What ISPM-15 actually is — and why it matters
ISPM-15 is the international phytosanitary standard for solid wood packaging material. If you export out of the UK using pallets, crates, dunnage or bracing, your wood must be heat-treated or fumigated and permanently marked with the IPPC logo. Non-compliant shipments are refused, fumigated at the port or returned — always at your cost.
Who needs to care?
Anyone shipping physical goods to markets outside the EU (and in a growing list of non-EU scenarios into the EU as well). Automotive, aerospace, pharma and industrial exporters are the most exposed because their packaging is custom-built, not re-used pallet pools.
Heat treat or fumigate?
Heat treatment (HT) is the modern default: timber is held at a core temperature of 56 °C for at least 30 minutes. Fumigation with methyl bromide (MB) is available but progressively banned, restricted or discouraged depending on the destination country. Always specify HT unless a specific customer forces otherwise.
What a compliant crate looks like
- IPPC logo stencilled or branded on two opposite sides.
- Country code (e.g. GB), treatment code (HT or MB) and unique producer number.
- Debarked timber only — bark residue is a rejection cause.
- No staples through ISPM-marked timber without re-verification.
How Kentron supports exporters
Our industrial packaging team stocks HT-treated, ISPM-15 marked timber and delivers custom export crates, cradles and dunnage with full treatment certificates and photographic evidence. When regulations or customer specs change, you get a written update — not a surprise at the port.
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