The future is now at A-1 Pallets, Inc. Headquartered in Kent, Washington, this family-owned pallet manufacturer and recycler has become one of the largest in the state. The company has added a new facility in Yakima to serve eastern Washington and has added a storage facility in Portland to better serve customers in Oregon.
At the heart of the business is the Randhawa family, and two generations are now involved in running the company. Amrik Randhawa, owner and founder of A-1Pallets, said, “I credit my sons’ involvement with helping us grow a lot over the past five years. They have led efforts to improve our manufacturing operations.”
Amrik added, “The business has grown larger than I ever expected. I never thought we would be this big. Having my sons and daughter involved, they are leading the growth effort now.”
Over the last five years, the company has focused on growth and improving plant processes. Part of this approach involves deploying the new Viking Voyager at its Auburn plant in addition to new Alliance Automation recycling equipment at its Kent location. Across four locations, A-1 Pallets now has 165 employees.
Voyager Charts New Course Ahead
A-1 Pallets has never been shy when it comes to jumping on new technology. The company added the second Viking Voyager ever produced in 2022. The key driver in this decision was increased production. Jobhan Randhawa, plant director, commented, “The crews’ favorite feature is the double hopper because it makes it so easy for the operator to keep up with the machine.”
The Voyager is used to produce a lot of GMAs, different specs of 48x40s and a handful of other sizes. There was definitely a learning curve for operators who were used to Turbos.
Jobhan explained, “The biggest lesson was having the patience, learning the machine, and making sure the crew understood how the machine operates. When we first put in the machine, our crews were only producing 500-1000 pallets a day. We were having some issues with the nail delivery. But those issues have been fixed. Currently, we’re producing anywhere from 290 to 360 pallets an hour, depending on the spec of the pallet. We have three machine operators that keep the machine fed.”
Through the process, Viking provided fantastic support, as stated by Jobhan. “Viking techs came out in person to ensure that we would be successful.”
Is the upgrade worth the cost and effort? Jobhan explained, “It is definitely worth it. I think our record so far has been like 3,600 pallets a day on the Voyager. The design with the two hoppers compared to one makes the process a lot easier for operators, especially when you’re running a very mixed top deck with one by six, one by four, one by six, one by four.”
The changeover process is also faster than a Turbo. For more information on the Voyager, see the sidebar on page 64.
A-1 Pallets also runs Viking Champions at the Auburn facility and Turbo 505s at the Yakima plant. Currently, the company is about 35% new pallet manufacturing and 65% recycled. The Yakima facility opened in 2018. It manufactures about 5,000 new pallets per day from lumber that is cut at the Auburn plant. A-1 Pallets produces about 98% of the cut stock used in its operations. The company opened the Portland facility in 2019 as more of a satellite facility for reloads. Kent strictly recycles pallets, while the Auburn facility houses new pallet production and cut stock processing. In total, the company runs one Voyager, two Turbos and three Champions.
When Pallet Enterprise staff last visited A-1 Pallets in 2017, the younger brother, Gurshan Randhawa, was still in college at the University of Washington. Today, he is helping his brother run the company and has focused on the office-side of the business. The company recently moved into new corporate offices to accommodate growth in the office team from 9 to 17 employees.
In addition to the new nailing capacity, A-1 Pallets has added two repair lines by Alliance Automation as well as a Robotic Pallet Dismantler.
Gurshan said, “We haven’t had any layoffs with new equipment. We’ve just been trying to find pieces of equipment that improve our efficiency, such as the Robotic Pallet Dismantler. The company is utilizing staff better to produce more.”
Why go with a robot? Jobhan explained, “We bought a Robotic Dismantler to save labor.” Other advantages include ergonomics and improved safety. The Robotic Dismantler keeps the operator away from the blade. Jobhan said, “Although we never had an injury with our old manual dismantlers, the robot eliminates the possibility of a worker cutting their hand or other body part.”
A-1 Pallets runs everything through the robot, including the junkier pallets. Those pallets that don’t run well through the robot are eventually processed manually. Based on how they use the robot, it can easily dismantle 600 pallets in a shift. Automation has really helped position the company to grow and become more productive. Gurshan estimated, “I think we’ve been growing at 18% per year. So, we’ve grown more than 100% since your last visit six years ago.”
The pallet recycling sector has undergone a significant transition over the past four years. Even though used pallet prices have dropped, core quality has improved, according to Gurshan. He explained, “When the pallet prices spiked back a few years ago, pallet quality was terrible because retailers and shippers were using them over and over again until the pallet was destroyed. But quality is back up now as there have been more new pallets put into the pool.”
Second Generation Takes Larger Role in the Business
Over the last five years, Jobhan and Gurshan as well as their sister, Jasmin, have taken on larger roles in the company. Jobhan runs the plant operations while Gurshan focuses on the office and managing the key business processes, including information technology efforts.
