jim-hardistySince All Pallets Ltd established Goplasticpallets.com in 2001, it has fast become the UK’s leading independent supplier of plastic pallets. Goplasticpallets.com stocks over 75 core product ranges and model variations, offering a wide choice of pallet features and colour options. Coordinated from its Eastbourne, East Sussex base, Goplasticpallets.com fulfils 99% of orders immediately from stock and delivers over 95% of orders next day throughout the UK. It is the sole UK distributor of IPS pallets, made in Belgium, and has close links with various other manufacturers across Europe and Asia, ensuring a comprehensive and competitive product range from a single source. In addition, it also offers a growing range of plastic pallet boxes through its Goplasticboxes.com website. Jim Hardisty, Managing Director of Goplasticpallets.com, spoke to Warehouse & Logistics News.

Warehouse & Logistics News – Jim, we last spoke a couple of years ago. How has business been going since then?

Goplasticpallets.com’s sales have increased 30% since 2007. We’ve added a number of products, developed even better links with our main suppliers and been involved in some major developments.

WLN – What does your role as Managing Director involve? Are you personally in contact with major customers?

As MD I oversee the direction of the business, ensuring we have the top possible service levels, and looking after our relationships with our suppliers and our major clients. I’m in regular contact with our key accounts.

WLN – Who owns All Pallets, Goplasticpallets.com’s parent company? What proportion of All Pallets’ business do Goplasticpallets.com and Goplasticboxes.com represent?

Chris Adam and I are the co-founders and owners of All Pallets, and the joint directors of the overall business. Goplasticpallets.com and Goplasticboxes.com together represent 85% of our turnover.

ips-1420-x-1120mm-pallet-m-real-office-papersWLN – Do you supply plastic pallets to overseas customers?

We have sold a number of plastic pallets to companies overseas, including clients in Iceland, Malta, Kenya and the Seychelles. Our export customers tend to be in countries without indigenous plastic pallet industries. Our overseas sales tend to be ad hoc, as the UK is our primary focus.

WLN – Your main office is in Eastbourne. Do you have local distribution centres around the UK?

No, we have just the one location. The majority of pallets we sell are made in mainland Europe and enter the UK through Dover or the Channel Tunnel, hence Eastbourne is the ideal place for us. We use local distribution companies to provide the service levels our clients require.

WLN – Automated storage and retrieval (ASR) systems are increasingly important in materials handling operations. Do you offer any plastic pallets that are suitable for use in automated systems?

Yes – In terms of specific pallets for use in automated systems, our two best options are the Medium weight IPS1210 M5R and the IPS 1210 Pool pallet.

WLN – What are the advantages of plastic pallets over wood in automated environments?

The advantage of plastic pallets is their consistent size and weight, which remains the same throughout their working life. They’re perfect for use in automation, whereas wood pallets used in conveyors can get distorted, crack and even break.

apb1210-pool-perforated-5r-in-recycled-blackThe high speeds of automated conveying operations mean pallet failures can have serious consequences in terms of business interruption, damaged goods and personal injury to staff. The costs incurred can run into very large figures. There is no question, plastic pallets are the best for automated systems!

WLN – Do you work with automated storage and retrieval and conveying equipment vendors to ensure your pallets meet their requirements?

Yes, we do. Historically, people created automated systems to use standard wood pallets. Our philosophy for working with AS&R installers is, if you’re going to automate, you should start by looking at using plastic pallets in a closed loop and design your system to fit the most appropriate pallet.

WLN – Do you see plastic pallets replacing wood pallets in automated environments?

They will in time, particularly in closed loop systems. Currently about 20% of pallets used in automated systems are plastic.

WLN – To recap, what are the benefits of plastic pallets versus wooden ones?

