Pallet Rental Frequently Asked Question

FAQs

 

"PPS Equipment are always able to answer my questions and know their services and industry inside out. They are industry leaders in this field."

 

What is RTE and RTP?
RTE is Returnable Transit Equipment and RTP is Returnable Transit Packaging. Same thing in fact and for us we have a large pool of plastic crates and boxes, plastic pallets and also plastic bins or pallet boxes. These terms also refer to metal roll cages or indeed any medium used to transport goods and which is returned after use.

Can I buy used or second hand PPS pallets or crates?
No, these are only  used in our pooling system and come in our unique company colours.  We can however sell non-PPS equipment. Contact us for special offers.

What is an Integrated Loop System?
We supply the client with an agreed volume of equipment such as plastic crates and plastic pallets. The client then packs his goods onto the equipment, despatches it and enters details on our own online asset tracking system called Enable. We then arrange collection of used equipment from these third parties, return it to one of our wash centres for washing and any necessary repairs and then the system is repeated – a “loop” system.

OK, but all I want is to rent some plastic pallets for internal use. Can you provide this service and how much does it cost to rent pallets?
Firstly, yes we can offer pallets and other equipment to you on a “rental only” basis. The cost is dependent on a)the volume of pallets or crates you want to rent and b)the rental period or term. We don’t provide “ball park” figures on rentals or any of our services until we know all the parameters, and then we offer firm prices.

I have my own plastic crates but need to have them washed – do you provide this service?
Yes, at both of our sites. There are restrictions on size obviously, but please tell us what you’re looking for. We agree the wash criteria with each client before washing – this determines the depth of cleansing required, are there labels to be removed, do you require shrink wrapping of washed equipment etc. All this is discussed
with the client prior to commencement of any washing contract.

Can you wash large bins, pallet boxes or Dolavs?
Yes, we have a dedicated bin wash line for this.

Can I rent equipment from you in custom colours?
In general no; the PPS pool or fleet of equipment is provided in our own custom colours to distinguish it from equipment owned by retailers etc. We could however rent equipment to you in your custom colours but we would require long-term contracts. You can discuss the details of this with us, should this be of interest to you.

Why should I rent returnable transit equipment from you? Wouldn’t I be better off just buying it myself?
It really comes down to what you want the equipment for and how you intend to use it! If you want a quantity of plastic pallets for example purely for internal use at your location and you have the capital expenditure clearance to purchase then yes, you would probably be better simply purchasing the equipment yourself.
However, if your intention is to use pallets, crates or any other returnable transit equipment to send your goods out to third parties, you have to be sure you can get it back.

It’s easy to send it out but how do you retrieve it? If your volumes are large enough you may need to consider hiring a dedicated Equipment Controller (at what cost?).

And there is also the potentially delicate issue of when a customer “loses” your equipment do you charge him for the loss? Would a potential argument over lost equipment and who pays for it damage your relationship with that customer?

What can you do that we (or an Equipment Controller) couldn’t do? Surely you face the same issues?
Capital investment and we are continually adding to that pool to replace damaged or old stock. We have years of experience in the logistics of retrieving used equipment from around the country. In the past we have experienced issues with third parties who have “lost” our equipment. We have always managed to resolve such conflicts as everyone who handles our equipment signs a “Users Agreement” that stipulates they will not lose, abuse or misuse our equipment and that they will return it to us or pay for its replacement. So, if a conflict does arise, it is between us and the party who has lost the equipment, rather than you with a valued client.

Lastly, equipment does need to be washed after use, especially in the food industry – we have two industrial wash sites at Measham in the Midlands and in Grimsby. We can also repair our equipment.

Do you operate throughout the UK?
Yes, we have a sophisticated logistics network that allows us to operate from the North of Scotland to West Wales to Cornwall (and all points in between).

Can you arrange collection of used equipment from overseas?
The very simplistic answer is yes, in theory; however we usually find retrieval costs from anywhere other than nearby countries is usually prohibitive. We don’t rule anything out however until we have examined the particular circumstances at length.

Your Grimsby operation has traditionally been involved in the fishing industry, but can you service other industrial sectors?
Definitely – we currently have a marketing initiative underway to offer our services to other food sectors such as fresh produce, meat, dairy etc.

Can you offer your services to industries other than the food sector?
In theory yes, however due to our very strict hygiene standards and compliance with ISO 22000 we cannot afford even the slightest risk of possible contamination when washing plastic food crates for example. The other sector where our services are used is the pharmaceutical industry.
 
Do you operate a lease purchase scheme for your equipment?
No,  but we do offer short - medium - or long-term rental options.

We increasingly hear more companies promoting “sustainability” and “improving the carbon footprint”. Where do you stand on these issues?
We recently commissioned a report, carried out by the Humber Seafood Institute to measure the PPS carbon footprint for returnable packaging compared with single use packaging. They compared our standard nestable plastic crate used extensively in the poultry sector with a one-way trip cardboard box and similarly a comparison was made between our returnable fish box with a single use expanded polystyrene (EPS) box.?

The improvement in carbon footprint was 52% for our poultry crates and a remarkable 89% improvement using our plastic fish boxes.

Click here to see our Carbon Footprint report.

Can we visit either (or both) of your sites?
By all means! In fact we actively encourage customers or potential customers to visit our sites to see for themselves how professional we are. We are regularly audited by some of the major retailers and other key accounts and our Operations Department are only too keen to co-operate. Please contact us to arrange a site visit.

Do you publish a Price List for your services?
No, nor do we give so-called “ball park” prices! The reason for this is several fold – our prices tend to be related to the volume of equipment clients want, how long they want it for,  does it need to be washed after use and to what standards, do you need transport costs built in, what are turn-around times at third parties etc?

We have the formulae to calculate prices accurately but we need the operational criteria to be able to provide these. In other words each price is unique to that specific customer.

About the BRC Global Standards
The BRC Global Standards are a suite of four industry-leading Technical Standards that specify requirements to be met by an organisation to enable the production, packaging, storage and distribution of safe food and consumer products. Originally developed in response to the needs of UK members of the British Retail Consortium, the Standards have gained usage world-wide and are specified by growing numbers of retailers and branded manufacturers in the EU, North America and further afield.

Certification to a Global Standard, which is achieved through audit by a third party Certification Bodies, reassures retailers and branded manufacturers of the capability and competence of the supplier, and reduces the need for retailers and manufacturers to carry out their own audits, thereby reducing the administrative burden on both the supplier and the customer.

Click here to view our products, or please call us with your requirements on 01530 515 333.

FAQs