Stockholm, Sweden, February 2023 – On February 1, Dagab began a process of phasing out wooden pallets and replacing them with SRS “climate-smart” plastic reusable rental pallets for transporting fruit and vegetables to Axfood’s stores throughout Sweden. On an annual basis, this will amount to about 1.4 million pallets, and Dagab thus becomes SRS’s biggest user to date of the pool’s grey full-size pallets. The incredibly durable and repairable SRS pallets are manufactured by Shuert Technologies.
The SRS pallet is standardized and adapted for automatic handling. It withstands high stress, is friction-resistant, and works well in a freezer environment. It weighs 10 kg less than a corresponding wooden pallet. With an estimated lifespan of the pallet is 15 years, it does not emit dust or wood chips. This, SRS states, provides a healthier working environment for all who handle it throughout the flow.
Dagab operates and develops the Axfood Group‘s product range and is responsible for the entire flow of goods, including storage and transport. Dagab ensures that food and goods get out to Willys, Hemköp, and Axfood’s other store chains, but also to external business customers and e-commerce. Dagab also produces Axfood’s house brand products. Dagab employed almost 3,000 people last year. The company’s shift to automated handling systems played a role in the conversion.
“At Dagab, we are currently building the strongest logistics structure of the future, where automation and sustainability are at the center,” said Daniel Månsson, category area manager, fruit and vegetables, at Dagab. “In connection with this, we are switching to distributing all fruit and vegetables on SRS full pallets, which are much better suited than wooden pallets for automated flows.”
In December, Dagab inaugurated its new national warehouse for fruit, vegetables, and flowers in Landskrona. With the new warehouse, conditions are created for increased efficiency and larger future volumes. Every day, Dagab delivers around 3,800 pallets of fruit and vegetables to stores throughout the country. By changing wooden pallets to SRS plastic pallets, Dagab reduces its emissions by over 100 tons of CO2e per year.
“Dagab will now be the largest user of our climate-smart pallets to date, and we are proud to work together to help reduce the food industry’s environmental impact,” added Sigrid Helgason, Key Account Manager at Svenska Retursystem. “We are also happy to be able to offer more and more employees along Dagab’s product flows a significantly healthier work environment.”
From: reusable packaging news