Eltete’s pallets are lighter than conventional pallets, more durable and cost-effective. Also, their production and practical use in the transportation sector reduce CO2 emissions, management claims. The combination of these criteria makes the Finnish supplier’s products particularly interesting for usage in air freight.
First, a brief review of the recent World Cargo Symposium in Ostend, Belgium: At her company’s stand, Nina Lökfors (NL), Executive Vice President of Eltete-Packprofil, explained the design of the packaging products on display. The carton pallets that are made of honeycomb board and recycled carton, she says, can replace the usual industrial wooden pallets, whose worldwide triumph began shortly after the Second World War and has continued to this day. Yet, now the time has come for new, innovative solutions CargoForwarder Global (CFG) interviewed the ELTETE executive.
CFG: Nina, why is a Finnish company using cardboard pallets instead of wooden products? After all, Finland is full of trees and so are the surrounding countries in Scandinavia and the Baltic states.
NL: Cardboard pallets are a good complementary option to wooden and plastic pallets. As I see it, all variations are needed and you must always consider which pallet is most suitable for your needs, keeping environmental and cost-effective issues in mind.
The production of a cardboard pallet requires less wood, and the process causes around 50% fewer emissions than when making a wooden pallet. Thanks to their light weight, cardboard pallets also mean less fuel consumption is required during transport, making them a viable option for air freight.
A cardboard pallet is mainly recommended for export, in B2C sales or when delivering outside areas that have collection systems for reusable wooden or plastic pallets. The pallet is easy to handle and easy to recycle.
The cardboard pallet is a hygienic alternative and is ISPM compliant so it can be used for overseas deliveries or, for example, in the food or pharma sector.
CFG: Eltete’s motto is: Reduce, Replace, Recycle. First, what exactly is to be reduced in comparison with conventional packaging solutions? Material and greenhouse gas emissions?
NL: Yes, material, greenhouse emissions and costs.
Production of cardboard transport packaging solutions requires fewer raw materials and causes fewer CO2 emissions. Thanks to their lightweight, they also lower CO2 in transport and reduce warehouse and freight costs. They are easy to handle and do not require any tools to be built or treatments to be compliant.
CFG: And as far as replacement is concerned, airlines and forwarding agents might want to know how stable Eltete’s cardboard solutions are compared to conventional ULDs made of wood or plastic?
NL: As it happens with cardboard solutions and other materials, there are cases where they might not apply. In air cargo, it is no different. We would need to go through the needs of the customer and together evaluate the best solution. When it comes to strength capabilities, we do have results of, for example, our AirCargoRunner withstanding a weight of over 10,000kg.
CFG: Touching on recyclability: can clients utilize the AirCargoRunner multiple times or is it rather a one-way product that must be disposed of after use?
NL: Our experience is that our customers prefer reusing the AirCargoRunners and they ensure multiple use by printing a “return to” text on the runner. Still, if they are not reused, they are easy to recycle with other carton waste
CFG: “Slip sheets” is another product Eltete offers forwarders, airlines and shipping companies. How do these work and what are the advantages over existing transport solutions?
NL: The slip sheet is used to replace the traditional pallet during transport, saving space, and reducing raw material, costs and emissions.
The slip sheet requires an additional push-pull device for the forklift. After the goods have been placed on the slip sheet, the push-pull device grips one of the lips of the sheet and pulls it onto the forklift. Then the forklift pushes the load onto its place in the trailer, rail wagon or container, leaving out the pallet which means more space to load and less extra weight from pallets.
Production of a slip sheet requires much less raw material than a pallet, and the production process causes much fewer emissions. You can store 1,500 slip sheets using the same space as needed for 10 pallets. A slip sheet costs only a fraction compared to a pallet and is easy to recycle with other carton waste.
CFG: Where are the Eltete products manufactured and what after-sales support does your company offer the market?
NL: Eltete has production sites in Finland, Poland, and several locations in Asia. In addition to that, we have strategically placed a sales network that is always ready to assist and serve our customers on time.
Final question: Suppose I was a freight forwarder and had weekly air freight shipments of machine parts weighing a total of 400 kg, flying – say – from Copenhagen to Mumbai. What would be the advantages over traditional packaging solutions if I chose the “AirCargoRunner” as an option – also financially?
NL: The total advantage depends on several factors.
First, the goal should be to fit as much as possible on a ULD plate. With the help of the AirCargoRunner, you can fit around 35% more load on the plate compared to existing solutions.
Of course, this could also be done with wooden beams. Wooden beams weigh around 80% more than the AirCargoRunner, so the undeniable advantage that you can get with the AirCargoRunner, is weight saving.
We know that producing a wooden beam requires more raw materials and causes around 54% more emissions than producing a carton beam. Additionally, we know that less weight causes less fuel consumption and thus fewer emissions and costs.
Since I do not have the latest prices of aviation fuel, different plane model consumptions and emissions, I must leave the final cost advantage calculations of this example to professionals in the air cargo industry. However, I think the comparison will be in favor of our products.
CFG: Nina, thank you for your time and the insights.
