Efficiency or sustainability? That is the question. Or at least that was the question before the introduction of ALPAL. What then is ALPAL?
ALPAL is bulk packaging re-imagined. It is reusable, recyclable, efficient and effective. It is a 2-in-1 pallet and box solution that uniquely combines the best features of a plastic pallet, a flexible intermediate bulk container (FIBC) and an intermediate bulk container (IBC). Giving you the best of all worlds: rigidity to stack, flexibility to collapse and impermeability.
That’s what ALPAL is. However, and more importantly, why is ALPAL relevant? The simple answer is that ALPAL provides supply-chain transformation through circular efficiencies.
ALPAL is designed for maximum efficiency, with circularity at the centre. ALPAL’s innovation lies in its unique capabilities. The unit’s strength through innovative engineering allows it to both stack six units high and collapse in a 5-to-1 empty return ratio. That means that ALPAL users who historically used bulk corrugated boxes, which stack two high, can instantly increase their warehouse storage capacity by up to 3 times. Instead of building an additional two warehouses to meet growing storage demand, ALPALS can be used. From a transport perspective, ALPAL provides an 83% reduction in return trips. That means for every 1 rigid, non-collapsible container of the same size returned, six ALPALS are returned instead. By way of example, if a supplier uses wooden crates to transport their product, changing to ALPAL units would equate to the supplier completing 63 return trips a season versus their existing 375 trips. That’s a huge saving!
Besides this supply-chain optimization, what is the sustainability impact of these efficiencies? Does efficiency always involve a sustainability trade-off? Not with ALPAL. Improving storage utilization protects the environment from deforestation; preserves natural ecosystems and saves land from radical development that exacerbates natural disasters and exploits scarce resources. From another angle, storing more product per warehouse means running costs such as electricity and water are spread across a larger volume of product. This equates to producing more for less while still enabling growth but limiting consumption. From a transport perspective, the above real-world example takes 312 trucks off the roads to achieve those trips, alleviating road congestion, cutting carbon emissions and saving fossil fuels. The sustainability ramifications are enormous even if an ALPAL was a single-use solution. But ALPAL is reusable and recyclable too.
As a 100% recyclable and reusable solution, ALPALS have been used in certain applications for more than 10 years. Their durability and reusability mean land resources are protected from constant pressure to provide raw material inputs for new packaging units. This massive reduction in packaging production means a massive reduction in consumption of water, utility power and fossil fuels, as well as eliminating unnecessary waste. All these factors exponentially shrink an organization’s packaging carbon footprint. ALPAL is both a decarbonization strategy and solution; a forerunner of the zero waste to landfill goal. The heartbeat of ALPAL is circularity for enhancing a truly circular economy.
What if your bulk packaging could be an asset rather than an expense? A sustainability asset? And a driver of efficiency? What if the PPWR could be the best thing that ever happened to your business?
ALPAL. We box smart.