Rising airfreight rates push up demand for cardboard pallets

WITH THE ever-increasing price of airfreight, more and more customers are tuning in to the benefits of cardboard corrugated pallets and pallet box combinations in preference to wood. The benefits have been well documented, says Jan Vreken, managing director of CX Pallets. A 1 x 1.2 m corrugated pallet weighs approximately 9 kg as opposed to wood which can weigh anywhere between 18-25 kg, with exceptional weightstrength ratio. Cardboard pallets also don’t require fumigation or heat treatment as do their wooden counterparts. Although it is still frequently seen to be simply a “nice-to-have” in South Africa, European companies are increasingly being measured and judged by their environmental policies and carbon footprints. This has placed pressure on South African producers and exporters to provide alternatives to wood since in Europe wood cannot be used in landfill and also has to be disposed of in a prescribed way by third parties. Cardboard can simply be sold to recyclers for pulping and re-use. There are also other benefits such as pallet-box combinations which provide increased security for cargo stored in them. Vreken tells the story of an exporter of cellphone handsets who has completely eliminated problems with pilferage and theft as the boxes are a single, nameless unit which cannot be easily accessed. The corrugated pallets also have a low occupational health risk as they are smoother to handle with no hazards such as splinters or nails which can cause injury to workers. Pharmaceutical companies have also not been able to use wood within their clinical environments and had to use expensive plastic pallets to load cargo which was then transferred to wood. They can now simply use cardboard as a once-off and save on costs, time and labour. Vreken notes that cardboard pallets have been used in Europe for the past 20 years and until recently South Africa couldn’t compete. CX Pallets is the first company to provide the product locally. It has been going for over two years and the business is growing daily. Its clients range from exporters of heavy automotive components to electronic appliances and pharmaceuticals.