By law, all timber transit packaging must be compliant with ISPM 15 in order to be shipped internationally. ISPM 15 (International
Standards for Phytosanitary Measures for Wood Packaging) are the globally
recognised standards for the treatment of all solid wood packaging materials.
In order to be ISPM15 compliant, wood packaging must be heat treated. This
means that wood is heated to a minimum temperature of 56 degrees Celsius for at
least 30 minutes.
Roughly 95% of all international deliveries are made using
some form of solid wood transit packaging, whether it be timber pallets, timber
packing cases or timber crates. However, the international timber trade greatly
increases the risk for the transfer of foreign pests or even wood diseases from
one country to another if unprocessed. Understandably, this could have the
potential to have terrible effects on native timber, as well as affecting a
country’s ecosystem. In some cases, insects carried in timber packaging could
even cause illness to humans.
ISPM 15 compliant heat treating is therefore essential to
prevent the dangerous spread of pests and disease. By heat treating wooden
packaging solutions, insects, bacteria, disease and other threats to ecosystems
can be killed off, leaving wooden packaging safe to be transported. An ISPM 15
mark allows packages to be traced, and verifies that the wood used is free from
any infestation.
At Nicklin, you can be sure that our wooden packaging
solutions comply with international standards, as not only are our products
marked as ISPM 15 compliant, you can trust that all timber is correctly heat
treated as we have the facilities to do this on site. We have a specialist heat
treating kiln on site, allowing us to take complete control of the ISPM 15 heat
treating process of all of our timber pallets, cases and crates. Our customers
can be confident that everything in our power is done to prevent the spread of
pests and disease through global shipping.
If you are unsure about which countries outside of the
European Union require timber transit packaging to be ISPM 15 compliant, you
can view our global guide for more information.
