Report on the inspection and market surveillance activities for EUR pallets carried out by MAV-REC Palet S.R.L.
Today, I am speaking with Florin Morar, the inspector responsible for verifying Euro pallets at MAV-REC Palet S.R.L. He shared with me what results have recently been achieved on the Romanian pallet market and what objectives the company has for the future.
Mr Morar, could you please introduce your work?
– The main activity of MAV-REC Palet S.R.L. in Romania is the inspection and supervision of the UIC/EUR pallet market, commonly referred to as Euro pallets. This activity has been carried out in Hungary by our associated shareholder since 2004, and we have been present in Romania since 2009. On behalf of Rail Cargo Austria and Rail Cargo Hungaria, we assess pallet manufacturing and repair facilities, and if they comply with standards UIC 435-2 and 435-4, Rail Cargo Hungaria issues the applicant’s licence. Subsequently, our inspectors verify the production or repair process on site.
Could you elaborate on what you mean by market surveillance?
– Market surveillance means removing from the system manufacturers and repairers that do not hold a licence. MAV-REC Palet S.R.L. employees continuously check unauthorised facilities and “roadside” traders. Our company continues to place particular emphasis on identifying and eliminating counterfeiters of Euro pallets from the system. We have contacted the Romanian authorities, and in the near future we hope to be able to completely eliminate counterfeiting, as in the other countries of the European Union. It is extremely dangerous for someone to place their goods on a counterfeit pallet.
Could you explain this risk in more detail? As a non-expert, it is not entirely clear to me what could be dangerous about a pallet.
– Pallets that are legally produced and repaired are manufactured in accordance with standards and appropriate technologies and are subject to our ongoing inspections. A Euro pallet must withstand a load of 1,500 kg. If a pallet comes from illegal production, fewer nails may be used, materials of improper dimensions or quality may be used, or unsuitable wood species may be selected. Good-faith users purchase these pallets and, because in logistics the load capacity of standard pallets is well known, they load them up to the maximum permitted weight. Euro pallets have been standardised since 1960, so in logistics this load capacity is basic knowledge. You do not have to be a logistics professional to be exposed to an accident caused by non-compliant pallets. Many DIY stores and supermarkets use racking systems where goods are stored on pallets several metres above customers. In such situations, the integrity of the goods is the smallest concern. Our primary task is to support pallet users through training and specialist consultancy so that they purchase only legal pallets, the list of which is available on our website.
We recommend that pallet users purchase pallets from repairers holding UIC–EUR licences. These pallets comply with current technical standards, are fitted with authentication clips and unique repairer identification codes, and provide a guarantee of the safety of stored and transported goods, as well as protection for handling personnel.
Do authorised facilities always manage to maintain high quality? How do you ensure that only compliant products reach the market?
– At licensed partners we carry out inspections once a month or, if necessary, even two to three times, on a spot-check basis. In this way, the facilities we inspect place superior-quality EUR pallets on the market. We are proud that we have never received complaints from abroad, which is why we are respected members of the international UIC/EUR working group. The group meets online once every two months and twice a year in person. At these meetings, the interests of Romania and Hungary are represented by Mr Járik Tamás, Technical Director of our majority shareholder in Hungary, who is also the Technical Director of MAV-REC Palet S.R.L.
Could you also tell us about your objectives?
– Our main objective is that, as in Hungary, in Romania as well we reach more than 100 pallet users each year through the training and consultancy we provide. We want pallet users to store their goods only on legal and safe pallets. I do not believe that nowadays there are still companies that would intentionally distribute their own products on counterfeit items imitating a protected brand.
MAV-REC Palet S.R.L.
Florin Morar | +40 742 133 115
office@mavrec.ro