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Recent News: 11 June 2009 - Quarantine - Wood packaging imported into Australia - Concern that plywood may admit forest pests has led to the withdrawal of earlier concessions by AQIS for plywood, even the hot-cured plywood normally used in Europe and North America. There are no changes in the requirements for sawn timber.
Now, no plywood is accepted for import into Australia without special treatment and ISPM 15 HT (56 deg / 30 min) is not permitted for plywood. Various plywood treatments are now acceptable, all more stringent than HT and can now include certain chemical processes. These are summed up in a new Datasheet 85h on our ISPM 15 page. Reconstituted wood such as OSB is exempted from any treatment as hitherto.
Portugal: Starting 16 June there will be tougher requirements to combat the spread of the pinewood nematode problem from Portugal into the rest of the EU. This is also summed up in new Datasheet 85g on our ISPM 15 page.....
Welcome to PalletLink’s new website which has been completely revised and updated to mark the 10th anniversary of our formation.
For those of you who don’t know us, PalletLink is a UK-based association offering advice on technical aspects of pallets and packaging. 
We are experienced in the methods and designs used by the industry at home and abroad and recognized as a trusted source by pallet and packaging manufacturers, suppliers and end users. We offer a rapid response telephone and e-mail hotline but also on this website we provide to members a wide range of downloadable datasheets currently numbering over 140, these Datasheets are listed at the foot of each page. To give non-members without a password a better idea of what we cover, we have made a few Datasheets across the site freely downloadable so if you want to view these free sheets, just browse through the subject pages where those titles in red at the foot of each page are free to view. However, the majority of Datasheets can only be viewed or downloaded by PalletLink members using their password, but Quick-Search works for all users of the site so you can see if the site has the information you require before you log-on (or join us). Or you can view the complete list of titles on page DATASHEET INDEX.
We welcome individual member companies, but PalletLink also provides a technical hotline service to the full members of both UK wood packaging associations TIMCON and NAPD. Full members of these two organisations are automatically members of PalletLink (see our NEWS page). To get full benefit from this website you will need a password and most PalletLink members already have theirs, but if you have missed yours, simply click the JOIN PALLETLINK page, complete and sign Form 3 then send it to us.
PalletLink also test wood packaging and pallets for UK manufacturers and as part of this we review new test methods and our datasheets include summaries of relevant test methods. We have produced publications for major bodies, for example, we produced the Wood Packaging Manual for Developing Countries for the UN Trade Centre in Geneva in 2004. Another project involved agricultural packaging where we were the main contractor for the Department of Trade and Industry and produced British Standard 7611: Potato storage boxes for mechanical handling.
If you are a pallet or packaging manufacturer you may need help to meet a customer’s unusual requirements. For example to produce pallets to DIN 15146, or decide whether a pallet is suitable for drive-in racking and for all these questions we have
a free member hotline. For many things eg. a VMF, GMA, CP3, or Europallet specification, you will not need to use the hotline as it is already on the site. We are steadily adding datasheets to reflect the most popular member enquiries, there are already over 140 downloadable datasheets with more planned for later in 2008.
If you are a supplier to the industry we welcome nail manufacturers, timber sawmills and user trade associations into membership. If you browse this website you will see we have experience of technical factors in many fields. The vast majority of member enquiries fit into the free advice category, but should you feel you have a particularly difficult problem we also offer ad-hoc technical consultancy. This is available to any client whether a PalletLink member or not. In the recent past consultancy has been for solicitors, UK Health and Safety Executive, a European nail manufacturer, a plastic pallet manufacturer and timber pallet recyclers. All PalletLink members receive a 25% discount on consultancy fees.
For your enquiries you can fax or e-mail us anytime, or telephone during office hours, there are three experienced staff to take your call. In the unusual event that we cannot easily find the answer, be assured that we never approach another PalletLink member to help us out, so your sales leads are fully protected.