Pallet maker gives jobs to Forces staff

A wooden pallet manufacturer has created nine jobs for exservice personnel in the county as Britain prepares for Remembrance Sunday.

Pooling Partners, one of the largest producers of wooden pallets in Europe, will send reusable stock to the Royal British Legion Industries (RBLI) site in Aylesford. The items will be repaired and cleaned up ready to be used again by customers across the UK. It sorts more than 1,500 pallets each day.

It has also taken delivery of a new shredder for waste wood which will then be used for biomass.

The investment will process 20 tonnes per week and save the business £80,000 per year in reduced waste removal costs, as well as cutting the business’s carbon footprint.

RBLI’s social enterprise is dubbed Britain’s Bravest Manufacturing Company because of the high number of injured veterans in its ranks.

Director Geoff Streetley said nine people with a disability had been given a “second chance at life” thanks to the relationship with Pooling Partners.

He said: “This is a significant operation that works extremely well because it enables pallets to be reused and get back into circulation very quickly which is essential in today’s circular economy supply chain.”