Brambles is in a unique position to address these opportunities, given CHEP’s and IFCO’s strong positions in adjacent Western European countries and the depth of their relationships with retailers, growers and consumer goods companies in the region.

In the 2012 financial year, CHEP’s presence in pallets this region will expand to include Romania, in addition to its existing presence in the Czech Republic, Greece, Hungary, Poland, Slovakia, Slovenia and Turkey.

Through IFCO’s and CHEP’s reusable plastic crate (RPC) businesses, to be combined from October 2011, Brambles also provides crates to the fresh produce sectors in these countries, as well as Croatia and Serbia.

In total, Brambles sales revenue in the Central & Eastern Europe region increased 28% in the 2011 financial year, prior to the contribution of IFCO, which the group acquired in April 2011, with particularly strong contributions from Poland and Turkey.

With its population of approximately 80 million people, strong economic growth and considerable addressable market for pooling, Turkey is among the main drivers of growth for CHEP and IFCO in Central & Eastern Europe.

Having entered the country in 2010, CHEP now serves more than 1,000 supply-chain locations in Turkey through its pallet business. Leading Turkish companies such as white-goods manufacturer Arcelik, sugar group Konya Seker, citrus exporter Özler Tarim and industrial materials group Sisecam have joined multinational players such as Ford, Unilever, Procter & Gamble and Danone Waters in using the CHEP system.

CHEP also secured its first RPC business in Turkey in July 2011, serving French retailing group Carrefour and its fresh produce suppliers and providing an additional platform for growth for the combined IFCO and CHEP RPC businesses.

Under the arrangement, for an initial three-year term, CHEP will issue approximately eight million RPCs to more than 200 Carrefour fruit and vegetable suppliers throughout Turkey, supporting Carrefour’s growth plans in the country.