Press and Analyst contacts: For Immediate Release

Brian Beattie
SVP-International Marketing
CHEP
407.563.2060

Ron Margulis
RAM Communications
908.232.3230
ramcommunications@home.com

CHEP OPENS INNOVATION CENTER TO ADDRESS PRODUCT HANDLING CHALLENGES

Davenport, Fla., February 14, 2002: As part of its continuing effort to improve the process of delivering product through the supply chain, CHEP, the world leader in equipment pooling solutions, has opened a second Innovation Center here adjacent to the company’s Davenport Premium Service Center. The facility, which falls under the responsibility of Brian Beattie, Senior Vice President of Marketing, New Product Research and Development, is charged with supporting all facets of new product and technology development for CHEP.

"The Innovation Center is the leading product development and validation facility in the materials handling industry. The Innovation Center will help improve the flow of goods from the ingredient and packaging suppliers through the manufacturers and processors to the distributors and retailers by developing differentiated products and providing high quality validation and testing services," said Beattie. "Working with our customers, suppliers and third party partners, the Innovation Center will help us all better understand the interaction between CHEP products and those our customers place inside or on top of CHEP equipment."

The Davenport Innovation Center comprises a 12,000 square foot validation lab and a 2,500 square foot development space. The validation and testing equipment installed at the facility include:

• Precision Drop Tester- Used for the accurate and repeatable impact testing of small containers. It evaluates the durability and mode of failure of hand held totes (RPCs, etc.) and containers.
  
• Compression Tester- Capable of applying a compressive force of up to 50,000 lbs., the compression tester is used to simulate block stacking and racking of pallets and containers.
  
• Vibration Tester- A single axis vibration table that can operate in several different modes to replicate actual shipping conditions of pallets and containers
  
• Inclined Impact Tester- A system that allows the repetitive impact of material handling products against fixed obstacles. It simulates some of the known causes of product damage (fork lift truck impact) in a controlled environment where the cause and effect of abuse can be closely studied.
  
• Two Environmental Chambers- Capable of operating from –22F to 185F and from 20% relative humidity to 95% relative humidity, the environmental chambers enable CHEP to test products, materials and technologies under the most arduous of conditions. Because many of the new CHEP products are being manufactured from plastic resins, the environmental chambers allow us to fully characterize their performance.
  

The first Innovation Center was opened in 1997 in Parets, Barcelona, Spain, and supports the new product development group in Europe.

CHEP, a Brambles company, is an international pallet and container pooling company servicing manufacturers and distributors in the consumer goods industries; grower/shippers and receivers in the produce industry; packers, processors and distributors in the meat industry; home improvement, hardware & housewares manufacturers and distributors and suppliers, assembly plants and aftermarket retailers in the automotive industry. CHEP supplies its customers with high quality pallets and reusable containers from a comprehensive depot and premium service center network. The company is part of the worldwide CHEP organization, which operates in more than in 38 countries on six continents and controls more than 160 million pallets and 34 million containers. CHEP operating principles, service organization and computer tracking systems give participants a simple solution and improved efficiency in product delivery. Additional information on CHEP is available at www.chep.com.