A new British and European standard will ease the manufacture of pallets and supply of used ones by permitting a lower corner block height.

Lobbying by the National Association of Pallet Distributors (NAPD) led to the relaxation of BS EN 13382, which means that 95mm minimum height blocks can now be supplied for pallets instead of 98mm.

Peter McCabe of the NAPD said: ‘Every pallet maker knows that to buy fresh sawn block timber at 100mm is easy but that a few months later it has dried naturally and shrunk down to about 95 or 96mm. The old 98mm block requirement could therefore sometimes present a problem to pallet suppliers.’

&#8220The old 98mm block requirement could sometimes present a problem to pallet suppliers”

NAPD’s Peter McCabe

Extensive trials with pedestrian pallet trucks have also convinced truck manufacturers to modify their standards to allow for a minimum of 95mm. The new standard will not apply to Europallets.