New Members 2022: The Pallet Pioneers
George Raymond Sr, founder of the U.S. Raymond Corporation, invented the first transport pallet. UIC is considered the mother of the Euro pallet and EPAL has successfully developed the pool idea of the pallet pooling system (exchange pool). Oliver Richter is an early pioneer of the circular economy and “father of the CHEP system”, the first closed pooling system (rental pool) for load carriers.
The pallet pioneers can claim to have laid the basis for the pallet's success.
The invention of the pallet is a milestone in logistics. It has a similar significance for logisticians as the container. Four pallet pioneers are considered to be the inventors: In 1939, George Raymond Sr and his colleague William House registered the patent for a hydraulic lift truck and the accompanying wooden pallet in the US state of New York. The initiative for the Euro pallet came from the Union Internationale des Chemins de Fer (UIC), the association of European railroads. In 1961, the European railroads agreed on the dimensions and production of the Euro pallet in a working group. In the mid-1970s, the Gütegemeinschaft Paletten, today's National Committee of the European Pallet Association e.V. (EPAL), partially took over the distribution and quality assurance of the Euro pallet. EPAL, founded in 1991, has successfully developed the pool idea and ensured the quality of the Euro pallet. CHEP manager Oliver Richter also recognized the potential of the pallet rental pool in the mid-1970s and set up the world's first closed pallet pooling system from Australia.
