LAKE ELMO, Minnesota – Empowering employees to save at least two seconds daily is the heart of the lean manufacturing mission at Gruber Pallets, Inc. Now being run and owned by the second generation of the Gruber family, this Minnesota manufacturer and recycler seeks continuous improvement even by making little changes.
Recently, Luke Gruber and Dale Gruber Jr. bought the company from their parents and are now guiding all aspects of the operation. Dale Gruber Sr., the company’s founder, said in a video interview, “Luke and Dale will take the business a whole lot farther than I would have ever dreamed it could be.”
The latest machinery developments by the company include adding a new Woodpecker nailing machine sold by Midwest Machinery & Automation and deploying Zira’s AI Vision cameras on its repair stations. Both of these decisions fit into the company’s goal to become as efficient and nimble as possible.
Equipment from Midwest Machinery & Automation Just Makes Sense
Gruber Pallets has switched from a chuck-style nailer to the Woodpecker Jr. and Woodpecker nailing machines due to their simplicity and efficiency. The company first bought three Woodpecker Jr. nailers during the pandemic. Luke Gruber explained, “For us, it was a third of the price, two-thirds the footprint and maybe 20% more of the output. Also, the maintenance is much easier. It was a win on every front.”
At first, the Grubers weren’t sure about the all-air design of the Woodpecker, but one of their salesmen convinced them that it works well. Luke recalled, “But after working with chuck nailers and all the parts and complications, we were willing to try something different.”
The Woodpeckers are very simple to operate and maintain. The operators handle most of the maintenance. And the simple design has allowed Gruber Pallets to move the machines and maximize efficiency at least once a year without a lot of headache or downtime.
Luke praised the simplicity of upkeep on Woodpecker nailers. He said, “I mean, the maintenance is no joke; it’s incredibly easy. You’re not dealing with rebuilding chucks or messy hydraulics. It’s easy to replace a broken air fitting. Everything’s quick-connect and doesn’t even require a tool. If a firing pin isn’t working, you swap out the nail gun and keep going. Woodpeckers, you don’t even need a tool to do it. You can swap out a gun and keep going.”
Continuous improvement is part of the process at Midwest Machinery and Automation. Dale Gruber Jr. said, “The other part about the Woodpecker that we’ve really liked is that every time Wayne Wagner comes out or we talk to him, he’s telling us about new features or revisions being implemented on their machines.” According to Dale, Midwest Machinery & Automation has a quick innovation cycle where new ideas are added every year. That does mean that there can be some significant upgrades from one Woodpecker model to another. If you have an older Woodpecker, consider checking out the latest features in the newest model. (See the sidebar at end of article.)
When possible, Woodpecker has sent Gruber Pallets retrofit kits to install machinery upgrades. Dale added, “The entire Midwest Machinery team and their partners are hungry to improve and grow. And that comes through in every conversation.”
Over the last few years, Gruber Pallets has bought a MASTer Recycler™ nailer and just recently a full-size Woodpecker nailer. Each of these solutions does something a bit different and gives the company the ability to respond to various supply situations and customer needs.
Luke noted, “The Juniors handle recycled decking well. They don’t handle recycled stringers with varying heights well. That’s why we bought a MASTer Recycler. Due to the machine’s design, the MASTer Recycler can just take almost anything you put at it. The MASTer Recycler is very versatile.”
The MASTer Recycler’s unique hold-down system allows for reclaimed random width, random height/thickness boards to be nailed over recycled stringers. This is accomplished without any input from the operator, simply lay out the boards and the machine holds them down and nails at the correct spacing. The recent addition of the integrated pallet flipper invites a wider range of operators to use the machine while promoting less fatigue for all operators.
Gruber Pallets primarily produces new or combo pallets on the Woodpeckers and fully remanufactured or combo pallets on the MASTer Recycler. Dale said, “We only use new stringers on the MASTer Recycler if we don’t have enough recycled coming through. The goal is to only use recycled stringers.”
The operator for the MASTer Recycler cuts boards as well as produces pallets. That is why the operator usually only finishes about 200-240 pallets per day. He would do much more if he didn’t split his time between trimming boards and nailing. Luke explained the company’s philosophy, “We’re optimizing for flow, not that machine. We need our operators to shift to the bottleneck of our process.” Typical MASTer Recycler operators reach average numbers of 400 pallets per shift when the sole duty is building pallets.
The Grubers want each operator to do as much of a process as makes sense without requiring extra stacking, unstacking, storage and movement of material or pallets to various other stations. This explains why the repair operators do more than one job.
Employees are able to achieve more consistent results that meet the manufacturers’ production targets for the Woodpeckers. Juniors are regularly hitting 450 pallets per shift with one operator. One-man operation on a full Woodpecker is achieving Junior numbers. But if you add a second operator, Gruber Pallets is pumping out 800-900 pallets per shift consistently. This number rises to 1200 pallets if you add a third operator. Luke admitted, “When you go three guys, you have more diminishing returns. We think the sweet spot is with two operators.”
To achieve these results, there are minimal switchovers in a shift. Dale said, “We’re not switching the stringer rails, but we’ll switch the deck fingers maybe to three or four different kinds of deck configurations on the larger Woodpecker.”
