Issue link: http://palletcentral.uberflip.com/i/1505351
24 PalletCentral • July-August 2023 palletcentral.com as well as work to extend the life of every pallet and to reduce waste. However, we have more work to do. Much of our carbon footprint is embedded in our transportation operations, and we are working to reduce our impact. We continue to replace older model tractors with new, more fuel-efficient models, work to implement route optimization software, and place continued focus on trailer cube utilization to reduce total transport mileage. 48forty and Relogistics also have long-term goals of introduction of electric vehicles as technology improves, additional facility automation to improve material reuse, and ultimately Net Zero Contributor Certification and Zero Waste Facility Certification. René Harpin President, Spec Wood At Spec Wood, we work closely with the mills. We recuperate and sell shorter pieces and lower grades. e mills are investing in technology to optimize fiber usage (thinner saws, optimizers, curve sawing, and more) and fewer cords of logs per thousand board feet produced (fewer trees, more cubic feet of finished products). ey are also investing in wood pellets production. Lumber brokers can also help with sustainability. We are a paperless company (do not use a box of paper per year). We do not print. We have 3+ screens, great ERP, and cloud-shared files. We also keep the material at the mills until we know when it will go. is allows us to optimize logistics, save freight, and use less fuel. Everybody, small or large companies, individuals, or together as an industry, can make a difference. Vincenzo Vitiello Sales Manager – Packaging & Recycling Division, IMAL SRL. Sustainability for IMAL is one of our key goals. IMAL, for example, manufactures and supplies complete lines to produce pallet blocks, stringers, and other products from wood "waste," so chips, sawdust, trimmings, and even wood recovered from a landfill can be used as raw material in the work process. Pallet blocks, stringers and other presswood products produced this way do not require new lumber, reducing the need to cut trees. Pressed pallet blocks also have better properties and are more sustainable in terms of energy efficiency since they are pressed at high temperatures, so already HT, thus avoiding the need to dry the product in kiln dryers (less thermal energy consumption). People are becoming increasingly aware of the environment, and this, together with some economic advantages, is prompting people to recycle more and more. As a European manufacturer, the percentage of our clients making sustainability-related inquiries is about 50 percent. Ten of the 23 pallet block factories (108 production lines) we have supplied within Europe use recovered wood from landfills. We supply machinery to clean and screen out contaminants. Pallet blocks are made from the wood recovered using this process. e production sites of the Imalpal group are all equipped with solar panels for generating electricity and heat throughout the year. We separate all waste materials for recycling on all premises. e Imalpal group's future goal is to make every product 100% sustainable. We already have lines making particleboard from 100% recycled wood; the same is happening with MDF. Now we are introducing recycled wood into OSB production as well; pallet blocks, stringers, and pressed pallets are already made from 100% recycled wood. Fuad Hasanovic Marketing Manager, Kamps Inc. At Kamps, we take the approach to prioritizing sustainability the same as any other aspect of our operations – with a customer-first mindset. We continuously invest in equipment, systems, and training for staff to be more efficient with our recycling capabilities. We also assist our customers in recycling non-pallet items – corrugated, plastic, scrap metal, etc. We also measure our transportation dwell times to reduce our idle times, empty miles, etc., resulting in fewer carbon emissions from our fleet. is will yield significant benefits for us as we have identified our fleet as the source of 63% of our carbon footprint. Our initiatives are customer and community- driven. More clients than ever have sustainability We are a paperless company (do not use a box of paper per year). —René Harpin