Leaders
Logistics is often called the back bone of any country. Entrepreneur Priya Prakash further explains that ‘pallets’ (flat, wooden structures used for handling, storing or transporting goods) have been the lesser spoken about ‘backbone’ of the logistics industry. Often made out of Pine wood, a large majority of these pallets end up reaching the landfill after a single use while only a handful are reused. Priya identified the unorganized and unsustainable nature in which a majority of the pallet manufacturers function. To counter this, she founded Eco Pallet, a startup that manufactures light weight and high strength, environmentally friendly pallets.
A commerce graduate with an MBA ‘on the roads’ Priya is striving to bring a paradigm shift in the pallet industry. Having had prior experiences of working for various companies that were creating futuristic products. Priya, brought along the learnings from her prior industry experience to break into the unorganized pallet business. Through her endeavor at Eco Pallet, Priya is marching ahead to fulfill her aim in making the industry understand the importance of sustainable pallets.
In an in-depth interview with the Women Entrepreneur team, Priya speaks to us about the various advantages that Eco Pallet brings to the table and much more. Here are choice excerpts from the conversation.
Introduce Us To Eco Pallet. What Makes The Product Truly Unique?
Incorporated in 2015, Eco Pallet makes sustainable, eco-friendly, certified, and Patented pallets. We are patented manufacturers of EPS, Hybrid combination of wood and EPS and all varieties of wood spray pallets in India. These pallets are completely safe, extremely light weight, cost effective and can be customized. They are also FDA/Medical certifiable.
To ensure safety Eco Pallets are flame resistant, water resistant, bug & mildew resistant and temperature & thermal resistant. Their zero exposure to nails and splinters, anti-static and hermetically sealed (ISPM complaint) properties make our Pallets unique. Our Pallet’s come with the ability to resist impact, have abrasion resistance, oil & chemical resistance and are shock absorbent as well. Eco Pallets ensures hygiene, they are anti-fungal and have increased weight bearing capacity. Our Pallets are recyclable and repairable, making them the right choice for a sustainable future.
Eco Pallet is Environmentally Compliant. Our pallets contain no food sources or the natural habitat for any insects. The fully jacketed coating used by Eco Pallet also has no crack, crevices or nesting areas for insects and is fully washable.
What motivated you to create high-tech, composite pallets as an alternative to traditional wood and plastic shipping pallets? Tell us about the business challenges that you had to face while taking the product to the market.
Pallets are the backbone of logistics. I can recount numerous instances where pallets have killed logistics and the business. While trying to sell the pallets, I understood the true underlying environmental sustainable problems, which were and are totally ignored by every corporate using pallets. Companies ‘want’ or ‘have’ decided to be penny wise TODAY. The very challenge and the satisfaction on changing a mindset was one of the main motivation for developing Eco Pallet.
Eco Pallet’s first pallet was a combination of EPS and HIPS. Though every corporate understood the importance of light weight pallet, fuel saving and so on, breaking the misnomer of EPS being a hazardous product was my first challenge.
How Does Eco Pallet Help In Creating A Sustainable Solution To The Environmental Problems Caused By The Usage Of Traditional Pallets?
A major environmental issue is the one- time usage of these pallets which is wasteful to say the least. Almost every pallet in the world is made from pine wood. One pine wood tree, which grows to its fullest in 19 years, makes 40 pallets of size 1200*1000*150. From this 40 pallets on average, 32 pallets reach the landfill. Only eight Pallets are reused.
"Eco pallet, is the only company today in this entire world who make sustainable pallets, which are also cost effective along with a multitude of advantages"
Eco Pallet, is the only company today in this entire world who make sustainable pallets, which are also cost effective along with a multitude of advantages. Eco Pallet saves all the 40 pallets by spraying and sealing the life of the pallet. This way we save cutting of more trees, apart from the unique ability to save a scrap pallet and give it an extended lease of life. We also have pallets which are not made from wood and can be recycled to the fullest even if it’s a one-time use pallet. Eco Pallet alone has the ability to let the countries rotate the pallets with other countries today. Our pallet is the only solution to end the one time usage problem.
What Are The Various Roles And Responsibilities That You Shoulder As The Primary Leader Of The Firm?
Although Eco Pallet has been in the market for six years so far, we still consider ourselves as a start-up as we decided to develop our own product. MD is merely a title and the beauty in a small organization is that everyone dons multiple hats and gets to learn a lot. Today I can proudly say that I have exposure in IP, New Product development / Establishment, Certifications/ Licencing, Handling ROC requirements, Developing Machine for a new product, Installation of Machines and so on. As a business leader challenges are a part of our daily lives and I thrive on it. Personally I do a thread-bare analysis on my challenges and then face it methodically.
What Is Your Vision For The Future? How Do You Keep Yourself Well Aligned With The Various Industry Evolutions?
I would consider it as my personal milestone achievement, if the Government of India decides to turn all their wooden pallets into Eco Pallet without scrapping them and giving us an opportunity to do our magic on the old pallets. I would love our country’s produce to be stored safely on sustainable and hygienic Eco Pallet.
For past six years my focus has only been on Eco Pallet. I am a voracious reader and thrive on ResearchGate. Knowledge is power and being informed helps me keep ahead. Thankfully, my investors have given me absolute power to do everything required to keep ourselves aligned with this ever changing environment. In our case fortunately we are the ‘Change- Makers’.
As A Successful Business Leader What Would Your Advice Be To Young Women And Girls Who Aspire To Become Business Leaders And Entrepreneurs In The Future?
Success is subjective. I have been blessed with an amazing family where my parents never treated me or my two sisters differently, as much as the world around us reminded us that we were women. I am married to a Fighter Pilot from the IAF who has sacrificed his career of 20 years to support me realize my dreams. My daughter understands my love for my work. To all the women and girls out there, don’t make or let anyone make you feel guilty for loving your job. Focus, be consistent and don’t give up.
Priya Prakash, MD, Eco Pallet
A passionate entrepreneur with prior experience of working on futuristic products, Priya is the MD at Eco Pallet, a startup that manufactures light weight and high strength, environmentally friendly pallets. A believer in the power of knowledge and learning, she is on a mission to making the logistics industry understand the importance of sustainable pallets.
