Frequently Asked Questions

No, Euro pallets must have an official European stamp in order to be used for export – however in 2006 PKP pallets (from a pallet pool in Poland) started to be rejected, meaning that only EPAL pallets are now suitable. Whirlowdale are  registered UK EPAL traders.

In many cases, yes, the food industry, pharmaceuticals & packaging industries sometimes use plastic pallets as they are hygienic and robust pallets. 

A plastic pallet (new or reconditioned), a Heat Treated pallet (if exporting to most countries outside of the EU), or a stamped euro pallet if exporting to Europe will be suitable.

Also certain chipboard pallets are suitable as an alternative to Heat Treated pallets (see our product range for more information). 

See our product range for more information. 

The Safe Working Load of a pallet is contingent upon a variety of factors such as the construction of the pallet, the material it is made of and the load it has to bear.

Pallet failures are usually bending failures in the bearers of a deckboard or the deckboard itself although there can be failures for other reasons. There are a plethora of international standards relating to working loads but these can be confusing and may not be practically useful as a pallet may have several working load requirements due to the user’s types of load and the arrangement of the load on the pallet.

The Safe Working Load is assessed by taking into account the size of the pallet, the material it is made of, the thickness of the material, the construction of the pallet and the load it has to bear. It is important not to over specify as this can mean unnecessary expense.

To protect goods in transit and storage and to ensure good health and safety practices for operatives the selection of the correct pallet is extremely important.

Do you need help in selecting the best pallet for your transport requirements? As a leading manufacturer and supplier of wooden and plastic pallets, Whirlowdale have vast experience in advising customers on the correct pallet to use, and would be pleased to help - give us a call.

ISPM15 stands for International Standard for Phytosanitary Measures number 15.

Further information is available on the ISPM pages of this website.

Timcon, the Timber Packaging and Pallet Confederation, has created a Global guide to ISPM implementation and import regulations for wood packaging materials.

View the current ISPM regulations.

For the majority of countries no, the Heat treated stamp (see below) is sufficient. However China and Australia do request the back-up certificate (phytosanitary note) for pallets entering into the country. 

The Heat Treatment stamp on a pallet ensures that the timber has been heat treated to a core temperature of 56 ۫C for a minimum of 30 minutes – which is the ISPM15 standard
 

Heat or fumigation treatment to ISPM 15 is a one time permanent treatment

A used pallet properly treated and marked does not have to be re-treated.

Pallets can be supplied either untreated, but bark free, for use within the UK or EU countries' borders or treated to meet ISPM 15 requirements. Pallets treated in the UK to ISPM 15 requirements are marked with the unique number of the registrant of the Forestry Commission wood marking programme to ensure traceability.

Many countries operate a treatment and marking programme similar to the UK whereby each pallet can be traced back to a particular country and manufacturer