London-based KraftPal Technologies, a company that offers packaging and shipping alternatives to wood, composite, plastic, and other solutions, announced on Thursday that it has raised $123.9M (approx €108.89M) in a fresh round of funding.
The investment was made by Pasaca Capital Inc., a California-based private equity firm.
Dr. Charles Huang, Chairman of Pasaca, says, “We are excited about KraftPal’s innovative corrugated pallets and what they will do to facilitate more cost-effective and sustainable solutions in this industry. We are pleased to invest in KraftPal and accelerate its global production capacity. This will undoubtedly cause a fundamental transformation in the way the world transports and stores goods and materials.”
A sustainable and cost-effective solution in supply chain
Founded in 2012 by Gregor Brajovic, KraftPal Technologies have developed proprietary technologies for both corrugated cardboard pallets and the production process.
The company claims its pallet designs meet the same international logistics standards as for wooden pallets in regards to performance characteristics. KraftPal’s automated mass-production manufacturing process allows it to quickly deliver fully sanitised, customisable pallets at scale. It provides technical and commercial solutions with internal assistance across the globe under the KraftPal turnkey license.
Currently, KraftPal is operational across Europe and the Middle East and utilises a high-speed automated system to manufacture durable, lightweight and recyclable corrugated pallets. Its aim is to improve performance, cost, sustainability, and efficiency in the way companies transport and store goods.
In December 2021, after various trials in the region, KraftPal opened its first manufacturing facility in the Middle East. Aiming to deploy 23 additional production machines at 3 strategic locations in Saudi Arabia, the company has drawn up plans to launch the first mega factory concept in the pallet industry to meet the high demand in the region. Construction work on the first 60,000 sq.m plant is already underway.
Capital utilisation
KraftPal claims that the funds will help expand the production of its lightweight, eco-friendly, low-cost, and highly durable corrugated pallets and accelerate a massive paradigm shift throughout the pallet industry.
Gregor Brajovic, CEO of KraftPal, says, “Our pallets can replace up to 30 per cent of the wooden pallets entering the market each year. We’re honoured to attract this investment, which is the largest ever in this industry. This investment demonstrates Pasaca’s confidence and support of our vision of the future of the pallet industry and allows us immediately to scale up our production capacity in Europe and North America.”
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