There are several major benefits: they are hygienic, there is no inherent mould, sawdust, nails or joins as with wood, and they have consistent dimensions and weight. You can use them in check-weighing operations. The life of medium and heavy grade plastic pallets is up to 10 times longer than wood. In terms of health and safety, all plastic pallets we sell are tested and certified to bear certain loads in racking: a heavy-duty plastic pallet, for instance, will bear 1,250-2,000 kg.

medium-1210-palletWLN – How do plastic pallet prices compare with wood pallets?

Lightweight export pallets are the same price as new wooden heat-treated debarked pallets that meet the ISPM15 standard. Heavy-duty plastic pallets used for storage in racking are up to two and a half times the price of equivalent wooden ones, but they have up to five times more life.

WLN – How long do plastic pallets last? Can they be recycled?

We have clients using pallets that are 10 years old. They can all be recycled and reground, generally as pallets at a lower grade.

WLN – Which countries require imports to be on plastic pallets?

No one stipulates that imports have to come in on plastic pallets, but wood pallets must meet ISPM15, and be debarked and certified as treated by a company with the proper certification. The port of entry can challenge the pallet’s certification and ISPM15 mark, stopping the goods reaching the customer. Regulations for wood pallets are now in force in many parts of the world, notably the USA, Canada, China, Australia, New Zealand, South America and much of Africa. Plastic pallets are unaffected by wood regulations, and sail through. On top of this, the EU is considering bringing in ISPM15 for goods travelling internally between countries.

WLN – What different weights and types of plastic pallets do you supply? What is your minimum order?

Our smallest is a quarter Europallet, measuring 600 x 400 mm and weighing 1.5kg. The range goes through nestable pallets and medium and heavy duty pallets, up to 1100 x 1300mm pallets called APB1311 HR6R, which are bigger than standard and are widely used in the chemical industry. Our minimum order is one pallet.

apb1210-pool-perforated-5r-in-recycled-blue-food-gradeWLN – What are your bestselling pallets?

Our biggest sellers are 1200 x 1000 UK standard pallets, either nestable, medium or heavy-duty, which generate two thirds of our total sales.

WLN – What different colour pallets do you offer?

Most of our recycled pallets are black. Our two special pallets for the UK food industry are both made of recycled blue food grade. Our hygienic pallets come in white, grey, beige, blue, red or green. For orders of 1,000 or over, we can supply pretty much any colour.

WLN – Do you tailor pallets to individual companies’ specifications?

We can offer modifications up to a point, but beyond that it’s difficult, because of the cost of the mould. We have modified pallets for some clients: one company with an automated system needed pallets 30mm higher than standard, so we worked with our supplier IPS to develop and insert a spacer during production. We have also been working with a packaging company to put two small locator blocks on a nestable pallet, which involves a modification to the mould.

WLN – What are your newest plastic pallet products?

We launched the new IPS 1210 range of medium weight plastic pallets at the Packtech exhibition in February 2008. They offer all the benefits of a heavy-duty plastic pallet with a lightweight price tag. Ideal for food, newspapers, retail and pharmaceuticals, the reusable and rackable 1210 pallet is strong, durable, exportable and easy to clean.

a-selection-of-boxes-from-the-gobox-rangeWLN – What’s the technical spec for these pallets?

The 1200mm x 1000mm full perimeter pallets are 100% recycled polypropylene. They weigh only 15kg but have a loading capacity of 750kg in racking.

WLN – Who makes these pallets?

IPS makes the 1210s in Belgium. There are a couple of similar pallets of the same weight, but these are unique in performance criteria. IPS used the information that we supplied to make the pallets suitable for the UK market and prior to making the mould we sat down with IPS’ technical team to finalise the CAD designs.

WLN – How much say do you have in the development of the pallets you sell?

On the medium pallets from IPS and the lighter products, we use our experience to contribute to the design. We’re much nearer to the ‘front line’ than the manufacturers are, for example we have close links with the UK food market.

WLN – Do you supply plastic pallets to the big pallet pools?

