35 Years of EPAL: International Anniversary Conference on 19 June 2026 in Munich

The European Pallet Association e.V. (EPAL) will celebrate its 35th anniversary with an international conference on 19 June 2026. More than 300 invited guests from industry, trade, logistics, science and politics are expected to attend in Munich – the city where EPAL was founded in 1991.

Dirk Hoferer, President of EPAL:

“The anniversary conference is the central event of the wooden pallet industry in 2026. It brings together the decision-makers and partners of the wood packaging industry to discuss current challenges and future developments in global pallet logistics. The anniversary conference is the ideal platform to develop new ideas for the future of the open EPAL pallet pool with a view to EPAL's past.”

The conference program will focus on topics such as the development of the timber market, European regulation, digitalisation, automation and artificial intelligence, as well as sustainability and circular economy. Top-class speakers from business, science and logistics will provide insights into current developments and show what demands the logistics of the future will place on companies in the pallet industry.

Jarek Maciążek, President of EPAL:

“EPAL's success over the last 35 years is also the result of the large international network of manufacturers and users of EPAL pallets. In addition to the diverse lecture program, the conference therefore also offers numerous opportunities for networking. Representatives of manufacturers and repairers of EPAL pallets will meet users of EPAL pallets and numerous industrial partners of EPAL. Guests from all over the world will be able to exchange experiences and jointly develop perspectives for the further development of sustainable logistics solutions.”

Munich is of particular importance as a venue for EPAL. The European Pallet Association e.V. was founded here 35 years ago. Since then, EPAL has developed from a European initiative for the standardisation and quality assurance of Euro pallets to the operator of the world's largest open pallet pool. Today, more than 670 million EPAL Euro pallets and over 20 million EPAL box pallets are in circulation worldwide.

Further information about the anniversary conference and the full conference program can be found at: conference.epal-pallets.org