The UIC (Union Internationale des Chemins de Fer) is the mother of the Euro pallet and developed it in 1961 as part of a working group. The international railroad association promoted the standardization of pallets and obliged all signatories to an agreement to comply with the standards, manufacture and repair of the Euro pallet.

In the mid-1970s, the Gütegemeinschaft Paletten, now the National Committee of the European Pallet Association e.V. (EPAL), partially took over the distribution and quality assurance of the Euro pallet. The European Pallet Association e.V. (EPAL), which emerged from this in 1991, has successfully developed the pool concept further and ensured the quality of the Euro pallet. Both associations receive a place in the Hall of Fame on behalf of the networks behind them.

"The invention of the pallet, and even more so the development of functioning pallet cycles, is one of the greatest milestones in logistics, just as important as the container invented by Malcolm McLean. Without standardized pallet systems, high-performance logistics in the 21st century would be inconceivable," says Anita Würmser, Executive Jury Chairwoman of the Logistics Hall of Fame, explaining the decision of the expert jury, which includes 70 well-known personalities from business, science, politics and the media in 13 nations.

The fact is: After the introduction of pallets, loading times for trucks and freight wagons were reduced by up to 90 percent. The conveyor technology and shuttle systems in highly automated warehouses in this country are all adapted to the 800 x 1200 x 144 millimeter dimensions of the Euro pallet. Another advantage of the load carriers made of eleven boards, nine wooden blocks and 78 nails: They can be repaired at low material costs and are fully recyclable at the end of their life cycle.

The pioneers of the pallet will be officially inducted into the Logistics Hall of Fame at a gala reception with Federal Transport Minister Volker Wissing on November 29 in the Wintergarten of the KaDeWe department store in Berlin.

Neil Humphrey becomes TRATON Logistics Leader of the Year 2022

The TRATON Logistics Leader of the Year Award will also be presented at the reception. This year, the trophy goes to Neil Humphrey, President of HAVI Supply Chain. The British manager is regarded as a pioneer of sustainable supply chain practices and digitalization, a committed networker and a tireless driver of digitalization initiatives and pilot projects with new technologies.

The 58-year-old manager gained decades of experience at Unilever in corporate governance and supply chain management with a strong focus on sustainability. He joined the contract logistics company HAVI in 2017, where he has headed up the Supply Chain division since 2018. Under his leadership, the company joined the Science Based Targets Initiative (SBTi) in 2019 - at the time as one of the first ten logistics service providers worldwide. HAVI committed to reducing carbon dioxide emissions by 40 percent per tonne delivered by 2030. Now that the program has got off to a successful start and climate research has set new global standards, HAVI is currently looking into increasing this target.

Under Humphrey's leadership, HAVI is also working with customers and suppliers to drive action on climate change. For example, the company is helping food manufacturers to achieve ambitious emissions targets. HAVI has also entered into a partnership with a commercial vehicle manufacturer to switch 70 percent of its European delivery fleet from diesel to alternative fuels. The target was achieved in 2021.

In addition to supporting projects with alternative fuels, environmentally friendly logistics centers or e-trucks, Humphrey and his team have also launched a pilot project with hybrid trucks in Stockholm. The aim is to introduce a climate-neutral hybrid truck solution throughout Europe. The vehicles use their batteries for operation in the city, but use recycled frying oil as fuel outside the city. The used oil is collected when delivering to restaurants, processed in a special plant and finally filled into the tanks of the HAVI trucks - a perfect cycle.