considering potential logistics partners, the first thing that pops into the mind of LF management is the scale and capacity to grow, strong local execution know-how, flexibility, innovation, and forward thinking. In managing such a massive LFL network, Mr. Chua explained that the secret to such smooth operation is found in one word:

“As an Operation Centric Organization, our primary value is ‘INSPIRE’”, which stands for Innovation, Nimbleness, Simplicity, Productivity, Initiative, Reliability and Engagement…”

LFL had acclaimed Loscam’s valuable contribution to the group’s growth. “Loscam is a value-added and customer focused business partner. It offers innovations targeted to our needs and offers cost-effective solutions which fit our operation, while at the same time working within our financial requirements.”

Look to Thailand for a perfect example of Loscam & LFL excellence.

The Sales & Customer Service Manager of Loscam Thailand, Somyot Thongthangyai, shared the challenges his team faced in meeting the needs of this very special customer.

“Since LFL have many customers in many industries with many varying requirements, plus their habitual logistic practices to manage pallets over their vast network, there have been challenges for the services demanded and analysis on pallet usage by location.” Somyot explained. He added that success in addressing these challenges over the last 13 years was thanks to two main resolutions:

“First, we work closely with the LFL management team in all locations, so we can offer the fastest possible response. Second, we’re committed to constantly brainstorming new innovations to enhance LFL efficiencies, such as recent successes like the Pallet Cages.”

With a Key Account Manager now specifically assigned to service the LFL operation, Loscam Thailand is set to continue to contribute to the group’s growth and ensure great success in any challenges the future holds.

Source: www.loscam.com

Wilmington Machinery introduced the company’s first Pallateer molding machine in 2010 because of an increased demand for plastic pallets. Recently, a European company who had no experience in making plastic pallets was looking to mold plastic pallets in-house which lead them to install their first Wilmington Pallateer to mold plastic pallet designed specifically to meet their needs.

The metric size pallet that Wilmington’s engineers designed has a static capacity of 17,500 lbs, a dynamic capacity of 8,800 lbs, and a racking capacity of 4,000 lbs. The pallet is molded of polypropylene or polyethylene or a blend of the two plus color and other additives.

Due to the success of the initial Pallateer, the customer ordered and installed a second pallet machine. Once again, before shipping the equipment, testing of the machine was performed inWilmington, NC. Then the entire system was disassembled and reinstalled at the customer’s facility.

The Pallateer molding machine for this customer included variable frequency hydraulics and other state of the art machinery features. The Pallateer uses the structural foam injection method for high strength to weight ratio of the pallet and performs well with 100% recycled material. A Pallateer system comes complete with the molding machine, mold(s), robot, mold chiller, nitrogen generator, resin blending/loading equipment, plus training and full know-how.

Since its’ founding in 1972, Wilmington Machinery has been building high performance, low-pressure structural foam molding machines. In addition, the company has built custom extrusion, thermoforming, and industrial blow molding machinery, along with a primary line of high capacity rotary blow molding systems for polyolefin monolayer/ multilayer barrier blow molded packaging. From a modern 65,000 SF facility in Wilmington, North Carolina, the company can easily meet any customer’s need for extra-large plastics machinery. International shipments can also be arranged through the nearby deep-water Port of Wilmington.

For more information: www.wilmingtonmachinery.com

463L HCU-10/C Pallet sourced at www.aarcorp.com

AAR Mobility Systems has been awarded a task order valued at $27.5 million from the U.S. Air Force for production of 463L cargo pallets. The cargo pallets will be manufactured in Cadillac, Michigan and are expected to be completed by December 30, 2020. This task order is tied to a previously awarded contract, which brings the total cumulative face value to $170.6 million.

“Over the past 50 years AAR has been the sole provider of 463L cargo pallets to the USAF and we are honored to support their ability to deploy strategic assets worldwide,” said Lee Krantz, Senior Vice President, AAR Mobility Systems. “This new order ensures that we will continue to assist them in maintaining optimum readiness levels across the USAF and other services within the DoD.”

According to Compliance Packaging International, the 463L was designed in the late 1950s to provide more efficient intermodal cargo transfer for the United States Air Force:

 A single 463 L pallet is 88” long by 108” wide and is 2 ¼” thick. An empty 463 L pallet weighs 290 pounds (355 pounds with a complete set of nets) and has a maximum load capacity of 10,000 pounds. The maximum pounds per square inch load that can be placed upon a 463 L pallet is 250 pounds. The usable dimensions of the upper surface of a 463 L pallet are 84” wide by 104” long, allowing a 2” periphery around the pallet to attach straps, nets, or other restraint devices. 

AAR has been providing 463L systems cargo pallets to the U.S. Armed Forces since the early 1960s and continues to be the world leader in design and production. The 463L USAF design uses a lightweight balsa wood core that continues to provide unparalleled strength-to-weight performance and reliability compared to alternative commercial pallet designs.

AAR is a global aerospace and defense aftermarket solutions company that employs more than 6,000 people in over 20 countries. Headquartered in the Chicago area, AAR supports commercial and government customers through two operating segments: Aviation Services and Expeditionary Services. AAR’s Aviation Services include parts supply; OEM solutions; integrated solutions; maintenance, repair, overhaul; and engineering. AAR’s Expeditionary Services include mobility systems and composite manufacturing operations. Additional information can be found at www.aarcorp.com.

AAR Mobility Systems is a division of AAR and a leading global supplier of rapid deployment equipment, including mobile tactical shelters, pallets and expeditionary containers that enhance the military’s ability to mobilize, deploy, maneuver and sustain forces. AAR Mobility also manufactures large lightweight structural assemblies and platforms that support mission essential functions. Products are supported through a network of service centers, field service teams and strategic partners. More information can be found at www.aarmobilitysystems.com.