A group from the Canadian Wood Pallet and Container Associa- tion, joined by visitors from other countries, toured several pallet plants in the Mid-Atlantic region recently.
The tour, organized by the CWPCA-ACMPC, was held immediately prior to the Richmond Expo trade show. The group traveled by motor coach to plants in Pennsylvania, Maryland and Virginia.
The group of nearly 50 people gathered in Philadelphia to start the tour. Joining the contingent of CWPCA-ACMPC members were visitors from South Africa, New Zealand and Australia as well as a few from the U.S.
The first stop on the tour was John Rock Inc. in Sadsburyville, Penn., a leading pallet manufacturing company. President Bill MacCauley and John Rock staff members greeted the group and provided a tour of the company’s new plant.
John Rock is a fully diversified pallet company. It is somewhat uncommon to see a modern, clean pallet recycling operations side-by-side with high-speed pallet manufacturing operations. The company also has the capability to heat-treat pallets for customers.
John Rock is a very impressive company. The layout and design of the pallet recycling operations facilitate the flow of pallets and material. In its pallet manufacturing operations, Brewer Inc.-Golden Eagle cut-up equipment keeps the company supplied with pallet parts, and Viking nailing machines provide high-volume automated pallet assembly. The company’s new pallet production is approaching 100,000 per week.
The John Rock pallet recycling operations generated a lot of interest among the visitors. They lingered there for a while and took numerous photographs.
One feature which caught the attention of the tour group was a large fan in the warehouse. The company installed the fan to help prevent mold from occurring on new hardwood pallets. The 15-20-foot blade fan turns very slowly, but it moves the air enough to prevent mold from forming on the lumber.
The group’s next tour stop was Rohrbaugh Inc. in Hanover, Penn. Rohrbaugh president Steve Yelland met the group and gave the visitors access to both his company’s plants.
Rohrbaugh manufactures specialty wood products and packaging. The group spread throughout the two plants and spent a comfortable 90 minutes taking photographs, asking questions, looking at machinery, and observing the company’s operations.
In the pallet recycling operations, three very competent workers repaired pallets at the rate of about one per minute each. Rohrbaugh also operates a transfer yard for PECO, a pallet rental business.
The third stop on the tour was Green Pallet in Westminster, Md., where Mike and Ron Green met the visitors and opened their doors.
Green Pallet is a medium-size company. On the day the group visited, the two GBN nailing machines were assembling standard 48×40 pallets. Cut-up operations, equipped with two Pendu lines, are housed in a separate building, producing hardwood stringers and deck boards.
Green Pallet impressed the visitors as a very efficient company. The operations wasted little space or material, and the plants were clean and well organized.
The group also toured GBN Machine & Engineering Corp. in Woodford, Va. The visitors were met by Raj Nainani, Sandy Campbell and the GBN staff. The group, joined at the stop by Pallet Enterprise publisher Ed Brindley, looked over one of GBN’s nailing machines and asked Raj and Sandy numerous questions about the company’s nailing machines.
The next stop was BC Wood Products in Ashland, Va., where the visitors were greeted by president Richard Barrett. BC is a specialty wood products company that produces pallets, boxes, crates, fencing and many different specialty wood products. The group toured the BC facilities, which were clean and well organized, and also watched another company process waste wood into colored mulch and had an opportunity to observe small recycling operations adjacent to BC Wood Products.
After lunch the group went to Direct Wood Products in West Point, Va. John Britt, owner and president, opened up his plant’s doors. The name Direct Wood is a misnomer; the company recycles plastic and corrugated as well as wood. Direct Wood Products grinds various types of used wood to produce boiler fuel.
After arriving at the hotel in Richmond, the group was treated to a reception by Ed and Carolyn Brindley of Industrial Reporting, which publishes Pallet Enterprise.
The CWPCA-ACMPC is considering plans for another plant tour in 2007.
