Filling the Information Void

 For years, I have desired to publish worthwhile books to serve the needs of my pallet friends. The one and only book ever written about pallets was written in the mid-70s by John Eichler. Long out of print, this book served a noble purpose at the time, but the need for updated books about pallets has grown through the years.

Industrial Reporting Inc (IRI) the publisher of Pallet Enterprise and Pallet Profile Weekly has partnered with experts to fill the void. The first book that we are publishing is Clarence Leising’s new Pallet Head.

From his regular column in the Pallet Enterprise to his speaking at various conferences, Clarence has become well known throughout the industry. After managing a pallet repair shop for years, Clarence has served as a consultant helping others find the best way to run a pallet recycling operation. He combines a rare wit and years of practical, in-the plant wisdom. After kicking around the idea for a while, Clarence decided to compile many of his ideas into a working manual on pallet recycling, entitled Pallet Head.

I had the pleasure of editing this new best practices manual, a publication that is designed to be easily used out where it will do the most good — in the shop. A shop foreman can open his copy of Pallet Head to the desired spot and refresh himself right there on the plant floor or share certain points with others as need be. To my knowledge, this is the first pallet recycling book of any kind. Full of practical nuts and bolts ideas about how best to tweak a recycling operation, Pallet Head is a must read for any recycler.

We waited a long time to come out of the book chute, but we are coming out with both barrels blazing. Rick LeBlanc, a long time contributor to the Enterprise, and Stewart Richardson, a lifetime professional in pallet sales and management, have teamed together to write Pallets: A North American Perspective. I feel like we hit the daily double since this new book and Clarence’s manual are totally different. It would have been difficult to plan two valuable books about pallets and the pallet industry that are any less alike, yet any more valuable on their own merits.

Rick is a MBA manager in a major grocery distribution center in British Columbia. While other people play golf in their leisure time, Rick’s passion is pallets. Few people in our industry combine intellect and practical experience any more effectively. He has been a friend to our readers for many years and has always shared his insights into the world of pallets from our customers’ perspectives.

Stewart Richardson is one of the most knowledgeable people anywhere on the subject of pallet management. Stewart ran the Canadian CPC pallet ownership/exchange program for many years before giving up that responsibility to sell both wooden and plastic pallets. His perspective is certainly one of variety and completeness.

IRI is pleased to be marketing and selling these new books to the pallet industry.

But IRI is not stopping with just two new books. We started working with the pallet industry in 1977 through the Pallet Profile Weekly, which has been the reference for the pallet and pallet lumber markets ever since. In recent years, the Profile has taken on increasing value as the editorial reference of choice for up-to-the minute pallet news.

During all of this time, pallet recycling editorial coverage has evolved from an unknown to an appendage to the Profile. IRI decided that it is time for recycling to have its own report, written from the recycler perspective. For this reason, we launched in August the Recycle Record, a new monthly pallet recycling marketing/management report.

The Recycle Record should rapidly take its place along side the Profile as required reading for people who believe that keeping up with industry news and events is important to their future success. Thanks for letting us serve you. I hope these new publications become valuable resources to every reader.