In New Zealand, as around the world, customers increasingly get it. Everything rides on a pallet – including business, sales and reputation. This is a belief fully subscribed to by Timpack, a leading New Zealand wood pallet and container manufacturer.
With production now over a million wood pallets annually, Timpack has experienced strong sales growth. This expansion has led the company to deploy new equipment as well as the PalMate™ Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) system.
Growth means more data and information that needs to be managed and analyzed to keep pace with customers. Growth can make it hard to change existing practices, especially something like software. But Timpack has successfully deployed the PalMate ERP across its entire system with minimal disruption to the business. Its strong embrace of new management software provides a road map for other pallet companies to follow.
Timpack’s PalMate ERP Installation – “We Haven’t Looked Back Since”
The company’s legacy software system wasn’t up to the challenge as sales grew. “Our previous ERP system was very outdated,” explained Sharyn Waldron, finance and admin manager for the company. Installed back in 1998, the old system relied on function keys and tabbing around multiple screens. “The old ERP definitely was not an intuitive experience for new staff,” she added.
Timpack had been investigating an alternative ERP system for several years before settling on PalMate. The focus during the search was an ERP system that provided the level of information and integration required by management, while “keeping it simple” from a user experience.
When Timpack took a closer look at PalMate ERP, it was excited about opportunities such as creating visibility of inventory movements throughout the system, removing duplication of data entry, eliminating the “paper war,” and finally ensuring traceability throughout the manufacturing and distribution chain. “Traceability of product for compliance is now a breeze,” Waldron commented.
PalMate ERP is offered by The PalMate Group, a part of Automated Machine Systems (AMS), which specializes in equipment and software for recycling and handling pallets and containers. Over the years, PalMate has developed a reputation for its robust ERP software and strong customer support thanks to its coding and support staff. Customers on five continents rely on PalMate to run their operations.
PalMate ERP has several key features designed to improve management decisions for pallet and lumber companies. Beginning with a sales order, it can create production and shipping schedules. Among other things, PalMate tracks production costs, inventory, employee time and production. It can be used to issue purchase orders, and it even integrates with various accounting programs, like QuickBooks, and others. PalMate also supports integration with programs for drawing or designing pallets such as PDS, which is used by Timpack.
“PalMate is an ERP tailored for the pallet industry, so we didn’t have to explain the processes involved,” Waldron explained. “They already knew.” After a series of web-based demos, PalMate personnel visited Timpack in person to conduct workshop sessions and ensure it was the right fit for Timpack.
A few adjustments were required to facilitate the conversion. For example, Waldron noted, there are differences in terminology between New Zealand and the United States, such as timber versus lumber, and the Metric system versus Imperial measurements. “Our standard volumetric measurement is M3 with an average value of $300, while the standard in the U.S. is a board foot with an average value of $0.70, so you can see it was critical that we could have decimal places. This was probably the biggest challenge, but the PalMate team worked to understand what was required and made it work.”
“By focusing on each business process, testing, testing, testing and involving the end-users, along with the support from PalMate, we now have a reliable, intuitive system,” she said.
During the implementation phase, Timpack created a project team. It was led by an experienced external project manager, while the rest of the group included Timpack senior managers, a planning manager, and two admin staffers. Each member of the team took on an area of the business to become the super user. A ‘Train the Trainer’ process was used to waterfall or cascade the training throughout the business.
“Having seven sites in seven different regions of New Zealand meant that it was critical that the super users were available to assist with any queries at any time for the months following go-live,” Waldron stressed.
“During the implementation and initial support phase, there were many early morning or late evening calls, but we were never without help,” Waldron stated. “The PalMate team made themselves available to us at all times. I never felt like I couldn’t ring directly if it was critical.”
Timpack did not run the legacy system parallel as a safety net. “The 10th of November 2017 was PalMate GO-LIVE. We turned on the plant floor kiosks, the scanners and the label printers, took a big breath and turned off the old system,” Waldron recalled. “We haven’t looked back since.”
Timpack’s Focus on Customers Has Sparked Growth, Adds New Production Capacity with GBN Patriots
“Timpack has been in the business of making pallets since 1984, and has proudly taken on the load for our customers ever since,” said Alan Walters, chief executive/managing director for the firm. From humble beginnings in Hamilton, Timpack has grown to now operate from seven sites throughout New Zealand. It employs 200 people and is increasingly investing in automation to increase its productivity, especially in light of the tight New Zealand labor market.
