Every month in the You Said It column, we speak with leaders in the pallet industry, from organizations and businesses from large to small, to ask them questions to find out what makes them tick and find out what’s on their minds. We also ask these pallet leaders about relevant topics affecting the industry. Here are some of the best answers from the column over the past couple years on the topics of customer service and expectations, material/lumber supply, labor issues/inspiring workers, as well as some predictions for how the pallet industry might change in the next 5-10 years.
Customer Service/Expectations
Peter Berry, president of Berry Industrial Group (April 2019): One of the most gratifying aspects of our customer service is educating our customers about the intricacies of pallet design and its impact in their supply chain. This education makes customer service a truly holistic, “PALLETable Solution.”
Paul Simpson, president of Pallet Renew, Inc. (March 2019): Customer service is at the core of a good business relationship. The customer knows what they are looking for well before they make the connection to buy. Prove to them they should buy from you by listening to them first. Balance that with your product knowledge. Continue with open and upfront discussion on product offerings and price options. Deliver strong with a quality product the customer expects and the service level that surprises them.
Tom Worthen, owner of Wasatch Pallet (Nov. 2017): It seems like customer expectations are always changing year to year. As the economy changes, so do the habits and appetites of our customers. We have customers who are changing to lean manufacturing practices that affect our delivery and manufacturing timeframes. We have customers who change from new pallets to recycled pallets or vice versa. Open lines of communication are key to keeping up with those changes because they do and will happen.
Material/Lumber Supply
Derek Turney, director of business development for Palnet (Dec. 2018): On the recycled side, the biggest challenge in our industry is the availability of good quality cores that we can sell as A and AAA pallets. Currently, there is just more demand for recycled pallets than there are available quality cores… You can’t imagine how many new pallet opportunities we have had to turn down this year.
Paul Cabrol, Industrial Lumber Sales, Beasley Forest Products (Feb. 2017): In regard to hardwood logs, we have had to expand our procurement range out as far as 250 miles from the sawmills to ensure an adequate supply of logs all year. Previously this range has been around 150 miles. Also, there has been a steady decline in the quality of logs over the years, so therefore we will rely heavily on the industrial markets to move a higher percentage of our production.
Labor Issues / Inspiring Workers
Glenn Meeks, director of operations for Bettaway Pallet Systems (May 2018): I am very big on employee engagement and development. I meet with members of my team in one-on-one meetings to discuss professional goals and help to develop them. I offer the opportunity to use online learning to increase their skill set whether that may be learning new tricks in Excel or learning how to communicate more professionally through email and phone. There are a wealth of resources available and these resources can help keep employees engaged and make them more valuable to the organization.
Beatrice Vasquez, corporate secretary and chief financial officer of Oxnard Pallet Company (June 2018): Build a respectable and more personal relationship with each worker. Know them and call them by their name. Each and every member of the Oxnard Pallet team is equally important to me. I make time in my busy schedule to have one-on-one employee meetings which has proven to be very effective over the years. Strong and clear communications are essential.
A.J. Cheponis, formerly national sales manager for Pallet Consultants (Jan. 2019): The old saying, “What got us here, won’t get us there,” couldn’t be more appropriate when referring to labor. To help take us to the next level, we have developed better training, invested in better working environments, and created better metrics and incentive programs to keep our people happy and productive. Like many companies, we’ve added strategic automation to our processes while staying away from the bleeding edge of technology until robotics are better developed for the recycled industry.
Sukhi Brar, operations manager at Advance Group of Companies based in Surrey, B.C. (June 2017): The biggest concern in the future is the shrinking size of the labor pool. We are losing people to the higher paying oil sands jobs. With the current labor force retiring in the following years, I have found the next generation is opting away from general labor jobs to specialized trades.
Industry Predictions for the Next 5-10 Years
Daniel Reardon, Jr., vice president of Reardon Pallet Company (Sept. 2018): In the next 5-10 years, I expect the pallet industry to move further away from the local mom and pop shops, toward large regional and national pallet companies. I expect one or two more coast-to-coast brick and mortar companies to develop in that time through acquisition and merger.
Rick Ziebell, president/CEO of J & B Pallet (Nov. 2018): Automation will be a key factor – as companies choose easier, more cost-effective methods to meet their pallet demands. I believe we will notice many new programs and changes coming into our industry that will greatly improve how pallets are produced and distributed more rapidly. A good example of this is the new robotic dismantler that we just installed from Alliance Automaton. Smart companies are going to look for ways to streamline production and reduce labor needs.
John Swenby, president of Paltech Enterprises (Feb. 2019): I think we’re going to see an interesting level of consolidation from the major companies, but small business needs will also continue to grow. We are smaller-business-oriented and fairly diversified. The major brokerages and buying groups are not going after those customers. So, we’re filling a need, and I believe that will continue to grow. We don’t have any major customers controlling our base. We try to keep it very diversified, so that gives us a little more strength.
