The Commonwealth Handling Equipment Pool (CHEP) is the global leader in pallet and container pooling services, serving customers a wide range of retail and industry supply chains, including consumer goods, fruit and vegetables, meat, home improvement, beverages, raw materials, petrochemicals and automotive industries.

The company is registered as a free zone company operating out of the Jebel Ali Free Zone.
A Brambles company, CHEP employs more than 7,500 employees in 38 countries with its global headquarters in the US city of Orlando in Florida. Brambles is a leading global support services group, providing a variety of industrial and business services, including pallet and plastic container pooling, waste management recycling, information management, contract-based industrial services and specialised transport and equipment rental.
“Our pallet and container services deliver exceptional value for the supply chain and most importantly allow customers to focus resources on their core businesses,” a company spokesman said. The pallet and container pooling provides benefits to customers throughout their supply chain, he added.
The company issues ready-for-use pallets and containers from its service centres to manufacturers and growers who load their goods and ship their products through the supply chain using a CHEP pallet or container. At the end of the supply chain, the receiving retailer or distributor off-loads the goods and returns the pallets or containers to the nearest company service centre.
The company inspects the pallet or container and ensures it meets quality standards for the next customer. The ready-for-use pallet or container is then issued to the next customer for its customised use and movement through the supply chain. This system, where high-quality pallets and containers are constantly maintained, controlled, tracked and reused to benefit the entire supply chain, is the company’s pooling services, the spokesman explained.
“No other company in the world can match the equipment pooling capabilities of CHEP.  It leverages extensive global coverage with industry-leading experience to deliver the most efficient pallet and container pooling services for its customers. Its sophisticated control systems, advanced logistics capabilities and vast pallet and container pool allow them to satisfy the shipping platform needs of the world’s largest manufacturers and retailers,” he said.
Hennie Fourie, general manager for the company’s UAE operations, talks about the wooden pallets that will be made available in the country. “CHEP Middle East currently has more than 65,000 pallets available and production is an ongoing process. The company will introduce to the UAE and other GCC markets the 1 m x 1.2 m four-way wooden pallet, a standard pallet that can be utilised in all modern production, warehousing and distribution facilities,” he says.
“CHEP  Middle East FZCO is currently involved in a number of pallet-pooling projects with various companies ranging from beverages and container glass to fast moving consumer goods. International customers include giants such as Nestle, Pepsi, Wal Mart, Unilever, Tesco, Carrefour, Kellogg’s, Procter& Gamble, Kraft and GM.
“In order to provide a regional pallet-pooling service the company will ultimately have a network of service centres throughout the GCC. Currently it provides services in the UAE, but this will be shortly extended to Saudi Arabia and Kuwait. Processed timber imported from South Africa is currently being used in the manufacturing and conditioning processes. Paint and nails are procured from local companies.”
The company has been on the leading edge in the development of pallet-level RFID solutions for the supply chain, investing more than five years of resources and launching the largest pilot in a real supply chain application. Major global retailers have signalled their intent to adopt the technology, enabling real-time product tracking and corresponding savings in labour and product handling through automated data capture.
CHEP’s innovation centre located in Orlando is an industry-leading development and validation facility that addresses supply chain issues. The Orlando Innovation Center has more than 15,000 sq ft of design, development and testing space.
“It is important to note that the company’s pallets are and will always remain its own property, and are never sold or intended to be sold,” said the spokesman.