Pall-Ex is coordinating the collection of aid in the UK at its central hub in Leicestershire where it will then be transported to the new Pall-Ex Poland hub in Łódź.
This service is being donated by Pall-Ex Group’s UK to Poland linehaul partner PKS, based in Gdansk.
From Gdansk the aid will be transported to a Pall-Ex group depot in Rzeszow, close to the Ukrainian border.
During the first week of the conflict, Mark Steel, MD of Pall-Ex Group’s international business units travelled to Poland to speak with the team in Łódź.
During his visit, he worked with the team at Pall-Ex Poland and PKS to organise the logistics around getting aid from charities in the UK to the border with Ukraine.
Steel said: “We realised the importance of providing reliable, fast and most importantly free logistical support to the charities and the people of Ukraine very early on.
“The team at Pall-Ex Poland is working hard to ensure the network continues to operate as efficiently as possible, whilst also agreeing to support with this really important aid work.
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“Everyone at Pall-Ex Group is united in our efforts to ensure we support those affected by the conflict in Ukraine and we must say a huge thank you to the team at PKS for their help with this operation.”
Pall-Ex Group’s chief executive, Kevin Buchanan, has also urged other members of the Association of Pallet Networks (APN) to follow Pall-Ex’s lead in utilising their network models across Europe to provide efficient transport for aid to Eastern Europe.
He said: “We have a responsibility to utilise our networks across Europe to support everyone affected by the humanitarian crisis in Ukraine.
“The APN is helping to unite pallet networks across the UK and I am proud that Pall-Ex Group already has an operation in progress at this difficult time.
“So far, from what we are hearing from our colleagues in Poland, the aid efforts have been somewhat disjointed, but we hope that this initiative will provide greater sustainability and coordination to the charity supply chain.”
Pall-Ex Group said it is working closely with other members of the APN to ensure that the sector plays its part in delivering vital aid to the people of Ukraine.