Book treatment
Quantity, footprint, destination country and your sail date.
Five steps, all of them documented.
Debark check
ISPM-15 requires debarked wood. A single strip of bark on one bottom board voids the whole unit, and it is the error we catch most often on incoming stock.
Load and probe
The chamber is loaded and temperature probes are driven into the thickest members in the least favourable positions — not the easiest ones.
Cycle
Core temperature taken to 56 °C and held for a continuous thirty minutes. The chamber logs the whole curve, not just the peak.
Mark
IPPC wheat symbol, US country code, our registered facility number and the HT treatment code, applied on two opposite sides, legibly and permanently.
Record
Batch number tied to your shipment reference, retained here and emailed with the packing list. If a port queries the load, it is an email, not a week.
All of them avoidable.
- Mark present but weathered illegible after a yard stay in the rain
- Marked on one side only — inspectors want two opposite faces
- Treated platform, untreated dunnage or blocking inside the load
- Bark remaining on a board, which voids compliance outright
- Treated pallet repaired afterwards with untreated boards
- No batch record available when the port asks for one
Two different objectives, two different documents.
Heat treatment is a phytosanitary measure — it kills pests. Kiln drying reduces moisture content, usually to 19% or below, and prevents mould and dimensional movement. A kiln cycle often passes through ISPM-15 temperatures along the way, but the documentation and the purpose are separate.
If your programme needs both — export plus a mould-sensitive product — say both, and we will run both and document both.
The full explainerTreatment, answered.
Can recycled pallets be ISPM-15 compliant?
Yes, and most of what we treat is recycled. Every component must be debarked and the repair boards must be treated too — which is why we treat after repair, never before.
Does the mark expire?
No. Treatment is permanent as long as the platform is not subsequently repaired with untreated wood. That single caveat voids more marks than anything else.
What about fumigation?
Methyl bromide fumigation is still technically an ISPM-15 option but is being phased out almost everywhere for ozone reasons, and plenty of destinations no longer accept it. We do not offer it.
Do plastic or metal pallets need treatment?
No — ISPM-15 covers solid wood packaging only. Engineered wood products such as plywood and OSB are also exempt, but a plywood crate on a solid-wood base still needs the base treated.
How quickly can you turn a batch?
Same day on stock we are already holding, typically 48 hours if the platforms need repair first. Tell us the sail date and we will work back from it.
The checklist, the moisture table and the paperwork.
Heat treatment is phytosanitary and kiln drying is not. If your programme needs both, specify both.
- Every component debarked — a single strip on one bottom board voids the unit
- Core temperature 56 °C held for 30 continuous minutes, probed in the thickest member
- IPPC wheat mark with country code, registered facility number and HT treatment code
- Mark applied on at least two opposite faces, legibly and permanently
- Loose dunnage, blocking and bracing treated and marked independently
- Any post-treatment repair made with treated material, and the unit re-marked
- Batch record retained, tied to your shipment reference, issued with the packing list
- Methyl bromide (MB) avoided — phased out in most destinations and refused by several
| State | Moisture content | Mould risk | Note |
|---|---|---|---|
| Green, off the saw | 60–120%+ | Very high | Heavy, moves as it dries, blooms readily. Rarely what you want. |
| Air dried, yard stored | 15–22% | Moderate | Typical of outdoor recycled stock in a humid month. |
| Kiln dried | ≤19% | Low | Below the biological threshold for mould. The usual specification. |
| Kiln dried, millwork grade | 8–12% | Very low | For cladding and interior work, matched to heated-interior equilibrium. |
| Reclaimed, long service | 10–16% | Low | Years of cycling beat any kiln schedule for stability. An under-appreciated advantage. |
Moisture content is water weight divided by oven-dry weight, which is why green softwood can exceed 100%. Heat treatment is not kiln drying — see moisture explained.
| Document | When | Why it matters |
|---|---|---|
| Certified weigh ticket | Every inbound and outbound movement | The evidentiary basis of any diversion claim |
| Count sheet by grade | Every purchase of your surplus | You get the sheet, not a summary |
| ISPM-15 batch record | Any heat-treated consignment | Turns a port query into an email |
| Pallet Passport record | Any remanufactured platform | Origin, repair history, treatment batch, running ledger |
| Quarterly diversion report | Programme customers | Measured tonnage for ESG reporting, not an industry average |
| Feedstock segregation attestation | Mulch and bedding buyers | Written statement of what the wood was |
| Certificate of insurance | On request | Named-insured endorsements for on-site crews |
| Grading criteria statement | On request | The written standard our graders work to |
Ask for any of these before an audit rather than during one. Assembling the pack takes us an afternoon and converts verbal questions into documents.