Palletways has no plans to introduce an arbitrary weight limit on pallets, according to its chief executive.

James Wilson, the chief executive of Britain’s biggest pallet network in terms of volume, said that it has no plans to introduce a maximum weight limit.


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In a recent interview of interest to everyone from suppliers of pallet wrapping machines to pallet users, Mr Wilson responded to the decision by Fortec and Palletline to place a 750kg weight limit on normal tail-lift deliveries. Palletline will continue to deliver heavier pallets if customers pay additional charges for a specialist service.

No membership call

Mr Wilson said that Palletways believed it was possible to load both tail-lifts and vehicles within recommended criteria and in compliance with health and safety requirements without a weight limit in place. He said that unlike Fortec and Palletline, the network had not had membership calls to introduce a limit when it comes to tail-lift deliveries.

Like most businesses in the modern world, including general retail outlets and suppliers of equipment such as http://www.packaging-machines.co.uk/, Mr Wilson recognises the increased call for home deliveries but says the focus should be placed on investing in driver training and collection arrangement in order to deliver items safely and as the customer expects.

He said that this was a better solution than imposing a maximum weight limit, which he likened to calling motorbikes dangerous and asking for them all to be taken off the roads.

Fastest growing sector

Mr Wilson added that B3C was now one of the Palletways network’s fastest growing sectors in terms of revenue, accounting for a total of 18 per cent of British turnover. This marks an increase of ten per cent over a four-year period.

According to Mr Wilson, haulier members of the network had thus invested money in small vehicles fitted with equipment and tail-lifts in order to facilitate the delivery of items to city private addresses in order to optimise the potential of the opportunities on offer.

Palletline became the first network in the UK to reduce pallet weight limits, claiming that the move was made in order to improve health and safety processes.

The company itself called the move a “bold decision” but said it had been backed by the majority of its members and was the right course of action amidst growing industry concerns about driver safety.