Since 2005 goplasticpallets.com has become one of the UK’s fastest expanding suppliers of plastic pallets, stocking over 50 products including tough, durable products for closed-loop operations, easy-clean pallets for ultra-hygienic environments; pallets to move goods to the store and straight to the shop floor; lightweight products for one-way trips and export; re-usable packaging such as pallet boxes for loose goods or raw ingredients; and a growing range of pallets in recycled materials. A subsidiary of All Pallets Limited, goplasticpallets.com was established to market clean, safe and bug-free plastic pallets nationwide. The company’s rapid growth comes from delivering high quality products from around the world, backed with the highest level of customer care.
goplasticpallets.com have built successful relationships with suppliers on four continents and are now sole UK agents for the giant Belgian manufacturer IPS. And it doesn’t end there. Following their recent move to much larger premises, 2008 looks like being a record year for goplasticpallets.com. Jim Hardisty, MD of goplasticpallets.com, spoke to Warehouse & Logistics News.
Warehouse & Logistics News – First of all, for the uninitiated, when would you use a plastic pallet instead of a wooden one?
Plastic pallets are primarily used when hygiene is critical, in such areas as food and pharmaceutical production, storage and distribution. Another area is closed-loop operations where products are palletised for order picking, or loaded pallets are sent to a limited number of locations and returned. We’re also seeing more highly automated material handling systems, particularly in retail, where plastic pallets offer consistency.
Plastic pallet use is increasing across industry, due to greater demand for returnable transit packaging and reduced outer packaging and the impact of the ISPM15 Timber import regulations and Health & Safety concerns.
WLN – How do plastic pallets differ from wooden ones physically?
Timber shrinks, weakening pallets’ nailed sections and joins: plastic pallets are the total opposite, being mainly injection-moulded. Plastic pallets are consistent weight, ideal for check-weighing bulk materials. Heavy-duty plastic pallets take 10,000 kg static loads or moving loads of 2-2,500 kg versus 1,000 kg for wood. Plastic pallets don’t absorb water, oils or alkalis, and resist most acids. Reflecting these differences, plastic pallets’ life is ten times longer than wood.
WLN – How do wood and plastic pallets’ prices compare?
Basic nestable plastic pallets cost only slightly more than wooden, heat-treated debarked wooden pallets: heavy-duty plastic pallets cost four times their wooden equivalent.
WLN – What kind of bugs affect wooden pallets?
Wooden pallets are damaged by wood-boring insects, hence the advent of the ISPM 15 standard, driven by the International Plant Protection Convention. Wood pallets face seasonal problems with wood spores: wood-boring insects leave plastic pallets alone.
WLN – When was goplasticpallets.com set up?
Chris Adams and I set up All Pallets in 1995, and have been reselling plastic pallets for the last six years under the goplasticpallets.com ID.
I’m MD of goplasticpallets.com, with overall responsibility for both businesses: Chris is Operations Director.
WLN – How big in turnover is goplasticpallets.com?
In 2007 we sold over 200,000 plastic pallets across the range, from Quarter Euro to 1300 x 1100mm. Some 70% are UK size, 1200 x 1000mm. Our plastic pallet sales are doubling annually.
WLN – What proportion of your parent company All Pallets’ turnover is goplasticpallets.com?
Goplasticpallets.com is 80% of our business and increasing. We sell plastic pallets nationwide: our wood pallet sales cover Southeast England.
WLN – You’re now exclusive agents for the Belgian manufacturer IPS. When did that start?
IPS’s unique range of heavy duty and hygienic pallets has been available here for 12 years. We became their sole UK agent in January 2007.
WLN – What inspired this partnership?
We felt it was important as resellers to have a closer relationship with our manufacturers. This arrangement gives us technical support and greater visibility on production and stock schedules. We use the IPS identity in our marketing: we have an excellent relationship, but we’re totally independent.
WLN – Are you planning more such partnerships?
We’re talking to a couple of companies. We prefer manufacturers we represent to be close to the UK to minimise supply chain issues: IPS is in Ieper in Belgium, 70 minutes from the Euro tunnel in France.
WLN – How does goplasticpallets.com’s offering compare with other plastic pallet suppliers?
We come first on product range, stock availability and speed of delivery. We have the largest range in stock, with delivery within three working days and samples arriving next day.
