A lot of things have been happening lately in my life. I thoroughly enjoyed interacting with my many pallet friends at the recent Richmond EXPO in mid-May. I have had the pleasure of enjoying this biennial event since my first show in 1978. The next day I celebrated by 73rd birthday. There are times that I wish I could skip having some birthdays, but then reality sets in. Missing birthdays would logically mean that I have gone home to meet my Lord. While I am looking forward to changing my address to heaven, I so thoroughly enjoy what I do here on earth; I particularly love the years I have worked with the pallet industry and the wide mixture of friends I have had the pleasure of making.
This stroll down memory lane has drifted my mind back to the people in the pallet industry, both owners of pallet companies and the tens of thousands of good people who work in their plants to deliver the important services that our industry has the pleasure of providing. I particularly enjoy meeting a new person at the Richmond Show who comes by our booth or recognizes me and stops somewhere on the aisle. It is so uplifting for strangers to tell me how much our publications have meant to them. Several times during a typical Richmond EXPO a total stranger will share how much what we have said has helped them manufacture better products or work more effectively with their staffs.
Just look through the articles in this issue and you will find several where companies we feature will focus on how important the family run atmosphere of the pallet industry has meant to them and how much their employees have contributed to their success. It is not solely about machinery and manufacturing practices, although they are important. I contend the most important element in a successfully run pallet company is its people. I love working with them, and I especially appreciate how much value my pallet friends put on their staffs, from the new person stacking lumber to the long term plant foreman who has been such a critical element in their company for literally decades. Look at our articles on Mt. Eaton Pallet, Fox Valley Wood Products, and Green Star Pallet. The “You Said It” monthly column so often shows how much value pallet owners place in their people. Jim Kesting discusses this here.
Any time I think about the value of pallet company employees, I keep going back to the many times over the years I visited Potomac Supply. I remember Larry who managed their pallet division for so long. Larry once said, “Me and Billy, we own this company!” Bill’s dad had hired Larry as a young unemployed relatively unskilled worker. He devoted himself to serving the company; he was literally part of it. He put his life into it. This is the kind of devotion that I have come to respect so much in many of our readers’ employees.
I also recall watching Bill interact with his employees. It was obvious that they were important to him. Like many pallet companies, he employed a significant number of Hispanic workers. While Bill did not speak Spanish himself, he had a way of speaking softly to them. He used a confident tone of appreciation and patted them on the back, they could tell he cared. In our companies it all comes down to our people. I appreciate how so many of you understand this and reflect it in your actions and decisions.
Over the years I have conducted several surveys of our industry leaders. It is interesting how often on their list of major concerns labor ranks so high, often at the very top. It has always caught my attention how often conversations with pallet company leaders turn to their people and their importance. Many, in fact I would say most, pallet managers brag about their established staff of long-term employees, many with at least ten years tenure, often twenty and even thirty or more years. So, on the one hand labor is high on our list of concerns while so many companies indicate their staff relies heavily on the large portion of good people who are making a lifetime of working there. It is not because working in the pallet industry is an easy job. Nor is it typically that they are making all that much money, even though many are doing better than they probably would in many other jobs. Outside of this stable group of good employees, a smaller portion of their employee force is often made up of relatively low-skilled people who come and go like a revolving door – hence their concern over labor. Many pallet managers love their employees; they are kind of like a big family.
What does the future of the low-skilled labor pool hold for our industry? The nature of our work will continue to be a challenge, anything but an easy job. Robotics will occupy a growing position in our industry. They are already starting to appear in pallet manufacturing, from placing lumber to doing some sawing functions. Using robots for some functions may be something of a challenge, but more automation is likely to simplify some aspects of the jobs in our plants. This will help keep good employees longer as age starts to take a toll and slow them down.
It appears that the minimum wage is going to go up across the country. Even though very few positions in our companies pay minimum wage, it does serve as a floor under starting wages. Higher minimum wages will likely increase the wages that pallet employers will have to pay.
President Obama encouraged the Department of Labor to recently pass a rule for salaried workers who make less than $47,476 a year. Paying overtime wages for salaried employees will impact pallet companies in at least two ways. It will increase the payroll for salaried employees and will increase the record keeping burden to keep up with hours. While most positions in a pallet plant or sawmill are compensated either hourly or with piece work, many management type positions and some jobs that are not directly related to production figures might be salaried.
The success of a pallet company really rides on the shoulders of its people. So, appreciation of the people in our industry is the most important aspect of success. I love working with this industry. It has made my life much more fulfilling. Thanks for helping us provide a service that can help our friends in the industry achieve their best.