We produce an APB1210 perforated pallet designed for the pools’ needs and are in regular contact with them.

upc-barcoding-on-ips-1420-x-1120-mm-palletWLN – How hygienic are your plastic pallets?

Our specialist hygienic pallets, which we supply to the food and pharmaceutical industries in the UK, are the frontrunners in Europe. They have a completely sealed surface and underside, and are smooth.

WLN – Do you offer any plastic pallets specifically for one-way trips?

We supply one-trip pallets for export. Our one-trip nestable pallets APB1140L and APB1212L are capable of loading on a forklift up to 1,000 kg, yet the pallets themselves weigh just 7kg. The 1140L is ideal for loading in shipping containers: where the internal dimension is 2.3m, so two pallets can sit side by side.

WLN – You also sell plastic boxes through Goplasticboxes.com. What different plastic boxes do you sell? Can you tailor the plastic boxes for individual customers?

Our plastic pallet boxes are a progression from our plastic pallets. They are either rigid or folding boxes, typically on a base size of 1200 x 1000mm. People buy plastic boxes or tote bins: through our relations with the different box suppliers, we can find any solution people want and add modifications – printing the customer’s name, adding dividers, wheels and so on.

gobox-1311-lrsWLN – As innovation continues in plastic pallets and boxes, as an independent supplier are you free to take on additional products from other sources?

We are free to do so, which is important to us. One of our unique selling points is that we can offer the best product for the application that meets the technical criteria at the best price. Manufacturers from all over the world approach us about selling their products. We have always been independent, and can offer the best products without having to start from scratch.

WLN – Can you tell us about any specific pallet solutions you’ve devised for customers?

We carried out a project for M-real, who make paper from recycled pulp. They use forklifts with a tipping mechanism to remove the paper pulp from the pallets, which needed to be specialised and a specific size. M-real wanted 6000 pallets in total, which ruled out a new mould, so we found the nearest existing pallet, 1420 x 1120mm, and worked with the supplier to modify the pallets. We also put four specific barcodes on to identify the batch of pulp and trace it back for quality control.

go-plastic-pallets-logo-spot-3WLN – Are your standard pallets and boxes tagged or bar coded so they can be tracked?

Not generally, but some companies are starting to request it. When we visit clients firstly we check whether they’re using RFID or tags and then work with them to insert the most appropriate tag for their application.

WLN – What UK and international standards are your plastic pallets and boxes made to?

There are no specific standards as such for plastic pallets and boxes, but they all undergo certain tests, and most of our suppliers’ factories have ISO9001. Most UK companies will adopt one plastic pallet as their preferred standard, especially in the food industry.

WLN – Are you exhibiting at any warehouse and logistics or packaging shows this year?

We were at Packtech 09 in February, and will be at IMHX next year with some new products.

go-plastic-boxes-logo-spotWLN – How is the recession affecting demand for plastic pallets and pallet boxes? How are you responding?

We remain committed to offering the best product at the best price, as before. In the present climate there is increased competition at the cheaper end, hence we’ve brought in our new lightweight, nestable LSO range in 1200 x 800mm and 1200 x 1000 sizes, capable of bearing loads up to 1,000kg in racking but weighing just 5kg and 7kg.

We’re seeing a slight slow down in export sales, but they haven’t dried up totally by any means. In the UK market some major retail customers are being cautious, but again business certainly hasn’t stopped. The last couple of months have been very busy for us, and we’ve just employed a new internal sales executive to respond to this growth.

WLN – Finally, where do you see Goplasticpallets.com and Goplasticboxes.com going from here?

We’ll continue growing and building our reputation for quality, maintaining our range, giving excellent service and responding to client demand. Automated operations will be a major growth area for plastic pallets, and we’ll increase our links with customer companies and automation installers.

Goplasticpallets.com   tel: 01323 744057

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  1. IAM LOOKING FOR PLASTIC BOXES TO PUT OUT A MAGAZINE IN THE STREETS CORNER OF NEW YORK