Cardboard pallets find favour with perishable exporters

East Rand-based manufacturer of cardboard pallets, CX Pallets, is set to grow its share of the perishable market. For the past four years the product has been used effectively in the export of ostrich meat, says managing director Jan Vreken. “And we believe it has wider application for a range of other products. “Our ostrich meat exporter loads 800 kg of the product on a pallet and airfreights it to Germany. We’ve also used it for onions and cauliflower with great success,” he added. And there are several benefits, says Vreken. “The shipper saves a lot of money because it’s much lighter than a wooden pallet and airfreight is a weightsensitive industry. Its pricing is on a par with a good solid wooden pallet but it’s cheaper than a plastic pallet which is required in some instances. “It maintains the temperature – and humidity is no problem in cold storage,” he added. While it hasn’t yet been tested on sea journeys, a trial seafreight shipment is planned in the near future. According to Vreken there has been interest from cheese manufacturers exporting into Africa. “It’s a clean, smooth clinical product – no nails or splinters and no need for fumigation either. We believe it fits the food market very well.” The environmentally friendly, recyclable product is intended for one-way use. It weighs 7kg compared to up to 20kgs for wooden pallets and has been test loaded with up to 2.7 tonnes.