Call him crazy, but Earl Farrell, the owner of Hogbox in Fayetteville, Arkansas thinks he can compete making new pallets with recycled ones if he can just get the lumber processing costs low enough. And that is where Farrell turned to Baker Products to make two full sawlines. One included an innovative high speed circular center splitter saw developed just for Hogbox.
Farrell, stated, “Our goal is to triple our production with the same number of people.”
Most of the time you hear about companies going from making new pallets into dabbling with recycling. But Hogbox is bucking the trend by switching from pallet recycling to new pallet manufacturing. Farrell explained, “The availability and quality of cores got to the point that I realized I didn’t want to be in the recycled pallet business any more.”
But by making new pallets, he can produce quality pallets that hold up the load. Farrell suggested that there is just so much junk out there in the recycled market that it can be difficult to find quality cores to repair.
Farrell warned, “This is an experiment. It may fail, but we have to compete with the recycled pallet. And I think we can become efficient enough to compete with recycled pallets if customers are willing to pay a little more for a much better pallet.”
Better Lumber Leads to Better Production
The Hogbox’s pallet and lumber plant runs one shift of employees who spend part of the time processing lumber and the other time actually nailing pallets. Farrell said, “Before this new line, it took us all week to get enough wood processed to run the GBN nailer one day. And now with this Baker equipment we can run three days and then one day on the GBN Excalibur.”
Farrell added, The Baker lines at least doubles our production capability. Well when everything is running at full capacity, maybe three times previous production with the same number of people.”
The GBN Excalibur can turn out pallets at a very fast pace according to Farrell. His team can easily produce over 2,000 pallets per day, and their goal is to consistently hit about 3,000 pallets per day. The hardest aspect has been processing the lumber so that it will feed easily into a high-speed nailer, such as the Excalibur.
Farrell explained, “We are getting better and better at sorting material. Nailing machines want consistency when it comes to lumber because wane, knots, rounded edges and long boards can cause problems.”
Hogbox employees are learning how to split boards with wane and produce usable boards and stringers. A challenge is that Hogbox uses #4 material even though the nailing machine would like #3 material. Tight length tolerances is important too.
Farrell commented, “With hand nailing, you don’t have to be that accurate, you can be up to a ¼ inch off or more, and everything still works ok. But with automated nailing, you can’t be more than 1/16 of an inch off or you will jam the machine.”
GBN has claimed that the Excalibur with very high quality lumber can produce up to 4,000 pallets per day. But Hogbox hopes to hit 3,000, which is a much more doable number. Farrell said, “The GBN nailer is mechanical rather than pneumatic, which makes it easier to service and keep running. In my opinion, beam nailers are much more efficient than stitch nailers. Watching the Excalibur spit out a pallet every 7.5 seconds is incredible.”
Farrell also credited the GBN staff for its customer-oriented approach. Hogbox has bought fasteners for 35 years from Todd Mazur at Viper Industrial. Farrell added, “Todd knows fasteners, and Viper’s service is impeccable.”
And the key to producing the right quality lumber is the new Baker sawlines. The old line was capable of processing both hardwood and softwood. And the new Baker line is designed to process softwoods, which is what Farrell really wants to do in the long run. He explained, “Due to the extremely low cost, we are experimenting with low-grade hardwood again, but it is not going well. We have too much waste when it comes to processing hardwood. Typically, the waste factor is 35%, and that is why we looked for a saw system that would process softwood at high rates with minimal waste. And the Baker saw equipment does the job great!”
HogBox runs random width 4/4 lumber, 3B grade material through its old saw system. The company does not process hardwood cants like most pallet mills do.
Baker Develops Innovative Lumber Splitter
Hogbox bought two lines from Baker. One produces stringers, and the other deck boards. They are similar with some slight differences. Lumber comes in bundles and is unscrambled before random length material is cut to the right lengths on the Baker Ambi-trim cutoff saws. It has six heads and is capable of processing 20 foot material.
Clay Hedrick of Baker Products said, “The heads are all individually adjustable so they can be set for the proper lengths. Cutting 40s, 36s, whatever they want.”
Those boards then travel down a transfer chain to a Baker three-saw gang edger. This saw cuts wider boards that are 10-12 inches into 3.5 or 5.5 inches. Two operators sort out the bad boards at this point, which is a key part of the process. This quality control ensures that only the right boards become stringers. The other boards are hand stacked to be used for deck boards or in some cases hand nailing of lower quality pallets.
Stringer boards travel down the conveyor to the unscrambler and are then notched by the Baker double-head notcher. Workers at the end of the line inspect the boards and hand stack them.
The deck board line starts with the unscrambler and Ambi-trim cutoff saw. Boards are then edged using a Baker three-saw gang edger.
Hedrick, explained, “This setup gives Hogbox flexibility when it comes to lumber procurement. Beyond just 2x4s, it can process a wide variety of sizes to produce pallet lumber with minimal waste. They don’t have to just buy 2x4s or 2x6s, they can buy almost anything.”
Hedrick added that the edger has a hogger blade in the center which eliminates any shim left on the edge.
After the edger, the boards go to an automatic unscrambler before being ripped by the new Baker high-speed double-arbor circular splitter saw. This saw is designed to process KD pine 2x4s and 2x6s at speeds of up to 350 lineal feet per minute.
