Several ingredients go into the makeup of a premier pallet company. Such is the case of Madison County Wood Products, a leading new pallet manufacturer in Missouri and one of the largest producers in the Midwest.
Madison County’s success is rooted in its foundational mission and values, its highly experienced management team, dedicated staff, reliable equipment, and trusted relationships. One of those enduringly successful relationships might be overlooked by some pallet companies – the bond with its cutting tool provider, Profile Technology.
That partnership began decades ago between Doug Gaines, vice president and co-founder of Madison County, and John Lieber, president of Profile Technology, a St. Louis, Missouri-based, national supplier. Madison County was founded by Doug and Jim Kesting, company president, in 1981. The relationship with Profile Technology has expanded over time to include the next generation. Paul Gaines, Doug’s son, is vice president of operations at Madison County Wood Products; Bryan Kesting, Jim’s son, is vice president of sales. David Lieber, John’s son, is vice president of Profile Technology.
Serving Missouri, Midwest and National Pallet Customers
As a vertically integrated wood pallet producer, Madison County relies on Profile Technology products to optimize its sawmill and scragg operations. Thanks to the supplier’s expertise, Profile Technology has been able to improve throughput, increase the interval between maintenance servicing, and provide flexibility to meet the ever-changing whims of the wood residuals’ market.
Being a vertically integrated pallet company provides the reliability needed by Madison County to serve its pallet customers. The benefit of these capabilities was especially evident in a year like 2020, which saw unprecedented swings in wood availability and pricing. “We are a true log to product producer,” said Paul Gaines, vice president of operations at Madison County Wood Products. “Other operators are relying on outside sources of lumber. They can face challenges when lumber gets tight. Because we are vertically integrated, we control our own destiny to a large extent.”
The company produces both stringer and block pallets on its automated nailing lines. Its company fleet delivers across much of the Midwest. Through other carriers, Madison County services customers nationally, shipping as far west as California. The company also sells grade lumber, rail ties, and residuals, including chips, sawdust and mulch.
While its vertical integration provides the foundation for a reliable lumber supply, Gaines also stressed the importance of its steady relationship with customers. “We’re consistent in our approach to customer engagement and listening to their needs,” he said. “It all comes back to core values and mission.”
It is crucial to understand the customer’s problems and to resolve those issues, Gaines emphasized. “It might be mold, or it might be consistency problems and sizing,” he offered as examples of challenges that Madison County helps customers address. “With robotics, for instance, everything has to be fairly uniform to work smoothly through their processes.”
When it comes to mold, the company takes pride in helping customers address their concerns through the provision of kiln-dried pallets with a moisture content of under 18% and a food-packaging-contact-approved chemical fungicide treatment, when desired by customers. The company recently beefed up its kiln capacity with a new SII kiln, featuring dual heat – natural gas and boiler biomass. Madison County also offers pallets treated with PQ-80 from ISK Biocides, which provides up to three months of mold protection.
Milling and Nailing Operations
In terms of operations, Madison County pulls logs from roughly a 60-mile radius around its location in Fredericktown, Missouri. The plant is about 80 miles south of St. Louis. At the time of our interview, the company had about 4 million board feet of timber on-site “sitting under the crane and overflow.” If there is an extremely wet winter that restricts logging, that inventory could get the company through three or four months of production, Gaines explained. Later in the winter, the company will let its log inventory run lean to keep its stock rotated.
Madison County runs a sawmill and two scragg mills. The mill features Salem Equipment, including a 7-foot head rig bandsaw with a 6-foot line bar resaw running behind it. It has a throughput of about 25 mbf to 30 mbf daily, generating grade material and rail ties. The company also operates two Cooper scragg mills, including a sharp chain scragg for shorter material. The total throughput from the scragg operation is about 50,000 bf per day. The company employs a resaw system with vertical sizer head and a Cornell gang.
Nailing equipment includes three Viking Turbo 505s and a Storti line that it uses for block pallet production. Gaines commented that the 505s work well. “We’ve got good management in place that understands those machines well,” he said. “We will probably only replace them if we can find a more automated solution.”
Profile Technology Helps Improve Throughput, Maintenance Intervals and Byproduct Flexibility
Vertical Sizer Head on a Resaw – Profile Technology has proven to be invaluable in improving operations. One example is an issue they addressed with Madison County’s resaw system with a vertical sizer head. This resaw processes purchased cants and cants generated by the company’s sawmill. The sizer head ensures that the height is uniform from piece to piece. When the resaw system was first installed, they experienced challenges. The sizer was burning cants and not feeding past 30 FPM. Tip life was only 1-2 weeks and the motor’s horsepower was maxed out. Additionally, the feed rolls were slipping on the wood.
Upon examination, Profile Technology replaced the sizer head with an optimized design for the application and machine. As a result, the feed rate increased to 75-100 FPM, and tip life increased to 4-5 weeks between maintenance schedules. The horsepower draw decreased on the motor for the same depth of cut, and the reduced cutting pressure allowed the feed rolls to properly engage. The feed rolls were also upgraded to be more aggressive.
