How this local company is making headway with its environmentally friendly innovations

Before a sack of rice reaches the shelves of your neighbourhood supermarket, it has to travel thousands of miles from its source. From the manufacturing plant to the shipping port and the destination warehouse, there is one easy-to-miss, but invaluable, item that keeps the goods padded and protected: pallets.

Pallets are wooden bases often used by warehouses to stack, store, protect and transport goods as they are being handled by equipment such as forklifts, pallet jacks or conveyors. Without pallets, goods cannot be transported, and the supply chain will be interrupted.

Case in point: At the height of the Covid-19 pandemic in Singapore in 2020, there was a shortage of wood pallets from Malaysia. As many companies here were reliant on Malaysia for pallets, they were unable to transport their goods. Products were stranded at the port and stocks ran low despite consumer demand.

Thankfully, LHT Holdings, a home-grown pallet manufacturer, was able to plug this gap with a ready supply of locally manufactured pallets. Better yet, it was able to do so in a sustainable manner.

By leveraging a wood waste recycling plant it owns - the first to be established in Singapore, back in 1999 - LHT did not have to rely on natural resources to produce pallets. It had the technology to convert wood waste collected from around the island into an engineered compressed wood that meets industry standards and is ready for use. The product is called "Technical wood".

Says Ms May Yap, LHT's chairman, chief executive and managing director: "I am a strong believer of seeing problems as opportunities, especially during difficult times like these."

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In 2009, LHT worked with A*Star's research institute Singapore Institute of Manufacturing Technology (SIMTech) to develop and deploy a Pallet Leasing and Tracking System that enables clients in the fast-moving consumer goods (FMCG) industry to leverage a shared pool of pallets managed and maintained by LHT. This was a game changer in a sector where players have to allocate resources to manage the large volumes of pallets accompanying their fast-moving goods.

With the introduction of a sharing economy model, clients do not need to manage and maintain their own pallets. This not only saves them time and cost, but also ensures they enjoy a ready source of quality pallets whenever they need them.

"There are many hidden costs involved in managing pallets, such as those that come with disposal and repair. There are also additional costs incurred in shipping empty pallets back to the production bases. Our pallet rental system lifts these costs off clients so that they can allocate more resources to their core business," Ms Yap says.

"Enabling players in the supply chain to share resources is not only beneficial to their respective bottom lines, but also plays a big part in advocating a business model that embraces sustainability."

The rental pallets are tagged with radio frequency identification (RFID), reducing the risk of loss of valuable goods in transit. By accessing a shared process management platform, clients can have visibility of the exact location of each pallet (which is loaded with their products) at any point in the supply chain. Furthermore, those with automated warehouses can leverage the RFID technology to store and pick inventory more efficiently.

Even as LHT continues to work on solving pain points faced by the industry, sustainability does not take a back seat. In 2018, LHT collaborated with A*Star SIMTech again to replace the wooden pallets used in the Pallet Leasing and Tracking System with a more sustainable material, in an effort to work towards a circular economy.

This material, called wood plastic composite, is created from a mix of plastic and wood waste. Using this recycled plastic to produce the pallets not only gives waste a new lease of life, but also strengthens the pallets and extends their lifespan.

Says Ms Yap: "By doing research and developing disposed plastic into a usable material, we hope to be able to inspire more to do the same. This is important for our planet."

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Under Ms May Yap's leadership, LHT has not only flourished, but also pushed the limits of innovation while being socially conscious. PHOTO: LHT HOLDINGS​​​​​

Under Ms May Yap's leadership, LHT has not only flourished, but also pushed the limits of innovation while being socially conscious. PHOTO: LHT HOLDINGS​​​​​

[scald=259076:article_inline_image] Under Ms May Yap's leadership, LHT has not only flourished, but also pushed the limits of innovation while being socially conscious. PHOTO: LHT HOLDINGS​​​​​

[scald=259076:article_inline_image]

Under Ms May Yap's leadership, LHT has not only flourished, but also pushed the limits of innovation while being socially conscious. PHOTO: LHT HOLDINGS​​​​​

Under Ms May Yap's leadership, LHT has not only flourished, but also pushed the limits of innovation while being socially conscious. PHOTO: LHT HOLDINGS​​​​​

Under Ms May Yap's leadership, LHT has not only flourished, but also pushed the limits of innovation while being socially conscious. PHOTO: LHT HOLDINGS​​​​​

For its innovations in its industry, LHT is recognised as an Honouree under the Technology for Good category at the Brands for Good 2021/2022 awards.

Coming from humble beginnings and armed with just a diploma in sales and marketing, Ms Yap juggled multiple jobs, ranging from reception to inventory to accounts, in the early days of the company's establishment in 1977. But it was her enterprising spirit and tenacity that have enabled her to rise through the ranks in an industry traditionally dominated by men.

Under her leadership, LHT has not only flourished, but also pushed the limits of innovation while being socially conscious.

Says Ms Yap: "I want to encourage others to always be brave and keep an open mind. With constant, thoughtful innovation, I hope that we can reduce our reliance on natural resources and move forward as a sustainable industry."