BRAMBLES Industries chief executive-designate Mike Ihlein has shrugged off rumours the company could face a private equity buy-out, saying he did "not worry too much about it".

Two months after David Turner announced his plans to retire, Brambles confirmed that Mr Ihlein, the chief financial officer, would take over on July 1.

Mr Ihlein said his main focus would be to increase Brambles' remaining pallet and records management division. After heading the divestment program that raised $US3.6 billion ($A4.35 billion) from the sale of Brambles' Cleanaway waste management, industrial and other non-core divisions since he joined the company in 2004, Mr Ihlein said: "We've now got all the foundations in place (so) we can put all of our efforts in CHEP and Recall."

He said a key focus would be to improve CHEP's US business into new sectors such as beverages and expand its European CHEP business further.

He said he did not anticipate Brambles would make any sizeable acquisitions to bolster the size of its Recall operations, aside from a few small bolt-ons in the US.

As for speculation of a private equity takeover that has persisted since Brambles scrapped its dual ASX and British listing last November, Mr Ihlein said: "The things we need to do as a company is make sure we excel in terms of our operating performance, make sure our shareholders understand the true value of our (CHEP) franchises and make sure we have a suitable capital structure."

Brambles shares yesterday fell 6¢ to $13.19.