Düsseldorf, March 2023 – The success story of the European Pallet Association continued in 2022. Following the milestone of producing more than 100 million new EPAL Euro pallets for the first time in 2021, EPAL has increased production to a new record of 109.05 million EPAL Euro pallets. This represents a growth of 7.55% or 7.65 million EPAL Euro pallets yearly.
Strong growth in EPAL Euro pallets and EPAL Box pallets production
Repair volumes for EPAL Euro pallets were almost exactly the same as the previous year (-0.33 %). After the significantly lower return of used EPAL Euro pallets in the first half of 2022 initially led to a decline in repair numbers, this was almost completely reversed in the second half of 2022 by a positive development in repairs.
The production of EPAL Box pallets also developed positively. After significant growth of 66.7 % in 2021 to 288,000 EPAL Box pallets, production again increased substantially in 2022 to 340,400 EPAL Box pallets (+18%).
“EPAL faced many challenges in 2022,” Dirk Hoferer and Jarek Maciążek, Co-Presidents of EPAL, are jointly quoted in an EPAL release.
“The war in Ukraine impacted Ukrainian EPAL licensees on a personal level while many European supply routes for pallet timber and nails were disrupted. However, the significant commitment of EPAL licensees ensured they were able to overcome these difficulties and therefore meet the growing demand for exchangeable EPAL Euro pallets at all times. We would like to thank the more than 1,600 EPAL licensees producing and repairing EPAL pallets. They are the bedrock of reliable supply of high-quality new and used EPAL pallets to industry, retail, and logistics.”
More than 650 million EPAL Euro pallets in circulation
The high quality of EPAL pallets is an extremely important factor in ensuring the safety of people and goods in logistics and the long service life of EPAL Euro pallets. Various studies have shown this to be between six and ten years. Based on an average service life of seven years and production data from recent years, there are currently substantially more than 650 million EPAL Euro pallets available through the open EPAL pallet pool.
“With more than 650 million EPAL Euro pallets in circulation, the open EPAL Euro pallet pool is by far the largest Euro pallet pool in the world,” said Davide Dellavalle, Vice-President of EPAL. “EPAL Euro pallet users have free access to an almost infinite number of high-quality used EPAL Euro pallets at any time and throughout Europe in addition to rapid delivery of new EPAL Euro pallets.”
Resilience of the EPAL Euro pallet pool
The resilience of the EPAL Euro pallet pool was also one of the key success factors for EPAL in 2022. Following experiences during the COVID-19 pandemic, the production of EPAL Euro pallets proved to be an essential activity for logistics. Every participant in the open EPAL pallet pool came to recognize that the reliable availability of EPAL Euro pallets for industry and retail is the foundation of stable supply chains. Users from industry, retail, and logistics can call on more than 500 EPAL licensees producing new EPAL pallets through the open EPAL pallet pool as well as more than 1,100 repair operations supplying users with used EPAL pallets.
“The tight EPAL licensee network in Europe, which is supplemented by many service providers and countless users, avoids having to rely on just one supplier and ensures rapid delivery over short transport distances,” commented Tatyana Sargsyan, Vice-President of EPAL. “There was therefore no adverse impact on user’s logistics processes and pallet logistics during 2022 despite the high levels of demand.”
The EPAL pallet pool – open and independent
EPAL states that its tight network of licensees and pallet users is the result of the openness and independence of the EPAL pallet pool. Every company can participate in the exchange of EPAL Euro pallets through its logistics operations and adapt it to suit its own requirements. At the same time, pallet producers and repair operations as well as service providers and logistics platforms have free access to the open EPAL pallet pool as EPAL is an independent association and is therefore not tied to any company with its own profit targets.
“EPAL licensees, EPAL pallet users, and the many service providers in the open EPAL pallet pool have a mutual objective to ensure the quality of EPAL load carriers remains consistently high throughout the world,” concluded Jean-Philippe Gaussorgues, Vice-President of EPAL. “This ensures reliable use of EPAL pallets in all logistics scenarios from high-bay racking systems and automated conveyor systems to shipping logistics and typical applications in industry and retail. The combination of uniform load carriers for all logistics processes and trouble-free use is a significant cost benefit for users. The success of the EPAL Euro pallet as the leading European load carrier is based on this.”
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