30 WESTERN PALLET
In the mid-1970s, the Pallet Quality Association, today’s national committee of the European Pallet Association (EPAL), partially took over the distribution and quality assurance of the Euro pallet. The European Pallet Association eV (EPAL), which emerged from this in 1991, has successfully further developed the pool idea and secured the quality of the Euro pallet. Both associations will be given a place in the Hall of Fame on behalf of the networks behind them.
“The invention of the pallet, and even more so the development of functioning pallet circuits, is one of the greatest milestones in logistics, just as important as the container invented by Malcolm McLean. Without standardized pallet systems, high-performance logistics would be unthinkable in the 21st century,” explained Anita Würmser, executive jury chairwoman of the Logistics Hall of Fame. The decision was made by a jury of 70 well-known personalities from business, science, politics and the media in 13 nations.
The benefits of the pallet were quickly evident. After the introduction of pallets, the loading times of trucks and freight cars were reduced by up to 90 percent. These days, the conveyor technology and shuttle systems in highly automated warehouses of Germany are all adapted to the dimensions 800 x 1200 x 144 millimeters of the Euro pallet. Another advantage of the load carriers made of eleven boards, nine wooden blocks and 78 nails noted by the Hall of Fame: they can be repaired with low material costs and are completely recyclable at the end of their life cycle.
The pioneers of the pallet will be officially inducted into the Logistics Hall of Fame at a gala reception with Federal Transport Minister Volker Wissing on November 29 in the winter garden of KaDeWe in Berlin.
Olivier Richter