Timcon defends wood as SCA adds to Stax range

SCA’s UK industrial packaging division said the Stax Mini and Solo were entirely recyclable, while earlier corrugated pallets had a paper core that was difficult for recyclers to handle as a lot of glue was used in the manufacturing process.

SCA Packaging marketing manager Martyn Reader said: Stax can be tipped into a retailer’s corrugated recycling bin.

SCA’s Stax Mini is designed for the point-of-sale and retail display sector and has been developed with the firm’s specialist division, while the Solo is designed for businesses that “do not need a full ‘deck strength’”. Three bearers together would be able to support loads of up to one tonne.

The Stax Mono was launched at the Foodex Meatex show in April and Reader said interest had been boosted by the adaptability of Stax to a firm’s requirements; it can be made in virtually any size, quantity and printed in the same way as a cardboard box.

SCA is the second corrugated packaging firm to target the pallet market this year after DS Smith launched its Evolution pallet made from recycled material in February.

Despite the growth in alternative materials, Gil Covey, Timcon past president, highlighted the environmental credentials of timber packaging. “Timber pallets can be repaired, recycled and, as a last resort, be turned into energy.”

Covey added: “Corrugated pallets may have a niche, but there is also a safety aspect and people would be concerned about how much weight they can carry.”

But John Weedon, managing director of corrugated pallet manufacturer Weedon PSC, hit back that “corrugated packaging could be constructed to withstand a tremendous weight”.

He added: “The environmental impact is tiny compared to the one-trip wooden pallet that may need to be chemically treated and will, after use, be either buried in landfill or burned, giving off carbon dioxide.”

Timcon is also concerned that focus on other issues such as biomass could lead to a shortage of material for pallets. Covey said: Subsidies to other areas will suck materials from us, and if you don’t have pallets, how can you transport goods?

Not just wood…
- Pallets can be made from metal, recycled bottles, corrugated board or wood
- Corrugated board is lighter than timber, but there are concerns over the strength of pallets in this material
- Corrugated board is also suitable for instore display, but susceptible to a wet environment

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