iGPS Calls Upon U.S. Department of Justice and Florida Attorney General to Investigate Abusive Trade Practices and Cynical, Manipulative Political Practices

ORLANDO, Fla., Jan. 6, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- In a letter to the U.S. Department of Justice and Florida Attorney General's Office, Intelligent Global Pooling Systems (iGPS Company, LLC), operator of the world's first pallet rental service to provide all-plastic pallets with embedded radio frequency identification (RFID) tags, is calling for a formal investigation into the misleading and abusive trade practices of the wood pallet industry.  Today's actions by the wooden pallet industry that spread false and misleading information about the safety of plastic pallets epitomize the reckless and disreputable character of the industry.

"Asking a politician in his final minutes in office to submit a letter, such as the letter former U.S. Senator Christopher Dodd sent to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration at the obvious request of the wooden pallet industry, is cynical and disingenuous," said Bob Moore, Chairman and CEO of iGPS.  "There is not a morsel of truth in former Senator Dodd's letter.  Either the Senator was purposely misled or he decided to do a friend a last-minute favor by repeating spoon-fed mistruths and scare tactics," Moore said.  

"Senator Dodd's last-minute move is puzzling in light of his recent vote for the landmark Food Safety Bill recently passed by Congress.  As part of that bill, the Congress specifically expressed its concerns about wood pallets and the risk they pose to the nation's food supply.  And unlike Senator Dodd's last-minute gamesmanship, the Food Safety Bill was the subject of more than a year's worth of debate, testimony and hearings, all done in a transparent and responsible fashion.

"Those reading Senator Dodd's letter should ask themselves the following questions:  Was Senator Dodd aware of a series of independent tests that showed that up to 30 percent of wood pallets contain E. Coli and Salmonella, just to name a few of the deadly pathogens that are commonly found on wood pallets?  Was Senator Dodd aware that millions of important drugs were recalled in 2010 because of wood pallet contamination?  Was Senator Dodd aware that wood pallets were responsible for some of the worst and most deadly fires in the nation?  Frankly, Senator Dodd should be ashamed of leaving office in this fashion," Moore added.

"This is just another regrettable example of the cynical and scurrilous tactics on which the wooden pallet industry has relied.  The correlation could not be clearer: as more companies abandon wooden pallets for cleaner, safer and smarter alternatives, the more outrageous and desperate the wooden pallet industry's behavior has become.  This reprehensible behavior is a blemish on the entire logistics industry.  Instead of devoting its billions of dollars to addressing the well-publicized shortcomings of wood pallets, the wooden pallet industry instead abuses our political system in an attempt to fend off innovation and competition," Moore concluded.

Unlike the wood pallet industry, iGPS has made a major investment to improve the safety of our supply chain.  iGPS' unique technology, including four embedded RFID tags in each pallet, enables manufacturers and growers to track shipments through the supply chain and implement quick safety recalls when necessary.

iGPS is also setting a new standard in pallet hygiene, as its pallets are easily cleaned, do not absorb fluids that can cross-contaminate food and never require treatment with toxic pesticides or fungicides, like TBA.  In fact, iGPS' pallet is the world's only rental pallet to receive Food Equipment Certification from NSF International, the foremost testing and certification authority with respect to food-related equipment.  

iGPS' pallet provides shippers and receivers with measurable sustainability benefits, as well.  An independent life cycle analysis has documented that iGPS pallets are dramatically better for the environment than both one-way and multi-use wood pallets on every commonly-measured metric, including global warming, ozone layer depletion and ecotoxicity.  Over the course of five years, iGPS customers have cumulatively prevented the destruction of nearly 750,000 trees, saved 750,000 gallons of fuel and saved over 16 million pounds of greenhouse gas emissions.

About iGPS

iGPS operates the world's first pallet rental service providing shippers and receivers with lightweight, 100 percent recyclable all-plastic pallets with embedded RFID tags.  Its highly engineered platform—the world's most advanced shipping pallet—is rapidly replacing wood as the platform of choice among the world's most innovative companies.  Businesses that switch from wood pallets to iGPS realize game-changing savings—as much as $2 per unitized load—thanks to lower transport costs, reduced production downtime, reduced product damage and fewer rejected loads.  iGPS' pallet is also a major advance in supply chain hygiene—a platform that is easily cleaned, will not absorb fluids that can lead to contamination and never requires treatment with toxic pesticides and fungicides.  An independent life cycle analysis has documented that iGPS' solution is dramatically better for the environment than both one-way and multiuse wood pallets.  Launched in March 2006, the company has created nearly 2,000 new green jobs in the U.S. and is led by pallet and supply chain veterans with decades of experience.  iGPS (www.igps.net) is headquartered in Orlando, FL and operates its state-of-the-art National Sales and Innovation Center in Northwest Arkansas.

SOURCE iGPS