Ozkor speaks to MHD about its plastic pallet production in Sydney and how it’s making these products for its customers as an alternative to timber pallets. Alan Morgan, National Marketing Manager at the materials handling company describes the range of plastic pallets Ozkor has to offer.
Plastic materials handling specialist Ozkor Pty Ltd is helping companies combat the impacts of escalating international shipping costs, as well as the complexities associated with supply chain disruption over the past two years, by providing them with locally manufactured plastic export pallets.
The Ozpal export pallet models are made from 100 per cent re-granulated raw materials and originally designed as an alternative to timber.
Its production is now based in Sydney and, as a result, there are considerable savings for customers as unreasonable shipping costs are not passed on – a boon in this era of frequent international shipping disruption.
A further advantage is that lead times are just days – instead of the traditional eight to 10 weeks – for the delivery of full container loads of goods.
National Marketing Manager, Alan Morgan, says Australian exporters have been struggling with the rising costs and supply of timber export pallets in recent times, but now Ozkor plastic export pallets provide not only a more reliable source of supply, but at prices even more competitive than before.
“We made the decision last year to prioritise the relocation of our export pallet production tools to Australia as increased costs – due to shipping – were out of control and there was no certainty as to how many more price increases would need to be absorbed or passed onto customers,” Alan says.
“This evolved into what has become a perfect storm of interrelated negative impacts on supply chain resources – including scarce wooden pallets – and to some degree, has been mitigated by producing our plastic export pallets in Australia once again,” he adds.
Ozkor claims to count itself fortunate to have been able to benefit from the increasing demand for Australian goods, such as food and pharmaceuticals, and count many of Australia’s leading exporters of these products as customers who continue to grow their markets in China, India, Europe, and the USA, despite international uncertainties.
The two Ozkor export pallet models in question are the Expal-1100 and the Expal-1140; both of which are ISPM-15 approved for export purposes and unlike wooden alternatives, are more hygienic with no need to be heat treated to protect against pest infestation before exporting.
Ozkor also points to the fact that its plastic export pallets have a residual value as they can be reused or recycled after use where most wooden export pallets are normally for single use only and end up as landfill waste. As a bonus, customers may also decide to resell them to other exporters for return journey’s which means they can reclaim some revenue while at the same time saving on waste disposal expenses associated with cheap single-use timber pallets.
“The most important base-line constants we share with our exporting customers must be the supply of good quality products at competitive prices, in line with their predetermined schedules,” Alan says. “And by manufacturing in Australia Ozkor is better positioned to meet their high expectations.
Pallet Rental Service Options
Ozkor also specialises in designing and developing reusable plastic pallets to suit specific industry needs with companies taking up the eco-friendly alternative where wooden pallets are not acceptable due to potential contamination issues and longer a service life is required.
Alan says, while there are ever-increasing demands on timber reserves and concerns over the environmental impact of single-use packaging, plastic pallets are durable and reusable and a good long-term investment.
Customers can either rent or buy Ozkor’s plastic pallets. It provides its high-quality, hygienic, and cost-effective products to a range of companies.
One of its more recently developed plastic pallet rental models is the PPX-1165, a heavy-duty reusable plastic pallet designed with patented technology to enhance its capacity to absorb impacts in the warehouse.
Ozkor says it’s ideal for industries dealing with extremely cold or hot conditions – hygiene requirements or specific chemicals – alternatives to timber pallets are increasingly in demand.
The PPX-1165 can be rented in a closed loop supply chain system based on a three-, four-, or a five-year agreement. It’s manufactured with a specially formulated grade of material to meet extreme environmental and operational challenges and safely handle 1350 kg of product in drive-in racking, which increases racking safety and unit load efficiencies.
Built-in side-blocks provide extra protection against materials handling equipment damage, by incorporating patented nylon inserts inside the block structure – enhancing impact resistance in pallets’ traditional vulnerable areas. This proven and patented technology has been developed by Ozkor’s design engineering team to extend the service life of the pallets, particularly in environments which are operationally extremely demanding.
Plastic pallets are much lighter to handle than timber ones. This means they are more economical for transportation costs when shipping goods by road around the country.
For more information on Ozkor, click here.