Plans to launch a Chinese division of Palletforce are "well underway", with a pilot expected to take place in Shanghai next year.
The network’s chief executive Michael Conroy told MT that the Chinese business won’t carry the Palletforce name because of translation issues, but that it will be a division of the business.
“It’s exciting,” said Conroy. “It’s a great British success story. The pallet sector has done fabulously and we’re taking something great over there. We’ve worked with Chinese investors who invested in Palletforce and they’ve been massively supportive.”
Conroy said the model wouldn’t be exactly the same as the UK’s, partly because of the size of the country.
“China doesn’t have pallet networks in the way we understand them. But the model can exist. They move freight, but obviously it’s much bigger, so you can’t have just one pallet hub in the middle of the country.”
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He added that Palletforce is already connected with haulage companies in China ahead of the pilot.
“China has one of the most vibrant economies in the world,” he said, “and even though it’s slowed down, it’s still growing faster than any other economy.”
The network’s transferable model was one of the key drivers behind Palletforce owner EmergeVest’s acquisition of the business last year, “as well as it being a good business”, Conroy added.
“The work for the pilot is well underway, and it’s nice for a Chinese company to be buying our technology, isn’t it? Politics aside, we’re a great country. We shouldn’t forget that.”