Hedrick said, “While board splitting is not a new concept, we developed this saw to fit Hogbox’s needs.” It has two circle saws powered by 50hp motors each. Features include variable speed and easy size switchover tha enables the operator to quickly change from doing 3.5s to 5.5s. It is a heavy-duty machine designed for robust applications.
Farrell observed, “The Baker equipment looks like the best stuff in the industry. I saw it run and appreciate good equipment. I am really impressed with the build and performance of the Baker equipment.”
And the installation process couldn’t have been easier. The machine was prewired and tested in the factory. Baker provides the electrical panel, adjustment wrenches and everything needed to make the equipment go when it hits the plant floor. Hydraulic hoses are color coded so there is no guessing what goes where. And Baker backs up its equipment with professional installation services and technical support. Farrell added, “The install wasn’t as difficult as I anticipated. Baker sent down a technician who helped us.”
The stringer line has been running for two months. And the deck board line will be set up later this year although the new splitter has been tested by Baker and proven to match Farrell’s hopes.
Previously, Hogbox processed lumber on bandsaws, but Farrell said this approach was less accurate and took too much time. The old sawline will still be used occasionally when the company is processing hardwood material.
Hector Vizueth, Hogbox’s pallet plant operations manager, said, “The Baker line is really fast, and is easier to run than our old system.”
After the equipment was ordered, Farrell reconsidered and decided not to put in a new building. He decided to repurpose an existing building. Farrell acknowledged, “The way Baker designed the equipment, you could almost put it anywhere.”
Why Transition to New Pallet Manufacturing?
Hogbox started transitioning its customers to new pallets in 2015 and completely stopped its recycling activities in 2016. Farrell stated, “We don’t sell a single recycled pallet any more. I just wasn’t happy with what I was seeing on the market. And our goal is to produce a high quality pallet for customers.”
Many of Hogbox’s pallet customers are in the poultry business that is very large in Arkansas. Farrell suggested that many recycled pallets on the market are not strong enough to hold 2,000 lbs or more of chicken.
Farrell said, “We know a lot about recycling pallets. But we quit that business. And now we are learning about automation and how to buy lumber and working towards becoming a low-cost producer of quality new pallets.”
One key to lowering cost is focusing production on only GMA pallets. Farrell said that his company used to produce a lot of small runs by hand. But he is working away from that business because it is just too much work for 50 to 100 pallets and can’t be done efficiently. Hogbox still manufactures some pallets by hand, especially designs using lower quality lumber that can’t be fed through the GBN.
Waste material is used to produce shorter pallets by hand. Sawdust and chips are sold off to others for processing. Also Hogbox provides a lot of firewood to the community from its waste wood. The facility also has a Holtec package saw for cutting lumber used in hand nailing.
Hogbox’s goal is to reach 3,000 pallets per day, and to find the customers to buy all of that production. Farrell explained, “Our two main variable costs are lumber and labor. Our labor cost is going down thanks to automation. Hopefully, efficiencies will help us offset higher lumber costs.”
Containers and Trailers Are the New Golden Goose
Farrell admitted that the pallet business is not the primary profit driver that it used to be. Everything that he has came from his pallet business. Hogbox began in the 1980s in the infancy of pallet recycling in the United States. Farrell remembered, “In the 1980s, there were used pallets laying everywhere around Springdale, Arkansas, so I saw a business opportunity to fix broken pallets.”
Farrell recalled starting with just a pickup truck and claw hammer. Today, he employs more than 20 people. In 1996, Farrell, who has always had an obsession with containers, started the container, box and trailer sale and leasing part of his business.
Hogbox leases, refurbishes and sells sea containers, truck trailers, plastic containers, gaylord cardboard boxes, intermediate bulk containers (IBCs) and other specialty packaging. Hogbox owns 1,200 sea containers and has a fleet of 1,500 truck trailers. The company also operates a roll-off dumpster service for waste removal, construction debris, cleanups.
The container and trailer business is more diversified from a customer perspective although there is some overlap with the pallet customer base. Farrell explained, “We are a storage rental business, not for road transport. Our trailers and containers are for low-end, cheap dry storage.”
Hogbox procures containers and trailers from leasing companies and then refurbishes them. The trailer business is steadier whereas containers are more seasonal, primarily around Christmas. These products are provided to distribution centers, retailers, construction sites and others. Customers like to rent containers or trailers because they have short-term need to store inventory or furniture maybe for a hotel remodel.
Farrell laughingly said, “I think that I have a fetish for containers… see the barrels, I started selling empty juice barrels in college.”
The company has a rule to only buy clean containers that have never stored toxic chemicals. One strategic advantage the company has is the right trailers and hauling equipment to efficiently move large containers. He added, “Very few people can haul sea containers and handle them efficiently.”
The containers business has become the new golden goose for Hogbox. Farrell admitted, “In the pallet recycling business, the entry bar got too low. Almost anybody could get in. That is why we moved toward automated new manufacturing and the container businesses.”
While the new pallet venture is a risk, Farrell said that he had to see if he could put in the right equipment and make everything work. He remarked, “So far, I am very happy with the performance of both the GBN nailer and the Baker saw equipment.”
