History
The Euro pallet as the backbone of logistics
With the introduction of forklift trucks in the 1920s and 1930s, special platforms began to be developed to facilitate the lifting and transporting of goods. However, these platforms were often custom-made and not standardised. In the Netherlands, for example, metal platforms were used to transport goods.
During the Second World War, the American military used pallets and containers to speed up the supply of goods. At the beginning of the 1950s, the technology of palletising goods for the economic transport of goods was generally introduced into the transport industry. The railway undertakings (RUs) recognised this development in good time as a logistical necessity for the future and adapted to it immediately.
As a result of this new technology, the railway undertakings founded the European Pallet Pool (EPP) in 1961, whose founding members were ÖBB, DB and SBB. In 1961, the standardised Euro pallet was then introduced by the railways as the standard exchange pallet and has been an integral part of logistics ever since.
The EPP organisation
The development of the European Pallet Pool (EPP): From sharing to market liberalisation.
The basic prerequisite for the European Pallet Pool (EPP) was a standardised quality of the pallets used. The EPP member railways therefore agreed to use only standardised pallets measuring 800 mm x 1200 mm in accordance with UIC leaflet 435-2. This facilitated national and cross-border transport and included three types of cargo:
- Pallets as general cargo,
- wagonloads and
- loads in large container transport.
The focus here was on flat pallets.
At a glance
Until 1984: Tasks of member RUs themselves
Until 1984, the tasks were carried out by the member railway undertakings (RUs) of the European Pallet Pool themselves. In October 1984, it was decided to set up a "Palletisation Issues" working group independent of the EPP. Since then, these tasks have been carried out exclusively by this working group, which is currently integrated into the "Wagon Users" study group.
By 1991, railways from 21 countries had exchanged
By 1991, railways from 21 countries had exchanged European pallets, including Germany, France, Italy, Belgium, the Netherlands, Switzerland, Czechoslovakia, the Scandinavian countries (Denmark, Sweden, Norway, Finland), Bulgaria, Romania, Serbia, Croatia and Slovenia. In general cargo transport, however, only a few countries took part in the pallet exchange.
From 1993 to 2012 European Pallet Association (EPAL) as service provider for ‘EUR in the Oval’
From 1993 to 2012, the European Pallet Association (EPAL) acted as a service provider for the "EUR in the Oval" brand. During this time, EPAL was responsible for quality assurance and the licensing of manufacturers and repair companies within the framework of the UIC Euro pallet pool system. EPAL carried out independent quality controls and ensured that the standards for the "EUR in the Oval" brand were met.
Since 2012 ‘EUR in the Oval’ and EPAL as a competitor
In 2012, the cooperation between the trademark owner Rail Cargo Group (RCG) and EPAL ended. Since then, the brands "EUR in the Oval" and EPAL have existed in parallel as competitors in the open Euro pallet exchange pool.