New record production and repair or EPAL pallets for 2022, with over 100,000 repairs and one 1 million new pallets
EPAL UK and Ireland has reported an uplift in pallet repairs across its network as customers seek to mitigate the impact of growing supply chain costs.
The organization stated that more than 100,000 pallet repairs took place for the first time in 2022, as businesses increased pallet reuse for reasons including sustainability and reducing costs. EPAL UK & Ireland administers the EPAL system in this region and assists UK and Irish users and suppliers to facilitate the operation of the EPAL system.
Production of new EPAL pallets also grew year-on-year in the UK market in every month of 2022 to a total of 1 million across the year, a record for the country. In Ireland, production remained largely stable, despite challenging conditions that affected the availability of timber at times during the year.
“We are really pleased to see reuse of EPAL pallets going up for another year to hit these record levels,” commented Felicity Smith, National Secretary for EPAL UK & Ireland. “Driven by increasing cost pressures, as well as the increasing legislative and customer demands on sustainability, more supply chains are looking to recondition, repair and reuse their pallets. The EPAL network of licensed repairers is expanding, which is making it easier for them to do this.
“This, alongside the growth we saw in the production of EPAL pallets during 2022, is further indication that more customers are asking their suppliers to use EPAL to make their supply chains more efficient, sustainable, and ISPM 15-compliant.”
Administering some 650 million EPAL Euro pallets and 2 million box pallets internationally, EPAL is the world’s largest open exchange pool.