Measham, United Kingdom (PressExposure) September 17, 2009 -- We present here not an argument for using plastic pallet boxes, because quite simply the benefits are very obvious. To us at PPS the question is "why would anyone not use them?" Not being tied or linked to any single manufacturer or supplier we can provide solutions for almost every scenario.
Until recently no one really understood supply chain dynamics or logistics, and although it did obviously exist who cared how it worked? Even now the larger part of the population only cares that goods are available on the shelves or in the shops, not how they got there.
Using plastic pallet boxes can change the way you look at your logistics requirements and influence the effectiveness of your supply chain mechanics.
PPS Equipment Management Ltd is based at Measham in the Midlands but with a customer base that extends from the Scotland to North Wales to Cornwall. The central location houses a state-of-the-art industrial wash plant, capable of washing a number of plastic load carriers such as crates, boxes, trays and pallets. A new wash line especially for pallet boxes is planned.
The business was conceived originally as a supplier of plastic pallets into the UK market (primarily food-related) with plastic pallets sourced from abroad. One of the PPS Directors had owned his own businesses in overseas markets and part of one of these had involved the buying and re-selling of plastic pallets. However in the research carried out before the official launch of PPS, the owners came to the conclusion that a rental model was to be preferred to a direct sales approach.
So, today PPS is a dynamic and growing business whose primary structure is based on the management of returnable transit equipment (RTE) - mainly plastic crates, boxes and pallets.
The company has a large pool of equipment placed with a number of key blue-chip clients. The business model includes, within the management brief, rental of crates, trays or pallets, the retrieval of such items from third parties, its return to base where it is washed to ISO 22000 standard.
Becoming familiar with more forms of RTE, PPS saw that it was a logical move into plastic pallet boxes and now offer these products either on a direct sales basis or supplied on rental.
Plastic pallet boxes come in a range of sizes and configurations; they may have solid walls, perforated or even foldable walls, ideal for transport economy
One of the key advantages of plastic pallet boxes, particularly in the food industry is hygiene - in other words the boxes can be successfully washed or even sterilised. At the time of writing PPS in considering the best geographical location to place a box washing unit which will allow them to cope with larger volume throughput.
Collapsible pallet boxes are the preferred choice where optimum space saving or ease of access may be the key selection factors. However PPS also offers fixed-wall pallet boxes, usually with the standard dimensions of either 1200 x 1000mm or the "euro pallet" size 1200 x 800mm - both with a range of depths, depending on the intended final application area.
Such large, fixed wall boxes offer significant advantages over traditional packaging media such as metal or timber - i.e. increased durability, decreased weight, better ergonomics, they can be used in automated handling systems and again possess better hygiene properties.
Fixed wall pallet boxes are used for a multitude of purposes, both internally within a factory or business or as a packaging medium for transport of goods - in fact much of the citrus fruit imported into the UK arrives in plastic pallet boxes.
Furthermore, plastic pallet boxes can be customised with a client's own colour choice or corporate colours, RFID tracking is an option and of course the boxes are usually fully recyclable.
Due to its historical background in returnable transit packaging PPS offers to existing and new clients the possibility of direct purchase or should capital expenditure not be readily forthcoming they can offer to rent the products to clients, perhaps even adding the extra services of online asset tracking, retrieval from third parties and washing to the highest standards.
Director of PPS, Iain McArthur said "Our business started some years ago handling two products, nestable plastic crates and plastic pallets. While these two products continue to represent the largest part of our operations, we have found that the management of all types of returnable transit equipment, including plastic pallet boxes is basically very similar. The success of our business lies with a very simple premise - getting the kit back from the market. And giving a first-class seamless service of course! Food related businesses tend to be our forte, but we have quite recently scored successes in the healthcare, pharmaceutical and retail areas."