To heat treat pallets for export, we place them in our kiln and heat it to a specific temperature. This temperature sits in a zone that is high enough to kill any pests in the wood but not so high as to weaken the timber. We then stamp the pallet to mark that it has been heat treated and issue a certificate that recognises the pallets are free from pests and other bugs.
What Is Heat Treatment?
Heat treating involves heating materials to a specific temperature. The material is maintained at that temperature for a measured amount of time before being cooled at a specified rate. Heat treatment is used as a tool for the wood to obtain required properties for specific jobs, shipments, and uses.
Heat treatment is a process used to sanitize material developed by the IPPC (International Plant Protection Convention) to secure, prevent, and control the spread of plant pests. The heat treatment process ensures that the pallets are sanitized, safe, clean, and ready for the job.
Why heat treat export pallets?
Heat treating pallets used for export ensures that your goods will have an easier time passing through quarantine. Heat treating kills the bugs in the wood and the pallets can be stamped with ISPM-15 certification. We’ll also issue a compliance certificate after the heat treatment and update our records to show that the pallet has been properly heat treated. Heat treating your pallets helps you minimise costs in the export process. The longer your stock sits in quarantine and the longer it takes for your products to hit the market, the bigger risk to cash flow. It’s strongly recommended to heat treat your pallets to ensure they stay in quarantine for as little time as possible. And for the best chances of passing quarantine quickly, you should ensure that all your timber packaging in the consignment is marked with ISPM-15 compliance stamps.
ISPM 15-Compliant Heat-Treated Wood Pallets
ISPM 15 stands for International Standards for Phyto-sanitary Measures No. 15 and applies to all wood products, wood packaging, wood pallets, and crates. Pallets in compliance with ISPM 15 have been heat-treated and are guaranteed safe for international shipments.
According to the standards of ISPM 15, all pallets must be treated for pests through one of the approved methods such as heat treating, fumigation, vacuuming, and steaming. Heat treatment is the best way for companies to ensure their products and shipment materials comply with ISPM 15.
Advantages of Heat Treated Pallets
The main benefit of ISPM15 Heat Treatment is that it eliminates many pests and diseases as well as eliminating the possibility of potentially damaging organisms being transferred across the world. It is an extremely important measure as the effect of diseases or pests outside of their natural habitat could be devastating to the timber industry.
From a business perspective, it also means that shipments can move with ease on their journey as it is an internationally agreed upon and recognised symbol, meaning that fewer checks are needed, resulting in less time and money lost due to delays. This is because the accredited stamp, along with the certificate associated with the treatment, acts as a passport for the timber pallets, preventing a lot of frustration in the process.
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