Designing a Greener Road Trip

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...In addition to working with SmartWay carriers, HP has begun using plastic pallets made by AIRDEX INTERNATIONAL INC. to transport its notebook laptop computers to Europe, the Middle East, Africa, Latin America and North America. Doing so decreases the environmental impact of shipping them because AIRDEX Pallets are made of recyclable plastic rather than wood and, according to HP, the pallets are stronger, lighter and more durable than the wooden pallets it previously used.

HP estimates that through all its fuel-saving measures, it has reduced its CO2 output by more than 22,350 metric tons -- the equivalent of removing 4.300 cars from the road for one year.

Another pallet provider, Intelligent Global Pooling System (iGPS) also makes plastic pallets, which share the weight and durability benefits of the AIRDEX Pallets and also include an added feature that can help companies boost transportation efficiency: passive, integrated RFID transponders. These embedded devices do not require batteries and are encoded with a unique identification number that is captured by RFID readers stationed in warehouses or distribution centers, or by handheld readers that shipping personnel carry.

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K+N joins AIRDEX to offer green alternative

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KUEHNE + Nagel and AIRDEX INTERNATIONAL INC., developer and manufacturer of the light-weight AIRpallet™, announced the formation of a strategic alliance to investigate and find solutions for joint customers who are interested in reducing the costs and environmental impacts of airfreight transportation.

One of the largest contributing factors to high logistics costs and carbon dioxide emissions, is the usage of airfreight as a means to serve customer timing and transportation demands.

According to Reinhard Lange, chief operating officer sea & air logistics and deputy chief executive officer, K+N, said: “This alliance supports our commitment to find innovative solutions for our customers, providing for ‘lean and green’ alternatives to their transportation activities. We see these types of seemingly small solutions to have a large supply chain cost benefit and environmental benefit.”

Part of the strategic alliance will be to form a learning network with selected customers led by K+N’s Ken Nieze, senior vice-president eco air-solutions, and Dr Rod Franklin, vice-president product development and green innovation, as well as Mark Berger, vice-president of global logistics for AIRDEX. This learning network, which will be formed in Luxembourg as a pilot leveraging on the collaboration work done with Hewlett Packard, is to investigate the end-to-end value and environmental advantages across the supply chain using a low weight, high structured pallet for goods in the transport process.

The project foresees leveraging K+N’s network as an integrated part of a customer’s supply chain and the (re-)usage of the 3 kg light-weight hybrid plastic pallet from AIRDEX, which by comparison to traditional wooden pallets, offers considerable savings in terms of dead transportation weight, and thus reduces transport costs and energy requirements.

The pilot project will address the total inbound supply chain process for Hewlett Packard, from Asia to Luxembourg.

Pat Tiernan, vice-president social and environmental responsibility, HP, said: “As a technology industry environmental leader for decades, HP is focused on limiting its environmental impact from the individual employee to global operations, including our entire supply chain. Transitioning to this solution has resulted in transportation cost savings, reduced transit damage and reduction in the overall environmental impact of our business.”

Vance Seagle, founder and chief executive officer of AIRDEX, said: “The AIRpallet™ cargo safety record is a well proven cost saver combined with the elimination of aircraft cargo bay damage so common when using wooden pallets. Everyone the AIRDEX team is enormously proud of this new alliance with a globally recognized industry leader in K+N and we are eager to add more affiliations through our combined leadership.”

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New partnership takes a lightweight approach to environmental issues

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Global logistics provider Kuehne + Nagel and AIRDEX INTERNATIONAL INC., developer and manufacturer of the patented light-weight AIRpallet™, have formed a strategic alliance to develop solutions for reducing the costs and environmental impacts of airfreight transportation.

Reinhard Lange, Chief Operating Officer Sea & Air Logistics and Deputy CEO, Kuehne + Nagel International AG, said this alliance supports the company’s commitment to finding innovative solutions for customers, providing clean and green alternatives to their transportation businesses.

Part of the strategic alliance will be to form a Learning Network with selected customers led by Kuehne + Nagel’s Ken Nieze, Senior Vice President Eco Air-Solutions, and Dr. Rod Franklin, Vice President Product Development and Green Innovation, as well as Mark Berger, Vice President of Global Logistics for AIRDEX.

