CHEP to expand its pallet and container pooling services into seven more countries

CHEP, the global leader in pallet and container pooling services, today announced plans to expand its operations in Central & Eastern Europe. CHEP will extend its existing pallets business – currently in 23 European countries – to cover seven additional countries: Romania, Bulgaria, Croatia and Serbia in the Balkans and the three Baltic countries of Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania.

CHEP Central & Eastern Europe President, Rodney Francis, said: "This is a strategic move in response to the needs of our customers. The supply-chain environment in Central & Eastern Europe is rapidly modernising and most fast-moving consumer goods companies are now using pallets for shipments. As a result, our customers are asking us to offer them the service and quality of equipment they enjoy in Western Europe."

CHEP has been operating in Central & Eastern Europe since 1998 and is growing strongly in the region with existing operations in the Czech Republic, Greece, Hungary, Poland, Slovakia, Slovenia and Turkey.

Mr Francis said: "Many multinational companies have made the decision to move operations into Central & Eastern Europe using the CHEP pallet pooling system after struggling with the inefficiencies and high costs of the white wood pallet exchange system.

"Through this expansion we can respond to our customers’ needs with enhanced services to help improve their operational efficiencies and reduce their supply-chain costs – at the same time as providing the additional environmental benefits of CHEP’s reusable system.

"Entering these seven countries will allow CHEP to strengthen its strategic partnerships with major global customers in the fast-moving consumer goods, produce and retail sectors, as well as to serve domestic customers in the fullness of time."

CHEP will also deploy local resources in each new country of operation to implement best practices and manage local customers’, retailers’ and service providers’ pallet usage.