Staying agile to encounter changing market conditions and facility needs is always on the mind of Adam Winland, plant engineer at Georgetown Pallet in Georgetown, Illinois. That’s one of the reasons he recently opted for Woodpecker nailing machines from Midwest Machinery & Automation for his latest facility upgrades.
Georgetown Pallet has a single shift capacity of about 11,000 pallets. It produces about 30% recycled, 30% new GMAs and 40% custom pallet designs. Manufacturing stringer pallets, skids and block pallets, the company may put together 20 different sizes in a day. Adam Winland recalled the company’s history, “My father, Gil Winland, started trimming lumber and railroad ties when he was in high school about 53 years ago and we’ve gradually grown to where we are today.”
Simple to Maintain and Operate – Relying on Woodpecker Nailers
In addition to other brands, Georgetown Pallet operates three Woodpecker nailing machines and one mat machine and block pallet system based on Woodpecker designs. Adam Winland explained why Woodpecker is the right choice for his latest machinery purchases. He said, “We were in the market for new assembly machines for several reasons. We wanted to increase capacity, be able to assemble recycled lumber better and be able to maintain the machine more efficiently without having to troubleshoot quite as many electrical issues.”
Winland added, “Initially, the search for additional nailing capacity was perpetuated by a need to nail recycled lumber. Our current machines could do a little bit with recycled deck boards, but I needed something that worked better with recycled stringers. Del took me to another facility and showed me someone that was making remanufactured pallets out of recycled deck boards and recycled stringers. We were sold. We knew that if the machine could handle recycled lumber that it would handle hardwood and of course, pine.”
Winland further commented, “During my search for the right machine I spoke with Del Wagner and felt like his offerings on the woodpecker machines would best suit our needs. Del and Wayne Wagner only live an hour away, and we’ve known them well before they were ever selling nails or nailing machines. We knew they would be helpful and had the knowledge and experience to hold our hand with a new brand of nailer. I can’t say enough good things about them, and they truly are what makes Midwest Machinery special.”
Winland admitted he chose Woodpecker machines for two reasons. He said, “You get Wayne and Del and the best bang for the buck when it comes to nailers.”
The company’s experience started a number of years ago with Woodpecker Juniors and the Master Recycler. All of these have been sold as the company moved towards the full-sized Woodpecker nailers. Georgetown Pallet is so happy with its full-sized Woodpecker machines that the company has pulled the trigger and ordered three more set for delivery in 2025.
A high priority for any new solution is that it must be easy to maintain and troubleshoot. Adam Winland, who is an engineer, commented, “You don’t need to be an electrical engineer to track down most of the problems with the Woodpeckers. It isn’t quite as complicated and the guys operating the machines can do more before they have to get maintenance involved.” For example, he said, “Woodpeckers are a little bit easier to fix; it’s physical, mechanical. It’s right there in front of you. You don’t have to trace down a wire loom of 75 wires to figure out; if it’s just a broken wire or a short.”
For block production, Georgetown Pallets assembles mats on the Woodpecker mat machine. Then they use a Big Buddy block machine to make the base and attach the top in the same pass. Wayne Wagner of Midwest Machinery & Automation recognizes that within the industry, this Big Buddy and Little Buddy machinery combo approach is becoming more popular for producing block pallets. The system is based on a design developed by the team behind the Woodpecker nailer, and the systems are manufactured by Mill Creek Machinery in Ohio.
Winland stated, “We chose a block machine from Midwest Machinery because it beats hand nailing. I felt like it was the best value on the market for the volumes we produce.” The Big Buddy/Little Buddy system has cut the labor required and makes the job easier on the employees.
Keys to a Good Maintenance Program
According to Adam Winland, an effective maintenance approach starts with the right people. A good maintenance routine isn’t quite as hard as it seems. Winland commented, “If you don’t have good people behind you, then you can’t really do anything.”
Georgetown Pallet also focuses on preventative maintenance to reduce downtime and plan for replacement of worn parts. Planning and strategic preparation are keys for sound preventative maintenance. He said, “You can usually get an idea of what to look out for on preventative maintenance and obtain parts ahead of time for more extensive work. Carrying a large amount of parts on the shelf helps too. This prevents you from having to wait weeks or months for parts. Supply disruptions have become more commonplace over the past year or so, but not with the Woodpeckers.”
Exploring the top mistakes he has seen when it comes to proper maintenance, Adam Winland pointed out, “Not having the right people, not having parts ready, and not planning for downtime all need to be addressed to make a good program work. Not having competent people is the absolute number one mistake to make.”
