Plastic re-usable i.e. returnable crates are increasingly replacing one-way trip cardboard packaging not only within the food sector, but also in pharmaceutical, retail and logistics application areas.

PPS specialises not only in crate hire, but probably more critically equipment management The company offers a service known as the “total management option” where not only simple crate hire but online asset tracking, retrieval from third parties and return to its Midlands centre where they have an industrial wash site, washing crates, boxes and plastic pallets to the highest standards of cleanliness.

Crate hire is increasingly attractive to companies who may wish or need to use returnable transit equipment, but do not have ready access to a capital expenditure budget and who have no desire to try to retrieve possibly far-flung crates.

These plastic crates are attractive and have many uses outside those of their primary function – as such many may often get “lost”. This is where PPS steps in, employing their own Enable online asset tracking system which allows easy retrieval of equipment. Furthermore, using a specialist crate hire company like PPS removes any potential conflict between supplier and customer in the event of lost or damaged equipment.

Ron joins the business on 1st September and will have a UK-wide remit to develop sales of returnable transit equipment across a broad range of industries. Importantly, in addition to direct sales, Ron will take responsibility for new business development on PPS core businesses such as equipment rental and management, online asset tracking and washing / sterilising of plastic crates, boxes and pallets.

Ron brings a wide breadth of knowledge of the returnable transit equipment (RTE) industry, particularly metal roll cages and wire mesh cages, plastic pallets and pallet boxes as well as in-depth skills in the equipment rental field.

Additionally PPS now offer other services, connected to equipment management, such as plastic equipment repairs, metal cage maintenance – either on contract or on an ad hoc basis. Once again Ron will take responsibility for the promotion of these added services to existing and new PPS customers.

Supporting Ron’s field operations on logistics, documentation, transport and administration will be Charlotte Bull, based at the PPS head office.

The company has been offering plastic crate rental for a number of years; however an important facet of their business model is what they refer to as the “total management option”. This involves renting clients plastic crates, managing them via the company’s own Enable online asset tracking system, arranging the retrieval of the equipment from third parties, washing or sterilising it at their industrial wash site, before returning the crates to the equipment pool, ready for re-use.

The food sector has been and continues to be a major area of importance to experts for crate rental. But why would anyone, let alone some of professional companies’ blue chip customers rent crates rather than simply buy them outright? Quite simply the answer is Management. Management of equipment that is – the use of plastic crates as a returnable transit carrier continues to replace one-way trip cardboard packaging. The traditional mindset with packing is that you have paid for the packaging, along with the goods it carries or protects. So, cardboard boxes are either disposed of, or used by the receiver to store goods or perhaps for secondary deliveries.

Obviously however, returnable packaging must be returned for further re-use otherwise the medium is not cost-effective. This is where PPS come in with their crate rental services and, as they take responsibility for the retrieval of the equipment it means there is no opportunity for potential conflict between supplier and customer in the event of lost or damaged equipment.

These versatile units are collapsible which leads to space saving when not in use, as well as being cost effective when it comes to transporting the units. There are multiple uses for these cages across a broad range of industries – e.g. automotive, engineering, foodstuffs and packaging.

PPS offers these mainly with standard dimensions of 1200×1000x1000mm although custom products can be offered, subject to volume. The construction is of heavy duty electro zinc plate finish which is long-lasting, robust and with a standard half-hinged gate access.

Re-usable and return packaging is the theme promoted by PPS who will also offer to manage client’s returnable transit packaging as one of its key services.

These wire mesh containers are being supplied to leading logistics operations, for warehousing or storage purposes and any application in materials handling where a strong and versatile solution is required.

PPS, based in the Midlands has over the past few years been steadily promoting its green credentials by persuading customers, mainly in the food industry, to convert from using cardboard boxes and packaging to re-usable and returnable plastic crates and boxes.

The company was doing this even before Product Carbon Footprinting (PCF), the method of assessing and measuring greenhouse gas emissions, came to the attention of the general public. Measuring PCF’s along the supply chain allows manufacturers, distributors, retailers and final customer to identify critical spots where greenhouse gas emissions occur and can be reduced.

However the motivation and ultimately the deciding factor in a switch from one-way trip cardboard boxes is that using returnable packaging is cost-effective. In other words it works financially.

Taking this a step further it is only financially viable if the equipment in question – in this case returnable transit equipment is correctly managed and returned for re-use. The traditional mindset of someone receiving goods in whatever form of packaging the goods arrive in then is that this packaging is at best to be thrown away or becomes the property of the receiving party.

As owners as well as managers of a large fleet of returnable transit equipment, in the form of crates, boxes and pallets, PPS cannot afford to have their working assets “lost” in the field. For that reason at the start-up of PPS the management instituted a robust policy of ensuring that anyone handling their equipment takes responsibility for it and they sign a Customers Agreement Form to that effect. In the early days of operations a small number of customers simply “forgot” they had signed this Agreement and lost, misused and in certain cases even sold some of the PPS equipment. The policy of PPS then and now is to vigorously pursue anyone deliberately breaching the terms of the Customer Agreement.

One particular customer PPS worked with towards conversion from cardboard boxes was a large poultry producer in Scotland. This customer had been sending out raw poultry products throughout the UK in cardboard boxes and had been following this practice for some years. PPS proposed the use of a nestable plastic crate having dimensions very close to that of the previously used cardboard box.

The trials were an immediate success on a number of fronts – the plastic crates were more robust than the cardboard boxes and during transport remained rigid whereas it was quite common for the lower levels of cardboard boxes to crush in the event of sudden braking of the transport vehicle. This meant that less of the meat had to be rejected due to spoiling of the carrier medium – i.e. the cardboard box.

An added advantage that arose out of the initial trials, and not one either PPS or the customer had foreseen was that instead of packing the normal 15kgs of meat per cardboard box 19kgs could be loaded into the PPS plastic crate, thus meaning fewer plastic crates were needed to transport the same weight of meat – another contribution towards the reduction of the Product Carbon Footprint.

In this particular example the combination of fewer plastic crates required and no need to dispose of used cardboard boxes, not only improved the PCF but critically resulted in a 12% cost reduction on a single trip basis.

Whilst there is no general rule to follow on direct comparisons, one of the UK’s leading crate manufacturers estimates that a standard plastic nestable crate as used by PPS will, over a five year period complete around 92 return trips. Even at the end of its active life cycle PPS has a use for the crates (and pallets) – these are sold back to a recycling company who grind up the products which can then be used to partly produce new plastic parts.

Another way to examine the advantages of plastic versus one-way trip cardboard boxes is the study carried out that shows that replacing disposable packaging with plastic returnable equipment will often pay for itself after only around 12 trips and generates considerable financial savings for our customers.

A number of potential customers would like to move to RTP but are put off by what seems to be a considerable upfront initial financial outlay. Although long-term it may make considerable financial sense to move to RTP there may not be the capital expenditure budget to meet the need.

This is where PPS steps in – not only will they supply the equipment, but manage it, wash it and repair it on behalf of clients.

Iain McArthur, Director of PPS said “We were promoting the advantages of Product Carbon Footprinting even before we knew the term existed! When we started operations a number of years ago we were aware of environmental issues connected with disposal of cardboard, but we primarily promoted our services based on a cost-efficient financial model. In other words our customers wanted to save money. We feel we now offer the advantage of not only helping customers take some cost out of their businesses, but we promote the feel-good contribution of helping to decrease the carbon footprint”.