George Raymond Sr. and Oliver Richter have been inducted posthumously to the Logistics Hall of Fame. These two individuals, considered “pallet pioneers,” are part of a group of 41 pace-setting logistics legends. The Logistics Hall of Fame was founded in 2003 and honors leading figures who have developed and promoted logistics and supply chain management throughout their careers.
Raymond (1890-1967), founder of forklift manufacturer The Raymond Corporation, was the inventor of the double-faced wooden pallet, patented in 1939. Raymond’s pallet is considered the first professional wooden pallet. Richter (1920-2014) was an Australian who, as trade manager of Brambles in the 1960s, developed a closed rental pool for load carriers and which became known as CHEP (Commonwealth Handling Equipment Pool).
Also named to the Logistics Hall of Fame is the UIC (Union Internationale des Chemins de Fer), which introduced the Euro pallet in 1961. In the 1970s, the Gütegemeinschaft Paletten (now known as National Committee of EPAL), partially took over the distribution and quality assurance of the Euro pallet. The European Pallet Association e.V. (EPAL), which was formed in 1991, has developed the pool idea and ensured the quality of the Euro pallet. Both UIC and EPAL were named to the Hall of Fame on behalf of their networks.
“The invention of the pallet, and even more so the establishment of functioning pallet pools, is one of the greatest milestones in logistics, as significant as the container invented by Malcom McLean. Without standardized pallet systems, high-performance logistics in the 21st century would be inconceivable,” says Anita Würmser, executive jury chairwoman of the Logistics Hall of Fame, explaining the decision of the expert jury. (Note: Dave Blanchard, chief editor of MH&L, is a member of the jury.)
“It’s an honor to have our founder recognized for a pivotal innovation that changed the trajectory of the logistics industry,” said Michael Field, president and CEO of The Raymond Corporation. “The invention of the double-faced wooden pallet centered on helping customers bring their operations to a new level of performance.”