Timpack services a complete range of industries, including dairy, horticulture, meat, metal and packaging industries. The company provides new pallets and packaging, recycling services, as well as refurbished pallets. Within horticulture, the kiwifruit and apple segments are notably strong. The kiwifruit industry, in particular, requires close collaboration with customers to ensure that Timpack orders the timber, builds the pallets, and delivers in full when needed to support the seasonal spike.
Seeking to boost production capacity, Timpack has also recently added two GBN Patriot nailing systems at its Hamilton and Dunedin branches. “We went with GBN as they had experience modifying their machine to efficiently build 2.2m (86 inch) wide pallets,” explained Walters of Timpack. “We have found them to be very solid, well-built machines, and they are proving to be very reliable.”
“We run predominantly large stringer pallets on the GBNs,” he continued. “However, we have run block pallets from time to time.”
Given New Zealand’s historically low unemployment rate and the challenges of recruiting new staff, Timpack continues to explore other automation options. “With this in mind, we have dipped our toe into robotics with the investment in a robotic nailer,” Walters stated. “This reduces our staffing requirements and provides a more stimulating work environment for younger workers. As well, it offers a safer work environment by taking away some of the lifting and nailing.”
FSC Certified Lumber Supply, Optimizing Cross-cut Saws From Systems TM
Timpack is one of the most significant users of industrial grade lumber in New Zealand, referred to as “box grade.” It uses 100% radiata pine sourced from domestic plantation forests that are sustainably harvested and managed. Timpack gained FSC certification in 2013, being the first New Zealand pallet company to achieve this status. It was also the first pallet firm in the country to obtain ISO9001 certification and also holds ISO14001 certification, reflecting its commitment to the environment and operating sustainably. Timpack also is ISPM-15 certified through the Ministry of Primary Industries.
In 2016, Timpack looked to improve its lumber cut-up operation. It began a dialogue with Denmark-based System TM and System TM’s Australasian dealer, Southern Cross Engineering, to replace its former System TM manual crayon-marking line and expand production capacity. As a result, Timpack installed new System TM Opti Kap cross cut lines at its Hamilton and Dunedin branches, with its Hamilton line incorporating a MiCROTEC scanner. Since then, the company has gained production capacity, economies of scale, and maximum utilization of wood.
The initial package infeed utilizes a tilt hoist. Then, a separator organizes lumber before arriving at the subsequent conveyor. As lumber moves along the conveyor, it is scanned by the MiCROTEC GE301. Then, scan results are sent to an optimizing software program that calculates optimal cutting positions and instructs the Opti-Kap cross-cut saw how to cut pieces of lumber for maximum wood utilization.
“I’ve been working with Per (Jensen) and System TM for many years,” commented Jason Togia, general manager at Timpack. “I have visited their state-of-the-art factory in Odder, Denmark, where I’ve found their products, service, and people to be reliable, forward-thinking, responsive, great to work with, and of a very high standard.”
Health and Safety – Giving a Gift Initiative and E-learning Program
Walters noted that investment in automation not only helps productivity, it also improves the workplace safety of staff by eliminating manual processes. Aside from equipment investments, the company has taken additional steps toward developing comprehensive health and safety programs.
One of the areas of focus was on manual handling and equipment-related risks. In the past, the company suffered from a lot of manual handling injuries. These typically took the form of strains to backs, arms, and hands. The company worked on engineering out a lot of those risks, especially in recycling, for example, through the installation of PRS sort and repair equipment.
In parallel to engineering and machine guarding solutions, Timpack has also developed innovative approaches to engage its people in health and safety initiatives. One such thrust is the development of an e-learning package. These modules are like short TV programs with visuals and narration to educate workers on best safety practices and policies.
Everything Rides on a Pallet
Timpack takes the approach that while pallets are vitally important to its customers, it wants to perform to a high level so that their customers don’t even notice them. Pallets should be a worry-free experience, and it therefore works hard to be invisible.
Part of providing a worry-free experience, especially as business grows, is making the necessary investments to support pallet quality and delivery expectations. Such has been the case with adopting PalMate ERP as well as new automation.
“We ‘Take the Load’ for our customers both literally, as in carrying their products as well as metaphorically,” Walters concluded. “By taking the load off their shoulders and minds, they can have confidence in Timpack to deliver quality pallets when required as well as to help manage their overall pallet requirements.”