Cornell Gangsaw – Another project involved improvements to the Cornell gangsaw. Previously, the brazed head design required frequent reconditioning and repair, with a maintenance cycle of only 1-2 weeks. Profile Technology recommended replacing the sizer head with an insert design optimized for the application. The result was an increase of tip life to over 6 weeks between tool maintenance.
Cooper Slab Recovery Edger – Another example of Profile Technology intervention was improving Madison County’s single arbor Cooper slab recovery edger. Upon review, the Profile Technology team recommended replacing the brazed edger saws with insert hogger saws. This change allowed for creating more of the desired fiber byproduct at one stage rather than sending more waste downstream for reduction. Additionally, by switching to inserts, teeth could be installed and replaced by non-specialized personnel rather than having to sharpen edger saws and maintain a large inventory of saws.
Gaines noted that byproduct markets can be very volatile, and so the Profile Technology solution provided the flexibility to create the type of byproduct needed, depending upon current market conditions. “Sometimes chips are moving okay, and sometimes they’re not,” he explained. “At other times it might be sawdust going into wood pellets or other markets. The edger gives us the ability to convert back and forth.”
The optimized edger also provides a more consistently sized slab, removing the rounded top rather than sending it downstream. The rounded or D top material can be problematic for lasers and automated sorting. As the company readies itself for further automation, whether robotic nailing or self-feeding nailing, Gaines stated, consistent, well-graded material is crucial. “The biggest issues we currently face are errors in grading and sorting,” he said. “And we know that to improve that, we need to have a system that brings that error level way down. So basically, we’re prepping ourselves for future expansion in automation in our nailing lines.”
Regarding the relationship with Profile Technology, Gaines stated that he is lucky because they are located in St. Louis, only 80 miles away. “They are very knowledgeable about their products,” he said, noting that they visit the plant to evaluate the application and determine the best fit. “They’ve gone as far as helping us determine what bearing we needed for a certain arbor on a cutter. David is very knowledgeable. And they are determined. There have been times when we’ve gone to the drawing board two or three times to get the desired result. They stick with you and keep giving you that feedback.”
Most customers that require custom tooling start with some initial data collection on the existing tooling or equipment in question, David Lieber said of his company’s problem-solving approach. Profile Technology’s engineering team reviews variables such as speed, feed and material being cut. It then looks to optimize each cutting tool design for a customer’s specific objectives which differ from operation to operation.
Those objectives can range from producing specific byproducts from generated waste to longer tool life, less machining operations further downstream, and lower horsepower consumption. While most pallet producers make similar cuts, no operation is exactly aligned the same and so the tools have to reflect the customers’ priorities, David emphasized.
“Quick and knowledgeable communication is what customers appreciate from us,” he said. “Therefore, we try to be clear by presenting a few options with drawings or graphics to help educate our customers on what value those different options would yield, both short and long term. It’s not just about replacing what you’ve bought before with the same thing – it’s about making a better purchase, so you get more value for the money spent.”
The family connection has been a huge benefit for Profile Technology and its customers. John Lieber recalled, “The transition over the years from Norm Schwend, my father-in-law, to David Lieber has been parallel at our company.” David added, “I have been fortunate to be able to work from such deep sources of knowledge to solve customer problems.”
Improving Employee Retention and Cutting Turnover in Half
In recent years, Madison County Wood Products has put an increased emphasis on employee retention and engagement. “Anywhere you go today, you hear about retention problems,” Gaines explained. The company was weathering an annual employee turnover rate greater than 80%. In 2016, they began searching for a better solution for hiring people.
While the search initially began with exploring how to hire more people to keep the employee pipeline full, that emphasis shifted after visiting industry peers. They gained a greater understanding of how providing a better workplace environment and more love can result in people choosing to stay versus leave.
The result has greatly increased retention. Turnover has been cut in half – down to 40%. Some of the key changes included providing team members with a clear vision of the company’s direction and following core values consistently. The approach to hiring has also changed.
“We used to hire everybody that came in the door that looked like they could lift the board,” Gaines quipped. “Now, we are hiring based on principles and core values. Our management waits a little longer for a good hire sometimes because of that, but I can tell you that, in the long run, it creates a better atmosphere all through the plant. And it’s just a better overall environment for people to work.”
Overall, the company’s actions are a reflection of those core values. “Every day, we commit our company to God and ask him to guide us,” Gaines said.
As Madison County Wood Products transitions from the leadership of founders Doug Gaines and Jim Kesting, Paul Gaines was quick to pay tribute to their fathers. “We have had awesome mentors,” he said. “Our fathers set us up with the ability to be successful. Without them, and all of the people that have worked throughout the years to make the company what it is, we wouldn’t have had the opportunity.”
To find out more about Profile Technology, contact them at 800-369-4242 or visit www.profiletech.com.
