The ‘U-turn’
In May 1997, one group member came back from a trade fair in
Brussels, where he had seen a new type of tray with interesting properties.
This was the second-generation bale-arm tray developed by
Tesco. The empty nesting space reduction capacity was an impressive
75 per cent, to be compared with the 50–55 per cent offered by the 180-
degree rotation stack/nest trays. This parameter, empty tray space
reduction, had not been in focus earlier in the development process,
since the working group had decided on the 180-degree rotation
stack/nest tray concept, excluding other space reduction solutions for
quality and hygienic reasons. The Tesco tray soon gained high appeal
from the retailers’ point of view, thanks to its space reduction features.
Now the process entered into what is described as ‘the U-turn’ by four