The European pallet-pooling specialist, a division of the Euro Pool Group, continues its policy of optimising its European network of Service Centres by strengthening its operational reach in France, the United Kingdom and Portugal, with the opening of four new Service Centres.
The European specialist, LPR – La Palette Rouge, is experiencing strong growth at both the national and international levels in Europe. LPR Supply Chain Manager Europe, François Gay, stressed that "This increase in the number of Service Centres ensures a high level of quality for LPR's red pallets, as well as both environmental and economic benefits for our customers. We have invested in the new centres to boost productivity and reduce distances, and consequently the CO2 footprints of our leased pallets."
In France, LPR opened its thirteenth Service Centre in January in the Greater Bordeaux area, a strategic location for the pallet leasing specialist. "Many of our customers are located close by, especially producers of fruit & vegetables, a growth sector in which we are making a serious long-term investment," adds Vincent Duhamel, Sales Manager at LPR France. The purpose of this new 4,500-m2 site, where 18 permanent jobs have been created, is to collect pallets from the region's major retailers, sort them, repair them, and then deliver them to the producers in the agri-food sector. To ensure optimal management of the million pallets that will be processed here every year, LPR issued a call for tender and has chosen Alizair, a haulage company with which it has been working for 20 years, for its know-how and knowledge of the local economy. "At LPR, we encourage entrepreneurship and good human relations, and we like to help our partners grow," explains Philippe Therage, Operations Manager at LPR France, who also adds: "Opening this new Centre in France will enable us to reduce our transport distances by nearly 400,000 km a year, making a really significant reduction of more than 440 tonnes in our C02 emissions."
In the United Kingdom, LPR is developing its partnerships with both the logistics specialist XPO, formerly Norbert Dentressangle, and S&R Smith in the London area. These developments give LPR access to two new automated Service Centres: a site in Castleford (Leeds) operated by XPO, and another in West Thurrock operated by S&R Smith, where pallets can be stored under shelter.
Lastly, in Portugal, LPR has opened a new site located in a strategic area of the country (Castanheira do Ribatejo). Every aspect of pallet management is performed there (sorting/repairs/painting/ISPM 15 heat treatment). For Flavio Guerreiro, Sales Manager at LPR Portugal, "Strengthening the structure of our network enables us to respond to current market needs and our customers' expectations, with an effective and sustainable solution." With the opening of this twelfth depot in the country, LPR now covers all of Portugal, which means improved logistics systems as well as reduced CO2 emissions by being closer to its customers, thus providing them with substantial savings while at the same time fulfilling the commitments of its environmental policy, announced several years ago.
"These four new Service Centres across Europe significantly increase LPR's storage capacity and confirm its wide geographical coverage," concludes François Gay.
As usual, these technical developments go hand in hand with a commitment to customers in terms of environmental and purchasing policy: PEFC certification, which LPR was the first pallet-pooling company to obtain in 2010, was renewed for five years in June 2015. LPR stresses that all the wood used in its pallets comes from either certified or uncontroversial sources. The legality of wood products is an essential element of this chain of custody. It includes a risk assessment to ensure that the company's products are not derived from illegal forestry activities.
About LPR-La Palette Rouge
LPR-La Palette Rouge, a Division of Euro Pool Group, is a pallet-pooling company for manufacturers and distributors in the fast-moving consumer goods sector. LPR operates throughout Europe, providing a full pallet service to its customers and their retail partners. The company manages more than 70 million pallet movements per year, throughout Europe. It has a turnover of 170 million Euros.
About Euro Pool Group
Euro Pool Group is the European leader in logistics services for returnable packaging in the fresh produce sector. Euro Pool Group is composed of two divisions, Euro Pool System (EPS) and the La Palette Rouge (LPR).
PRESS LIAISON:
For LPR-La Palette Rouge: Agence Wepa - Julien ELOY - +33 (0)6 63 01 13 76 - julien.eloy@agencewepa.com - http://www.agencewepa.com