Our Company

The Australian government develops the Allied Materials Handling Standing Committee to provide efficient handling of defence supplies during World War II. 1945: After World War II, the US Army leaves behind a wealth of materials handling equipment at their military bases in Australia. The Australian government combines this asset base with existing infrastructure to form the Commonwealth Handling Equipment Pool, or CHEP. 1949: The government decides to privatise the equipment-handling industry and mandates the sale of the organisation now known simply as CHEP. 1958: Brambles, a business formed in 1875 with experience in materials handling, acquires CHEP. The business experiences rapid growth and, within a few years, operates the largest pool of pallets and containers in the Southern Hemisphere and the largest hiring fleet of forklift trucks in Australia. 1974 - 1991: CHEP launches equipment-pooling operations in 14 countries across Asia-Pacific, Europe, South Africa, Canada and the USA. 1975: CHEP launches its Automotive Solutions business in Australia, followed by Europe in 1993. 1980-1991: CHEP launches it's Intermediate Bulk Container (IBC) business in the automotive market in Australia and then extends into general industry 1992: CHEP introduces the four-way entry wood block pallet, which revolutionises the materials handling industry by improving handling efficiency. 1999: CHEP launches Total Pallet Management (TPM) in the USA.