Chris and I previously worked together for a distribution company, so we see things from the customer angle. Larger companies with rules stipulating three quotes often find it frustrating to be kept waiting for supplier quotes: that doesn’t happen with us. We generally quote within an hour, and achieve 99% of three-day delivery targets versus the industry average, a week to ten days: this has been instrumental in winning orders from major retailers.
WLN – You’ve recently moved to larger premises. When did you move?
Last September we moved across the road to new premises 15 times bigger than our old location, with purpose-built offices, a showroom and meeting rooms. The new building can accommodate increased stockholding and further growth: we’ve already doubled our staff.
WLN – What operating functions take place at the new location?
Stock arrives from Europe, and samples and orders are dispatched. We also do minor modifications to pallets, and screen-print names and logos as required.
WLN – What other UK locations do you have?
We also have a factory at Newhaven, managed by Denzil Davies, which makes new wooden pallets and recycles used ones.
WLN – How are you set up to handle sales?
Most enquiries come in by phone, email or via our web site and are answered by email. We frequently visit clients, but often they describe the pallets they want and we send a sample next day, which is usually enough to win the order.
We have our own service fleet for local deliveries. Eastbourne is close to the channel ports, good for imports, and we have an excellent network of hauliers and couriers.
WLN – What quality standards do you work to?
Our quality standards are set by our suppliers. Foremost among them, IPS has ISO9001: we monitor supply quality and work on accuracy of delivery. We’re directly affected by the ISPM15 regulations for wooden pallets introduced over the last few years, first by China then the US, Mexico, Canada and Norway, all major destinations for UK exports.
Under ISPM15, wooden pallets must undergo methyl bromide fumigation or heat treatment in a kiln, to qualify for a registration mark on the pallet and a certificate that travels with it. If the certificate or registration mark is not clear on arrival overseas, it creates problems for imported goods, especially high value or limited shelf life products.
There’s never any such problem with plastic pallets: they are exempt from ISPM15, hence the growth in lightweight, nestable plastic pallets, which are low cost, low weight and ideal for airfreight.
WLN – When did these standards come into effect?
China introduced ISPM15 in January 2006, since when plastic pallets demand has doubled.
WLN – The name ‘goplasticpallets.com’ suggests you’re largely web-based. How much of your business is generated on line?
The web site is an invaluable source of enquiries, with 60-70% coming from there, but then that’s not surprising, as we concentrate our marketing spend on promoting the name goplasticpallets.com.
WLN – What different products do you supply?
For closed loop operations, people generally buy full perimeter base pallets measuring 1200 x 1000mm. These are mediumweight pallets weighing 15kg – ideal for safe manual handling in warehouses – and taking 600-800kg. We’re seeing most growth in retail and other industries with these medium pallet loadings.
For easy clean, ultra hygienic operations we offer the IPS range. Unlike other plastic pallets, these pallets are completely sealed and totally smooth so no mould can occur, even with pallets in place for several months.
A growing part of our business is pallets to move goods to store, including display pallets you can sell directly from. We offer quarter Euro (600 x 400mm) and half Euro pallets (600 x 800mm), and display pallets with cardboard outers. We also supply base pallets to the companies making the specialist outers.
In lightweight one-way nestables we offer half, quarter and full size euro pallets, standard UK pallets (1200 x 1000), 1140mm square pallets for shipping and 1200 x1200’s.
We also supply pallet boxes, used extensively in the motor industry, to bring components to product lines. Reusable pallet boxes let you stack finished items in their boxes in the outers and re-use them. With increasing environmental concerns, these products are very popular.
WLN – What recycled products do you offer?
Some 70% of our range is available in recycled materials, which are 15% cheaper yet offer the same performance. However some customers particularly in food and ‘pharma,’ insist on virgin materials to remove any concerns about contamination. Around 90% of our sales are products made from recycled plastic. One pallet we sell is made from recycled plastic bottle tops! We also retrieve clients’ used plastic pallets and send them to IPS for recycling.
WLN – How many different products can be viewed on the goplasticpallets.com website?
The web site shows over 50 products, with different options in colour, edge lips and base configuration: 90 options in total. We also have a database of 150 further specialist products. Our drive is to offer the best product for the application, not force a limited choice on customers.
