How SABIC® HDPE M80063S pallet boxes support your daily apple supply!
When entering Italy either via Switzerland or Austria you will find yourself in the Isarco- or Adige valley respectively. Here you will observe impressive fruit plantations, which have existed for many decades along side the riverbeds.
80% of the harvest from these fruit plantations is apples. This northern part of Italy produces the majority of Italy’s total apple harvest amounting to 2,2 million tons per year (2000).
This puts Italy number one on the European list of apple producing countries and an impressive second in the world.
Of course it isclear that to guarantee a supply of apples for the whole year, it is important that the fruit is well preserved. This takes place in large refrigerators where optimal storage conditions are maintained. It is not only a matter of cooling but also the air composition has to be correct, which needs a lot of expertise.
A refrigerator consists of an average of 40 compartments. Each compartment can contain up to 400 tons of apples, which are stored in approximately 1100 pallet boxes. These are stacked up meters high. The whole conservation operation is managed by co-operations, sometimes with as many as 5 refrigerators on one site. So, don’t worry that your apple supply will run out.
Traditionally the pallet boxes were made of wood but already 20 years ago, plastic pallet boxes were developed.
During the last 10 years the demand for plastic boxes has increased drastically. Our customer Palbox is a leading European producer of plastic pallet boxes for agricultural applications with production locations both in Italy and Austria.
The pallet boxes are made of High-Density Polyethylene (HDPE), and compared to wood have a number of important advantages.
- Easy to clean
- Nearly the half of the weight of a wooden pallet box
- Stable weight (influence of rain water)
- Tolerance dimensions are better, especially with the advantages of new logistic technology
- Completely recyclable
- Less sensitive for mold growth
- Better aeration during the conservation process
- Does not absorb water from the fruits (better conservation)
- Longer lifetime
- No maintenance
- Customizable (Colours/Logos)
SABIC® HDPE M80063S proved to satisfy the demands required by this application. The pallet boxes made from this material satisfy food contact regulations and are moreover insensitive for chemical and atmospheric influence including UV radiation.
The pallet boxes have a standard ground surface of 112x112, 112x100 or 110cm; the height can vary from between 59 and 82,5 cm, volume range is between 460 and 700 litre. The boxes can be produced in various colours.
The product must be able to take a stacked load up to 5000kg (at 5°C). Further they also have foot bases, which make it easier for transportation with a forklift truck.
There are open and close variants; the open ones (used for fruit conservation) have an advantage of automatic rainwater drainage during the harvest.
