With the capacity to heat treat nearly 1,500 pallets in just three hours, the two Nardi kilns installed by Tyne & Wear Pallets Ltd are providing the rapid performance needed to meet growing demand from customers concerned about the new International Standard for Phytosanitary Measures (ISPM 15).
Under the standard the options are either to heat treat or fumigate wood packaging. The former appears to be the favoured option as end users, like food businesses, do not want chemically treated pallets or packaging, and fumigation looks like being a short-term option since many countries plan to curb use of methyl bromide (the fumigating chemical) by the end of 2004.
“Customers are becoming aware of ISPM 15 but there is still a lot of confusion,” said Peter McKenzie, business development manager at Tyne & Wear Pallets (TWP).
“We have been monitoring developments for some years and our sales team is now inundated with calls from customers seeking advice about the regulations and their implementation.”
Implementation is a key issue. China’s decision in October 2002 to ban wood packaging that does not comply with the standard – ahead of the likely introduction by North America, the EU and others this year – took pallet manufacturers and end users by surprise. Given the size of the market, the decision had a significant impact in speeding up developments.
“Two of our largest customers decided to move completely to ISPM 15-approved pallets because they did not want to have to manage two types of pallet – one for China and one for elsewhere,” said Mr McKenzie.
“As a result, we started buying heat-treated palletwood from various suppliers. We were paying quite a premium for it and, as volumes increased, it became commercially viable to invest in our own plant.”
The company put out tenders to 10 kiln manufacturers, shortlisting three for thorough analysis. Last June TWP placed the order with Nardi’s UK/Irish agent Woodtech Machinery.
“We believe Nardi has the largest installed base of kilns worldwide, the best products and technology, great expertise in heat treating and kiln drying pallets, and the best back-up and support,” said Mr McKenzie. “As part of our investigation, we spoke to customers in various countries and they all gave positive reports.
Best value
“It wasn’t the cheapest option, but it offered the best value for money. Nardi and Woodtech also worked with us to design a system that met our needs – with a more powerful boiler and fans so that the temperature of 56 degrees C required by ISPM 15 is reached in less than three hours. Some other kilns take 24 hours to raise the temperature to this level.”
Established in 1978, TWP has grown significantly in the past three years. The extensive Gateshead site manufactures 1.5 million pallets a year for a nationwide customer base, mainly in the pharmaceutical, chemical and packaging sectors. A new pallet line from Storti will be installed at the end of January to double output capacity.
Once manufactured, pallets that require heat treatment are stacked in the Nardi kilns. Each of the two chambers can hold 720 pallets (1200x1000mm). Heat is supplied by a boiler in an adjacent building – which also houses the computerised control equipment. The Windows-based software is designed for ease of use, and includes the heat treatment program as well as conventional drying programs. The latter give TWP the flexibility to use the kilns for supplying customers who require, for example, Europallets with a final moisture content of 22%.
The system is networked so that authorised users can monitor progress or change drying parameters by accessing the program from PCs or laptops around the site. There is also a modem link that allows Nardi’s technical engineers to control the kilns remotely for troubleshooting purposes, and install software upgrades or new kilning programs.
“Around 25% of our business is now heat-treated,” said Mr McKenzie, “and this will increase rapidly when North America and other markets adopt ISPM 15.
“Our investment in the Nardi kilns will enable us to meet that demand.”
