Pallet Trading Kft

pallet trading logo hires

Pallet Trading Kft

History of the EUR/EPAL pallet

The Euro-pallet dates back to the wooden pallets used in railway transport. In 1961 the European railways commissioned the standardization of a common pallet type under the auspices of the UIC. The inventors were the Svensson brothers of Gyllsjö, Skåne, Sweden Using the Euro-pallet, it was possible to load railroad cars in just 10% of the time of earlier loading processes. Broken pallets are not swappable - they must be repaired or removed from the pool Following the standardization most of the European industry switched over to use Euro-pallets with trucks, forklifts and high-rack warehouses optimized for their size. National associations developed framework agreements for pallet exchange in that freight would be delivered on Euro-pallets and be given the same number of Euro-pallets in return ("pallet for pallet"). The Euro-pallets are controlled by the association and the association takes care of repairing or removing old pallets from the pool. With the ongoing European integration, the European Pallet Pool allowed for pallet exchange even in cross-border dealings. With the success of the Euro-pallets, a number of replicas entered the market that used low-quality wood which splintered easily and were prone to mold. So the European railways, which own the trademarks for EUR/EPAL, created a separate standardization body. EPAL, the European Pallet Association e.V., was founded in 1991, and the EUR and EPAL logo may only be used by licensees of that organization. EPAL assumed responsibility for the safety and quality of all pooled pallets in 2016. Around 450-500 million EUR-pallets are in circulation.