WLN – Which are your best selling products?
Our bestselling line is the M5R recycled black medium duty pallet, 1200 x 1000. It follows growing plastic pallet use in highly automated environments, especially retail. M5R is a new pallet design that really took off in 2007. It weighs 15kg: the reduced material content is reflected in the price and the weight is ideal for manual handling.
Our second biggest item is the APB1210 pool pallet, perforated on five runners. Mainland Europe’s pallet pools are much larger, but ours are growing, hence there’s considerable interest from UK pallet pools and manufacturers. APB1210 pool pallets should last 10-15 years, under typical conditions. Our third biggest seller is the 1200 x 1000mm One-trip APB1210L, recycled in black.
WLN – We’re seeing increased industrial use of container boxes. Are these an important part of goplasticpallet.com’s range?
Yes, they are. Our container pallet sales are four times up on 18 months ago: they’re reusable, reducing packaging waste.
WLN – What plastic pallets are new for 2008?
There’s a lot of interest in the food and ‘pharma’ industries in blue recycled pallets instead of the usual black, for easy identification. Hence in February we’re launching a version of our APB1210 pool perforated pallet in blue recycled material.
WLN – What’s the smallest possible on-line order?
People can order from one pallet to several thousand at a time.
WLN – How quickly can you fulfil orders?
Our standard delivery is three working days, but we can deliver next day if required. We usually hold around 25,000 pallets.
WLN – Do you offer a consultancy service helping companies to get the best use out of plastic pallets?
We speak to and visit customers to ensure we recommend the best solution. We aim to offer the best possible choice rather than push particular lines, or let them pick the cheapest option when it’s unsuitable.
WLN – Looking at the overall picture, how big is the UK plastic pallet market?
The total UK pallet population has reduced slightly over the last 18 months, due to increased recycling, regulation and timber costs.
There are around 45 million pallets in circulation: two percent are plastic, and we have 20% of the market.
Plastic pallets are increasingly seen as a feasible option by the big retailers, which should mean major growth in demand. Plastic pallets’ growth will be further driven by hygiene concerns, timber export regulations and clients using plastic pallets in closed loops. Other factors are increased timber costs, seasonal shortages and plastic pallets’ greater compatibility with automation and their greater load integrity, staying stronger for longer.
WLN – How does UK plastic pallet adoption compare with Europe?
We lag behind France, Germany, Holland and Italy in creating plastic pallet pools for different industry sectors and supermarket chains.
WLN – Which UK business sectors are the biggest users?
Food, pharma and retailers are all grasping the opportunity. We serve everyone from small companies wanting just a few pallets each year, to FTSE100 companies ordering thousands. The latest generation plastic pallets have slots for RFID tags, which some major companies are already using.
WLN – What proportion of your business is UK-based?
Our business is 99% UK-based: although we have exported to Africa, USA and Iceland.
WLN – Have you won any awards for service?
Last year we won an award for our service levels in a local business award scheme. We offer a very different service to standard pallet suppliers, backed by provision of full data sheets about our pallets, which are designed and moulded to consistent dimensions, unlike timber. Service is the key to our success.
WLN – How do you foresee the UK pallet market evolving?
The shortage of used wood pallets and high wood pallet prices will influence people to buy more plastic ones. Increasing automated materials handling will have an influence, along with hygiene and health and safety pressures, and in exports, more countries joining the ISPM15 scheme. These factors will all contribute to growing plastic pallet sales.
WLN – What are the biggest challenges facing goplasticpallets.com?
The main challenge will be maintaining supply and meeting the growth in demand. We have an ongoing agreement with IPS to handle all their UK sales. They look after product quality: we concentrate on service. The manufacturers we represent have invested massively in producing particular products: we group them together as a range, which no single manufacturer can offer.
WLN – Finally, what are you hoping goplasticpallets.com will achieve this year?
We’re hoping to improve our market share by maintaining high service levels and moving closer to our manufacturer partners, perhaps in joint ventures, without impinging on our exceptional service levels and range. The new APB1210 pool perforated pallet in blue will become our top seller in 2008, and raise our profile across the market sectors.
goplasticpallets.com
Tel: 01323 744057
www.goplasticpallets.com
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