Jobhan laughed and said, “Amrik always uses the analogy that he got the train on the tracks, and we kind of just guide it how we want it to go.”
Gurshan added, “We’ve taken a deeper look at the numbers as well. We’re putting more focus on real-time production and sales numbers. My dad more managed by looking at the profit and loss statements at the end of the year.”
As part of this data-focused management, the company is developing its own Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) software based on NetSuite by Oracle. The company has used a pallet-focused ERP in the past. And now the time has come to bring all aspects of the operation under one database including accounting, payroll, trucking and everything else. The company has hired extra staff to help with the transition and has commissioned Accrete Consulting to develop a custom solution based on Oracle software.
All of this is part of the company’s focus on improving its office systems in 2023. Gurshan explained, “Our goal in 2023 has been to focus on our office and to make it as efficient as the production side of our business.”
As part of this process, the company has moved its office into a separate building that the Randhawa family recently acquired. This office building is close to its main plants and has enough room to provide for the growing office staff.
Upgraded Lumber Operations
Since A-1 produces the majority of its pallet lumber, the company must have effective lumber processing systems. It used to have a Producto saw system and has been upgraded to an HY saw from Automated Industrial Technologies (AIT), sold by Pallet Machinery Group. Jobhan noted about the HY saw, “That saw is so fast. I can barely keep it fed to process at 400 feet per minute.” The HY saw center splits and feeds into an AIT TSS stacker.
A-1 is adding a new cut sock facility because the existing capacity can’t meet the needs of the company. The facility will be designed to process longer lengths and a greater variety of widths than the current system. Jobhan admitted, “The new facility will provide greater flexibility for our lumber processing and controlling our lumber production helps us ensure consistency. “
Looking to the Future – Grow, Grow, Grow!
Currently, the A-1 operation runs out of five locations, including the new office building for the company headquarters. One thing on the drawing board is finding a location to combine the Auburn and Kent operations under one roof. Jobhan suggested, “We’ve been working on a plan for about two years to combine these two facilities together. We want to stay in the Auburn area.”
The latest addition to the Randhawa family was at the plant when I visited earlier this year. Jobhan, as the proud father, was happy to introduce me to his son, Sundr S. Randhawa, his first child.
Amrik has built this company so that his wife (Jasvinder), his children, grandchildren and extended family have a place to work. He came legally to the United States from India in 1979 and started his pallet business in the Washington area in 2002. At that time, his sons were very little children who would play on the floor at the pallet plant. Now, they are leading the way into the future. Thanks to a lot of hard work and a dream, A-1 Pallets has become a major pallet supplier in the state.
Amrik explained, “Our family-run approach has worked well to serve customers. We are approachable and will work to satisfy customer needs. We aim to be friendly and connect on a different level than bigger companies.”
Viking Voyager Nailing Machine Update
The Voyager launch is finding its stride according to Viking. There are 25 machines sold to date, 12 of those will be installed in 2023. Voyager is designed to produce 2,400+ pallets in an 8-hour shift. The machine is packed with updates like servo motors, dual board hoppers, a redesigned nail delivery system and complete FMS package. It is Viking’s most advanced nailing platform.
There is nothing quite like running in an actual production environment, especially one with the variability of the stringer pallet market. The Voyager has been tested; it is currently running in 10 locations in North America, with various species of lumber and pallet configurations.
“A few of the installs have not been up to the Viking standard, but we are committed to ensure our customers achieve a successful installation and transition; and we hope they buy into the process, those customers that do are seeing great results,” stated Kurt Larsen, president of Viking Engineering.
As with any new technology, there is always a learning curve. “Admittedly, learning and embracing the new process takes time, however if you ask some of the first Voyager owners, they will tell you their operators prefer the Voyager; changeovers are quicker and easier and with the dual hoppers, workers are not stressed, even when running 300+ pallets per hour,” Larsen added.
Voyager is a Smart Data™ ready machine; this software gives owners access to real-time production data, machine diagnostics, improves serviceability and more. A1 Pallets Inc., featured in this issue purchased the 2nd Voyager made, consistently makes over 300+ pallet/hour. The record for the best hour is currently 432 pallets, according to Viking.
There have been some immediate part upgrades and software updates as the machine rollout continues, but all Voyagers will remain on the same hardware and software platform, so they can be easily upgraded. Larsen explained, “It’s continuous innovation; Viking engineers actively work on enhancements for the Voyager, we hope to unveil some of these new features at EXPO Richmond 2024. Some of the enhancements will be additional improvements to the operator’s experience.”
For more information on the Voyager visit https://www.vikingeng.com/equipment/pallet-machinery/voyager or call (763) 571-2400.
