CABKA-IPS

CABKA-IPS uses recycled plastics to make pallets

“Our plastic pallets are sustainable, cost-effective and recyclable”
Pieter De Brabandere, co-owner

CABKA-IPS offers its customers boxes, pallet boxes and one of the world’s most extensive ranges of plastic pallets. “By recycling, we keep our products in a closed ecological circuit.”

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CABKA-IPS makes its plastic pallets in Ypres. The company also has sites in Germany, Spain and the United States. “For 35 years, we have been developing and recycling products based on plastic,” explains CEO Jacques Vanmoortel. “We deliver our pallets in over 80 countries. In addition to our standard products, we also develop customised pallets adapted to the client’s specific supply chains. We use recycled plastic whenever possible. It is not only cheaper than new materials, it is also better for the environment.”

A constant weight

Plastic pallets offer many benefits compared to wood. “Wood will never die out as a raw material for pallets,” stresses Vanmoortel. “And that is not our ambition. Even so, plastic has tremendous potential to grow, as this material has several specific qualities. Plastic lasts much longer, is easier to clean and does not create dust or splinters. A plastic pallet also provides a uniform and constant weight, whereas wooden pallets become heavier when they are wet. Plastic has one large disadvantage: the waste must not end up in the environment, as it is very harmful. That is why we are making the effort to recycle as much as possible.”

Doing our own grinding

“70 to 80 per cent of our pallets are made from recycled plastics, such as polyethene (HDPE), polypropylene (PP) or polyolefins (PO). The only pallets we make from new HDPE or PP are those that are required to satisfy strict hygiene rules, for example, because they come into direct contact with meat or fish. The recycling is carried out partly at our own sites. In Belgium and Germany, for example, we recover pallets and other plastics and grind them ourselves to reuse them as a raw material. We also work with several partners supplying recycled raw materials.”

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Exchange value

“Worn-out and damaged pallets can be returned by our customers at any time. We tend to define a price per kilo or arrange a swap. The client then receives a new pallet in return for several old ones. In this way, he avoids the cost of processing waste and even gets some money for it. CABKA-IPS then ensures that the recovered material remains in a closed ecological circuit.”

Continuous production lines

The economic advantage of plastic pallets is quite logical, claims Vanmoortel. “They cost more to buy than wooden pallets, but you can use them for much longer.

Cabka IPS

Sectors Plastics ›