Preparing packaging for 29 March 2019: pallets, ISPM 15 and strapping stock

The United Kingdom is scheduled to leave the European Union on 29 March 2019. If no withdrawal agreement is in force on that date, the UK becomes a third country for EU rules overnight. For a packing team the most visible effects are not in the strap or the closure. They sit in the timber under the load, in the stock room and in the purchase order.

This note covers what a buyer of strapping components can usefully prepare in the remaining weeks, based on the guidance published before 11 March 2019.

Wood packaging is the item most likely to stop a load

The UK government’s no-deal technical notice on plant health, in its version of 19 December 2018 (reissued under a new title in January 2019), said that in a no-deal scenario all wood packaging material moving between the UK and the EU would have to meet ISPM 15. That means treated, typically by heat treatment, and marked, with official checks possible on entry to the EU or after entry.

Pallets moving between the UK and other EU countries do not need the ISPM 15 mark under the rules in force in early March 2019. Trans.info reported on 6 March 2019, citing The Guardian, that fewer than one third of pallets used by British carriers would meet the standard. The same rule applies to crates and timber dunnage, not only to pallets.

Why does this matter to someone buying buckles, clips or strap? Because a non-compliant pallet found before dispatch, or at a border, has to be replaced. The load is cut free, moved to a compliant pallet and strapped again. That second strapping happens wherever the problem is found, often with whatever strap and closures are to hand.

Prepare the repacking point, not just the dispatch line

If your goods may need re-palletising at a forwarder’s warehouse or a port, agree in advance what will be used:

• The strap type and nominal width that matches the original packing, so the restrapped load behaves as approved.
• The matching closure: wire buckles for woven strap, sheet metal clips or friction welds for PET strap, seals for steel strap.
• The tool that goes with that closure, and someone who knows how to use it.
• Edge protection where the original pack used it.

A load restrapped with a different strap, closure or tool is a changed packing method. If the forwarder must improvise, ask for a photograph and a note of what was used so the receiving site knows what it is looking at.

Stockpiling strapping consumables sensibly

UK manufacturers are building stocks. Fortune reported on 1 March 2019 that the IHS Markit purchasing managers’ survey showed factories stockpiling parts and materials at record rates ahead of the 29 March date. Packaging consumables are a sensible part of that buffer, because a packing line without strap or closures stops just as surely as one without product.

Size the buffer from usage rather than instinct: straps per unit load, closures per strap, unit loads per week, multiplied by the weeks of cover you want. Then plan how the extra stock will be kept.

Consumable	Storage and stock-control point
PET strap	Keep away from heat and direct sunlight, following the strap supplier’s storage advice
Woven polyester strap	Keep rolls dry and protected so the edges are not damaged
Galvanized wire buckles	Store dry and off the floor; keep cartons closed until use
Phosphated wire buckles	Indoor, dry storage in closed cartons; ask the supplier for storage advice on the finish
Clips and steel seals	Keep each nominal width and profile in labelled, separate locations

Label every delivery with its supplier reference and receipt date and issue the oldest stock first. A larger stock also makes substitution errors more likely, so keep similar variants physically apart. The receiving checklist is a useful format for logging what arrives.

Documents and contract terms

In a no-deal exit, goods moving between the UK and the EU require customs formalities that intra-EU trade does not. Make sure your customs broker has a commodity code, origin and value for every packaging item you import or export, including strap and closures shipped as spares.

Review open purchase orders with delivery dates around 29 March:

• State that pallets and crates must be ISPM 15 compliant, whichever route the goods take.
• Agree who bears the cost of delays, re-palletising or inspection holds.
• Name the delivery point and the delivery basis precisely, so responsibility for clearance is clear.
• Keep a contact at the forwarder who can authorise repacking quickly.

A short pre-29 March checklist

1. Confirm that every outbound pallet, crate and piece of dunnage carries a valid ISPM 15 mark.
2. Agree the restrapping method with forwarders that may have to repack.
3. Set a consumables buffer from actual usage and plan the storage space for it.
4. Separate and label similar strap widths and closure variants.
5. Check commodity codes and origin for packaging items with your broker.
6. Update purchase orders with pallet requirements and delay responsibilities.

If your packing uses woven strap with galvanized wire buckles, or PET strap closed with sheet metal clips, list the strap reference, nominal width and quantities you want to hold, then share them through the enquiry page so availability and delivery terms can be discussed.