What are CHEP Pallets and Where Did They Come From? (2024)

Did you ever wonder where CHEP pallets come from?

These blue CHEP pallets were used to provide efficient handling of defense supplies during World War II. When the war ended in 1945, Americans returned home, leaving behind millions of blue pallets at their military bases in Australia. With this asset base and established infrastructure, the Australian Government continued to endorse the organization after the war to support the national economy.

In 1949, the industry was privatized and sold to the Commonwealth Handling Equipment Pool (CHEP). Brambles Limited, a company created in 1875 by Walter Edwin Bramble and well experienced in the materials handling industry, purchased CHEP on April 24, 1958.

Over the years, people have asked why CHEP pallets are blue? The answer is that CHEP paints its pallets blue. CHEP uses blue as a pallet color coding aid as well as a marketing advantage. The blue color makes its pallets easier to identify.

Today, the company is headquartered in Sydney, Australia and has operations in 45 countries, employs approximately 7,500 people and has a pool of approximately 300 million blue US Navy pallets and containers.

And that’s the story of CHEP pallets!