This Learning Network, which will be formed in Luxembourg as a pilot leveraging on the collaborative work done with Hewlett Packard (HP), is to investigate the end-toend value and environmental advantages across the supply chain using a low weight, high structured pallet for goods in the transport process. The pilot project will address aspects of the total inbound supply chain process for Hewlett Packard Co. from Asia to Luxembourg.

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HP First to Display U.S. EPA SmartWay Logo

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...HP further reduces impact of consumer notebook transport

To further reduce the environmental impact of its U.S. consumer notebook transport, HP has begun a pilot program that ships notebooks on pallets made of recyclable plastic rather than wood.

Not only do plastic pallets avoid deforestation, but they also are significantly stronger, lighter and more durable than wooden pallets. In 2006, HP estimated that the use of plastic pallets for airfreight shipments in its existing full-program implementations in Europe and Latin America reduced its transportation CO2 footprint by more than seven metric tons, the equivalent of taking 150 cars off the road for a year.

HP’s program also includes recovery and recycling of the plastic pallets through its supplier, AIRDEX INTERNATIONAL INC. The European program has been successful in capturing 98 percent of the plastic pallets for reuse or recycling.

“Our plastic pallets contribute to improved human welfare, not only from the direct environmental benefits of reduced CO2 emissions, fuel consumption and deforestation, but also due to the near impossibility of the ultra-light AIRDEX Pallet to cause harm to air cargo workers in any way,” said Vance Seagle, founder and chief executive officer, AIRDEX INTERNATIONAL INC. “The AIRpallet™ cargo safety record is a well-proven cost saver combined with the elimination of aircraft cargo bay damage so common when using wood pallets.”

All of HP’s major retail partners in the United States have agreed to participate in the pilot program, which began April 1.

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Lighten the Load
New Lighter Pallets Reduce Import/Export Costs

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There are two major criteria to consider when choosing the type of pallet to use for exporting and importing product: compliance and cost. What type of pallet does the recipient country and customer accept, and how much will pallets factor into the total cost of shipping?

When decisions are being made about the best type of pallet to use for moving products internationally the devil is truly in the details. Is pallet price or weight or strength or regulatory compliance the most important criterion? Airfreight charges can be reduced using plastic pallets. Untreated wood pallets can carry alien insects that will find new homes in receiving countries. Pallets made of engineered wood are strong, are phytosanitary compliant and can carry heavy loads. And of course pallet size and style vary by geographic region.

Hewlett-Packard Company (Palo Alto, Calif., www.hp. com) determines the type of pallet or other load-handling material to use based on the mode of transportation. Slipsheets, for example, are used for sea containers because they give better cube utilization, allowing another layer of product to be put into containers.

HP ranks high on the list of companies that move product by airfreight. Airfreight costs are determined by the total weight of the shipment. The company is transitioning to a lighter plastic pallet that has high tensile strength for its airfreight loads, says Randy Boeller, package engineering manager at HP's Houston distribution hub. Even though the lightweight plastic pallets cost more than wood pallets, HP still saves money shipping its notebook computers palletized on plastic pallets from Asia to markets worldwide. However, plastic pallets are not a universal solution.

"Where it makes sense," Boeller explains, "we will change out pallets at a hub if that is what it takes to save money on the first leg of the trip and satisfy the customer on the last leg of the trip." For example, HP repalletizes notebooks on metric block pallets that its European customers will accept.

Dock workers also benefit from handling plastic pallets. They don't receive splinter or nail wounds and the lighter weight contributes to fewer back injuries. Another advantage of plastic pallets is that they can be reused, recycled or resold.

AIRDEX (Las Vegas, www.airdex.com) makes the plastic pallet that HP uses for airfreight shipments. The pallet's core is super-compressed, molded EPS foam that is fused with a tough outer coating. The result is a seven-pound pallet that provides shock and vibration protection, thermal insulation, and a soft-seated, non-slip, tamper-resistant solid top deck.

To supply its customers' global factories, AIRDEX has integrated some of its production lines within local packaging suppliers. HP ships laptop products from Shanghai on locally produced Airdex pallets.

The bug issue

Foreign bugs transported in wooden packaging material are threatening many countries' native forests. To prevent this problem from spreading any further, conventional wood pallets need to comply with International Standards for Phytosanitary Measures (ISPM 15). This standard requires wood to be heat or chemically treated to kill bugs and larva prior to exporting/ importing. For conventional hardwood and softwood, treating is an extra process and adds time, material and cost to the end product. Pallets made from this type of wood must carry a stamp demonstrating that the treatment process has been completed...

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