Apeldoorn Pallets

Martin Boezaart assisted his father in collecting broken pallets for firewood. "What a waste, you can also skillfully repair them and then sell them," he thought. This led Martin to establish his Apeldoorns Palletbedrijf B.V. at the age of 23 in 1987.

It started in a farm shed in Wilp-Achterhoek, covering a modest 450 m2. Today, the company on Dijkgraafweg in Apeldoorn has become a major player in the Dutch and international pallet market. Hundreds of thousands of pallets are sorted, recycled, and produced annually.

Core Business: Recycling

Recycling broken pallets is the core business. This benefits both sides. Companies no longer need to discard broken pallets as waste and simultaneously receive usable pallets in return. Martin explains, "A wooden pallet can easily last 30 years and is repaired on average seven times. Companies choose our pallets due to Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) and our competitive pricing strategy. Another crucial factor is our delivery reliability. Companies don't want to run out of pallets, as it would halt production or exports."

The Apeldoorn facility includes an in-house workshop and a 17.000 m2 storage area spread across multiple halls and outdoor space. This enables storage of 130.000 pallets, ensuring prompt and consistent delivery. The ten permanent staff members, some with over 25 years of service, transform recycled wood and used pallets into new custom-sized pallets or casings, ready for reuse. Smaller wood components are ground up and repurposed in playgrounds, achieving 100% recycling. Additionally, collapsible edges, various sizes of plastic pallets, and crates can be ordered.

Export Growth

"We serve around 750 customers weekly, and some even daily, by collecting pallets or delivering custom orders. Around 30% of our revenue now comes from abroad. This growth is largely due to Dutch clients operating internationally, which led to new contacts. We currently have about 40 major clients in Germany, and this number is still growing. Our clients are our best salespeople (word of mouth). We hardly engage in acquisition efforts. There are customers who have been with us since the beginning, and they still do business with us; that's something we're proud of."

Looking ahead, Martin expects the annual growth of 10 to 15% to continue. The share of revenue from international markets is projected to become more significant. Apeldoorns Palletbedrijf B.V. stands for sustainable and eco-friendly entrepreneurship.

Export Countries: Germany, Belgium, France, United Kingdom, Spain, Sweden