The International Union of Railways (UIC), the worldwide association representing the rail sector, strongly rejects the content of a number of oriented media articles that were recently published about a so-called inferior quality and lack of quality control on the production and circulation of “EUR” wooden pallets for international exchange.
UIC will not engage in any bashing via media channels since it is convinced that these allegations do not correspond to the truth and that the quality speaks for itself. In particular UIC is committed to support a regular exchange between users, railway units and providers with the aim of offering a joint high quality standards for customers in Europe.
With the “EUR” brand UIC has fulfilled the stringent quality requirements concerning the production and maintenance of “EUR” wooden pallets for the last 55 years. Under the licence of Rail Cargo Austria AG and other UIC railway undertakings, millions of wooden pallets are being produced in Europe with the brand “EUR”. The users of the pallets benefit from the consistent high quality of the pallets produced.
No chance for counterfeiting nor inferior quality
In order to ensure quality for our customers, active prevention measures against counterfeiting are being defined and implemented. Pallets produced under the licence of railway undertakings such as Rail Cargo Austria AG have the brand name “EUR” in an oval shape and the “UIC” sign on the left block.
Furthermore, a forgery protection in the form of a so-called quality control bracket can be found on the middle block with an individual stamp of the respective licensee.
On the basis of these features, every pallet can be assigned to a precise licence holder.
Thus, counterfeits have no chance and will be strictly prohibited and prevented.
Inferior quality has no space in the UIC network. For us, the user is the clear focus. An expensive system cannot be equated with a higher quality. The “EUR” pallets offer the same quality in comparison of other providers. The Rail Cargo Austria AG is currently thinking about lower licence fees to support the market. A decline in quality is not being given despite potential price reductions. The current UIC standard will be retained and not changed in the future.
Check by independents experts
In order to ensure the quality level for customers and partners, we are counting on independent auditing entities such as SGS Germany GmbH for checking the “EUR” pallets. SGS, with over 40 years’ experience, is the worldwide leader in terms of examining, testing, verifying and certifying. Thus, for instance EPAL pallets – besides “EUR” pallets – have been checked by SGS until recently. Additionally, we are putting great emphasis on a certified safety management system to guaranty the highest possible standard.
In addition to the continuous dialogue and exchange with our customers and partners, we are further persuing an open exchangeable pallet pool and are in discussion with other pallet organisations to offer a high-quality product to our users and potential users.