Georgetown Pallet Company Evolution and Lumber Procurement Strategy
More than 50 years ago, Adam’s father, Gil Winland, started in the lumber business by processing lumber and ties. Adam stated, “He got his start with the help of my grandfather, Don Winland, who ran a trucking business and had some contacts to acquire materials and contacts that would buy them.”
Early in the company’s history, it was more common to trim lumber and ties. Over time, the company morphed into assembling pallets by hand with bulk nails. Adam’s uncle, Eric Winland, started working in the business when he was in high school. It didn’t take too long until Don, Gil, and Eric became partners in the pallet operation. Don has since passed away. Gil and Eric are shareholders in the company and work in the business daily.
Adam stated, “I’m the third generation in the business and Eric’s son, my cousin, Parker Winland, is involved in the business too. My two boys, Ben and Chris, are part of the operation when they aren’t in school.”
Located in hardwood territory, Georgetown Pallet primarily uses hardwood lumber in its production, but the company does process a bit of green pine, kiln dried pine and aspen.
Adam commented, “In recent years we have used more of the softer species due to a lack of hardwood availability. I think this is mostly related to the strong grade lumber market which will always change over time. You have to keep an eye on inventory and make sure you are planning ahead for shortages.”
Considering recent market volatility, he put the changes in perspective. Winland said, “There will always be a glut or a shortage depending on the season and economic cycle. You can’t get away from it, and you will always be chasing something. We have our own mill to help smooth out supply, but we can’t supply all of our needs. I try to buy a variety of cants and precuts and get them from geographically different areas to help mitigate concerns with the weather.”
The sawing process starts with buying pre-cut lumber, cants and even standing timber to mill into cants or cut stock. Adam clarified, “We try to have versatile supply for everything we do. This includes lumber. We do a lot of everything to ensure supply. We got pushed into buying logs as a way to make sure we have a reliable source of material coming in. And then, of course, when we buy logs, we need a reliable source of logs coming in, so we buy standing timber as well.”
Many of the pallets the company manufactures are heat treated per customer requirements. This volume has grown over the years so much that the company just put in two additional kilns from Kiln-Direct. Winland described, “We’d purchased two kilns previously from them, and recently we added two more, basically with the idea that we needed to keep up with the extra nailing capacity.”
He added, “As long as we do regular maintenance and keep some parts on the shelf. The kilns are pretty reliable and not a lot goes wrong with them.”
New Supplies Provides Collated Fasteners for Woodpeckers
Although Georgetown Pallet likes to work with a number of suppliers to secure nails and ensure a versatile supply base, the company is very happy with New Supplies Co. to procure large, collated nails used on the Woodpecker machines. Winland explained, “We don’t want to put all of our eggs in one basket. Both of our providers have been great to work with.”
Winland said, “For many years we had only been using one nail and nail gun supplier. When we put our initial machine on order, we wanted to investigate another nail gun supplier to make sure we were getting the speed and quality that we needed. We tried guns from our incumbent supplier and New Supplies. The guns from New Supplies did a better job for us and we decided to go with them for our machine mounted guns and nails. New Supplies has taken great care of us and haven’t had any hiccups in supply since we started.”
Georgetown attempts to keep safety stock for nails and buy them ahead of time to prevent shortage concerns. Winland said, “I have enough collated nails on hand right now that I can go probably six weeks. We planned for there to be a disruption months before others were reporting nail shortages, and it has benefitted us tremendously.”
The main contact at New Supplies for Winland is Mike Aurelio. He commented, “Mike has been good to work with. If we needed to try different nails, if we needed to add on a longer nail or a shorter nail, he’s been responsive and had deliveries to us in a week’s time.”
Green Solutions: Putting Wood Waste to Good Use and Raising Worker Pay
Very little is wasted in the production process. Wood waste is turned into usable products. Georgetown Pallet sells sawdust and firewood produced from cant trims. It also manufactures colored mulch. It runs three Rotochopper grinders to process waste from its sawmill and pallet facilities. Colored mulch is processed through an Amerimulch ColorTrom system using Amerimulch colorants.
Another way the company has worked to take care of its community is through paying its personnel well. Winland explained, “Early on in the pandemics we started raising wages and did so gradually over time. It has resulted in substantial increases for pallet prices, but it is what we needed to do to take care of our employees. Our average laborer rates are up about 40% over the last two years.”
Georgetown Pallet has worked hard to be successful, and Winland credits people for the company’s consistent customer service. “People drive our business. We have about ten employees that have been with us for 20 years and about 20 employees that have been with us for more than 10 years. That level of longevity leads to consistency and reliability.”
