Settlement Signed Between EPAL and UIC
04 Dec 2014
The talks between EPAL and the UIC have been carrying on for quite some time, but recently an agreement was signed with regards to mutual pallet agreement.
EPAL has been enjoying significant market growth in recent times and this has led to the UIC – who split from EPAL two years ago – to follow in their foot steps, signing the settlement for the Common European Pallet Pool.
EPAL would take on the initial organisation of what would be the world’s largest pallet pool as a direct result of this success. With a great degree of trust being placed in EPAL’s pallets and its process for quality assurance, this seems to be the best operational decision for operating an open pallet pool on a global scale.
The settlement of this common pallet pool/recognition would still have the pallet quality monitored and controlled by an external and independent organisation, much like EPAL use currently. It has been cited in an article by Packaging Europe that much of the work EPAL have done this year with regards to industry and sustainability commitment has been the driving force behind the terms of this settlement.
Although this situation is by no means over, it’s a positive step in the right direction. A larger, international pallet pool will help the industry massively, especially in terms of sustainability and quality.
Typically using wooden pallets, the introduction of an international pallet pool that can also help the plastic pallet industry. Plastic already benefits from homogeneity when being shipped internationally, and the expansion of this pool would be hugely beneficial to numerous industries. If colours were standardised across a larger European pool, colour co-ordination could be integrated more widely by a larger number of pallet users. For things like the food and beverage industry, this could really improve logistics and handling speeds moving forwards.