The Pallet Loop, a pallet pooling system designed for the UK construction and building products supply chain, has announced CEMEX as a customer as well as new staff appointments.
The Pallet Loop Appointments
The Pallet LOOP team is growing ahead of the rollout of its circular economy, reusable green pallets in early 2023. As The Pallet LOOP ramps up its dialogue with stakeholders across the construction industry, the business has made two strategic appointments. Deb Dillon-Foster has been appointed Head of Customer Engagement and Amy Fernandes has joined the business as Agile Delivery Lead.
Previously a Senior Sales Manager at Scott Group, Deb Dillon-Foster will be responsible for transitioning customers at the top of the building materials supply chain to The Pallet LOOP. With more than 25 years of experience in the pallet industry, Deb knows the sector inside out and has relationships in place with key building material manufacturers nationwide. Before joining Scott Group, Deb was Manager of Sales and Service at CHEP, the largest global pallet pooling company, and the operator of a pool of blue pallets used within the retail sector. Deb also worked for a number of years at RM2 International – a US-based company that has a pool of composite pallets employed by retailers and manufacturers in North America.
Amy Fernandes joins The Pallet LOOP from University College London (UCL) where she was Agile Delivery Manager for the Research Data Product Team in the Information Services Division. At UCL Amy was responsible for the delivery of new services as well as improvements and maintenance to current services within the product team, including JIRA, financial, resource, and process management. Before UCL, Amy was a Project Manager at Leeds Community Healthcare NHS Trust.
At The Pallet LOOP, Amy will champion agile working practices and embed processes and procedures that will underpin the business as it works to solve the costly problem of pallet waste in the construction sector.
“Deb and Amy join The Pallet LOOP at a pivotal point,” said Phil Dent, CEO of The Pallet LOOP. “The last few months we’ve focused on face-to-face engagement with manufacturers, merchants, and end users throughout the building materials supply chain. With help from the Builders Merchants Federation, we’ve hosted a series of working group meetings with different stakeholders to discuss the practicalities of implementing The Pallet LOOP. That dialogue is progressing well with several end-to-end trials now underway.
“We’ve also had excellent feedback from principal contractors and housebuilders, which are currently responsible for the disposal of pallets. They are incredibly keen for LOOP to roll out and many have, in readiness, started using our LOOPBack service to collect single use white pallets. As our conversations continue and as full scale roll out draws nearer, Amy and Deb’s roles will be invaluable.”
Source: The Pallet Loop
CEMEX Signs with The Pallet Loop
Also in the news, CEMEX has become the latest of the major UK building materials suppliers to sign The Pallet LOOP Charter, according to a news report. The initiative aims to reduce waste in the construction industry through a national pallet reuse scheme that supports the principles of the circular economy.
“Annually, around 18 million pallets are estimated to be used in the UK construction sector, but only 10% are reused,” Graeme Barton, CEMEX’s national sales manager for packed cement, was quoted. “The Pallet LOOP presents us with a solution that is better for business and better for the planet. We will have a far greater impact if we are all pulling in the same direction. We need the whole supply chain onside because clearly, the smallest change in process can have the biggest impact over time.
“Additionally, The Pallet LOOP philosophy underpins CEMEX’s Future in Action strategy, which focuses us on our critical 2050 decarbonization targets by making changes that can be implemented right here and now, today. We are committed to working towards a circular economy and proud to be part of the collective that has signed The Pallet LOOP charter.”