Jean-Louis LOUVEL and Yves VANVLASSELAER
PGS Group (Palettes Gestion Services), the French leader for wooden pallets has announced its
takeover of the Belgian specialist Reverse Logistics Solutions (RLS), meaning that PGS now
has its own pallet pool management service.
This is a new external growth operation for PGS, which has taken a 73 percent stake in the capital of RLS, by buying up the shares of two Belgian investment funds, VINNOF (PMV) and VECTIS PARTICIPATIES. Through this transaction, PGS can assume a position on the pallet pool management market, with its own service.
“PGS needed to include pallet pool management in its wide range of products and services. In addition to being a real alternative solution to the issues raised by the rising costs of wood as a raw material and strong tensions in the wood supply, the pallet pool management service is also an important vector of growth for PGS Group,” explains Jean-Louis Louvel, founding president of PGS.
Following this takeover, PGS will be able to offer the service while remaining fully in control of operations. The idea is to place pallets at the disposal of clients wherever they wish, at any time, in any quantity and of the desired quality. Customers can return them wherever is convenient, anywhere in Europe, without having to sort or repair them. Pallet pool management – mainly concerning the exchangeable EUR-EPAL pallet, with a pool of more than 500 million units in circulation – can be set up for all or part of the volumes required by users and offers flexible, cheap and environmentally-friendly solutions for the flow management of all kinds of reusable packaging.
Pallet pool management: a promising future for PGS
There are two types of relocation, PGS offers, either physical, or based on a debit-credit account management system (pallet banking). A management system can also help smooth over fluctuations in business activity. The customers, whether shippers or carriers, no longer have to bear the costs of sorting and repairing pallets. They also simplify the management of their pallet accounts by delegating it all to a professional. In addition to being the most logical and economic solution, pallet pool management actively contributes to sustainable development by reducing emissions of greenhouse gases with a significant decrease in the number of empty pallets transported. By substantially improving the speed of pallet rotation, users reduce their capital outlay in pallet stocks, and also use less wood.
Source: PGS Groupe
