In April, we covered the launch of the Tosca CP 1208 plastic pallet. In this interview with Laurent Le Mercier, EMEA President, Tosca, and Jurgen Van Roy, Vice President of Supply Chain EMEA, Tosca, we take a closer look at the thought process behind its development and the CP 1208’s role moving forward.
RPN: What business needs or operational challenges led Tosca to develop the CP 1208? Did it fill a gap in your portfolio?
Laurent: Tosca developed the CP 1208 in response to growing demand from food producers, retailers and FMCG companies for a pallet that delivers hygiene, consistency, safety and circularity in modern supply chains. Customers were increasingly looking for an alternative to wood that could better support food-grade environments, fixed-form automation, worker safety and sustainability regulations such as PPWR.
By addressing common challenges associated with wooden pallets – from splinters, nails and inconsistent quality to hygiene concerns, product damage and disruption in automated environments – the CP 1208 offers a scalable, reusable solution designed for operational performance, regulation compliance and circularity.
RPN: How did automation, PPWR and worker safety influence the final design?
Jurgen: They shaped the pallet from day one.
Automation demands fixed form consistency, dimensional accuracy, and predictable handling. PPWR is pushing businesses to think beyond one-way packaging toward reusable and recyclable solutions. In addition, worker safety remains critical in high-throughput environments, so reducing weight and making the pallet easier and safer to handle was a key design priority.
Every design decision was made to ensure the pallet performs consistently in real-world, high-throughput environments while supporting safer, more efficient operations.
RPN: What were the most important design priorities?
Laurent: Research with major FMCG accounts highlighted some clear pain points – hygiene failures, automation incompatibility, load instability, transport safety, and manual handling risks.
That directly shaped four priorities in the development of the CP 1208: compatibility, safety, durability, and circularity.
It meant designing a pallet that integrates seamlessly with existing automation and RPC systems, eliminates contamination risks, delivers greater load stability and safer handling, and provides the durability needed for high-throughput environments.
Just as importantly, it was designed as a circular asset – built to be reused, repaired, and ultimately recycled again!
RPN: How closely was it designed around automation and high-throughput environments?
Jurgen: Very closely. Automation wasn’t an afterthought – it was a design requirement from the beginning.
The pallet was engineered with consistent dimensions, integrated anti-slip features, secure RPC positioning and reinforced profiles to perform reliably in conveyors, shuttle systems, and automated warehouses.
RPN: How does it differ from wood or other plastic pallets?
Laurent: The CP 1208 offers a contamination-free, washable and non-porous plastic surface that supports food hygiene, while also delivering consistent dimensions for automation, lighter ergonomic handling and full circularity at end of life.
Compared with standard plastic pallets, it was purpose-built for pooled, high-frequency reuse with reusability, durability, repairability, and lifecycle performance in mind!
RPN: What role did Cabka play?
Laurent: Cabka brought deep expertise in circular materials and their experience in transforming post-consumer and post-industrial plastic waste into high-performance transport packaging.
Tosca contributed decades of FMCG customer insight, along with our pooling infrastructure, asset management expertise and strong understanding of real-world supply chain operations.
It was a great fit because both companies share a clear vision: turning recycled materials into high-performance supply chain assets that deliver both commercial and environmental value.
RPN: How important were ergonomics and worker safety?
Jurgen: Safety is our number one priority.
Manual handling still plays a major role in supply chains, so reducing musculoskeletal strain and improving grip, control and confidence during movement was essential.
The pallet is 4 kg lighter than traditional wood alternatives, with ergonomic top-deck handles and integrated anti-slip features designed to improve safety throughout transport, storage and handling.
We also focused on load stability and stackability. The CP1208 features a reinforced, RPC-friendly top deck with integrated grooves designed to improve crate positioning and stacking stability, helping reduce movement during transport and handling.
RPN: What role do RFID and traceability play?
Jurgen: A huge role.
Reusable packaging is becoming smarter, not just more sustainable. The CP 1208 is fully traceable, with integrated RFID tags as standard and optional on-demand IoT capabilities, giving customers real-time visibility of where assets are, how they’re being used, and how efficiently they’re moving through the network.
Combined with QR codes and digital tracking, this helps improve utilisation, asset recovery, inventory accuracy and overall supply chain intelligence.
RPN: How is customer interest evolving in Europe?
Laurent: We’re seeing a clear acceleration across Europe.
Regulation is certainly part of the story, but customers are also responding to very real operational pressures – increased food safety requirements, labour shortages, automation demands, rising waste costs, and greater focus on total cost of ownership.
What’s changed is the mindset. More businesses now see reusable plastic packaging not as a sustainability project, but as critical operational infrastructure that reduces risk, improves efficiency, and supports long-term resilience.
RPN: How does CP 1208 fit into Tosca’s long-term vision?
Laurent: Tosca’s vision is to help customers build better, safer, and more circular supply chains through reusable packaging systems, and the CP 1208 is a natural extension of that.
It brings together circular materials, food safety, worker safety, operational performance, and digital traceability in a single asset.
More importantly, it helps customers move beyond simply replacing single-use packaging toward building more connected, data-driven, and circular supply chains for the future.
Rick LeBlanc, EMBA, is the founder and editor of Reusable Packaging News (subscribe to the free newsletter) and editor of Western Pallet Magazine. A supply chain journalist with more than 30 years of experience, he specializes in pallets, reusable packaging, material handling and related operations. Rick is co-author of Pallets: A North American Perspective and Pallets & Progress: A Collected History of Pallets and Palletized Handling 1922–1945. He is also an advisory board member of the Virginia Tech Center for Packaging and Unit Load Design. Read Rick’s full bio.