All of the machines came with standard equipment offered by Midwest Machinery. But the brothers did decide to go with the Woodpecker ink coder for ISPM-15 marking after considering an inkjet system. Luke stated, “We are glad we went with Wayne’s recommendation. The roller on the Woodpecker machine works great.” There’s a low upfront cost, it is simple to maintain, and changing the stamp couldn’t be easier.
The bottom line is always critical when it comes to selecting the right pallet equipment. Luke admitted, “The price to value on Midwest machinery is just insane. Some people see the price and question their durability. But those things are incredibly well built. And there is a lot of attention to detail to them.”
Commenting on recent automation trends, Dale observed, “A lot of people are doing the $1,000,000 machines now and really trying to sell high automation accounts. That’s a lot of cash to spend and a huge footprint to find space for.”
Lean Manufacturing Requires Empowering Employees
A key to the success of the lean manufacturing initiatives at Gruber Pallet is the focus on involving everyone in the process and giving them authority to make changes that result in daily time savings. The goal is to achieve at least two seconds of savings daily by incremental changes to the work standards and value stream.
Luke joked, “While our religion is faith in Jesus, we have sold our souls to lean manufacturing. We feel like odd ducks in this industry of batch and queue processing. We want minimal touches. We want one-piece flow. We want fast switchovers.”
Dale explained, “We are more efficient in terms of how we use our footprint than many other recyclers because we don’t have all the staging areas between stations.”
Gruber Pallets doesn’t have an automated repair line. Pallet stacks are taken to each repair cell where the operator decides if he is going to dismantle or repair the pallet. The operator handles all these functions on either a repair table or PRS bandsaw dismantler. He then hand- stacks finished pallets by grade while the dismantled boards convey to the trim saw. Finished pallet stacks are then sent directly into trailers for customers or staged on occasion. The facility does have three repair-only stations where stacks are taken that have more repair-required pallets vs disassembly pallets.
The focus at Gruber Pallets is to process material through the plant as efficiently as possible. Luke added, “This means a pallet can go from sorted, torn down, boards cut and then reused to build a remanufactured or combo pallet all in about 180 seconds. We’ve cut out all forklift movement and stacking and unstacking in the recycled process.”
While this process requires the operators to do more, it reduces the number of steps in the process. Repair operators must be good at multiple functions, which increases the cross-functionality of the team. Luke suggested, “We want to reduce wasted motion and avoid stacking, moving with a forklift to then unstacking.”
Recycled boards are then taken to the manufacturing areas where employees run boards through the trim saw and then use them to produce pallets directly on the MASTer Recycler. Or boards are stacked and brought to the Woodpecker or Jr machines.
All production employees are paid on an hourly basis, which means they have the time to be more deliberate about quality and process. Luke admitted, “If we would pay them piece rate, I know they would produce more. But we’re prioritizing process improvement and quality over nailing as fast as we can go.” The hourly rate payment method also means that people in one part of the process are not doing things to shave time in their area that cost a lot more time in another. Also, employees are cross-trained so that they can do a wide variety of functions and be moved around as needed.
Dale claimed, “I’d be shocked if anyone found a more cross-trained workforce than ours. If you put a great team together with smart problem-solving capabilities, that’s that lean kind of thinking we want to inspire. It’s not just duct taping things, not just band-aiding things, but deeply trying to understand the problem and devise a solution so that it’ll never come back.”
How does the lean process work at Gruber Pallets? It begins with educating employees on the two-second principle. Any change that results in at least two-second savings daily is capable of being put into practice given certain financial or company impact parameters. Then employees share these ideas via cell phones across the company’s Slack chat network showing before and after images while explaining the change and the savings. Employees use the hash tag #twosecondimprovement to tag these posts. Dale smiled and said, “While I have been at this meeting, my phone has several messages from innovations coming from our workers and managers. That’s a huge culture win. The minimal cost to make these things happen is nothing compared to the culture and efficiency savings.”
A recent example involved the backup process for trailers coming into the repair building. The facility has a dark garage and tight spacing. The process used to involve two employees to back up a trailer. This process was tying up too much time every day. So, the team bought a $150 portable backup camera that could be used on any trailer. Now it only takes one person to do the job because of the backup camera. This saves a lot more than two seconds every day.
Luke warned, “It is the nature of managers to scrutinize the ROI of every idea. We are going to scrutinize the big purchases. But $150 is nothing to achieve this kind of savings and incentivize the improvement culture we want. We don’t even bat an eye to spend any type of money as long as you’re saving at least two seconds of improvement every day.”
But unfortunately, management can be the big impediment to progress in many pallet shops. If employees hear “no” for basic ideas too often, they will stop coming up with bright ideas. Dale acknowledged, “We release our people to make changes. We can’t be the bottleneck of improvement. If everything has to go through us, we will slow down improvement.”
Continuous improvement must have momentum and become part of your process. The reality is that smart pallet producers are problem solvers. Dale said, “We’re only as good as the problems we solve. Everyone’s got the same problems, from bad incoming pallets to poor-quality lumber and labor challenges. It matters how you solve them.”
Accurate, Real-Time Production Measurement
One of the latest additions to the Gruber Pallets process is using AI Vision from Zira. Getting ahold of production data can be difficult, especially in an environment where employees are doing multiple functions and totals are tracked by the operators or other workers.
Luke stated, “We have been really impressed with the Zira system and its effect on our workplace. It brings true visibility and accountability that is backed by real data that nobody can deny.”
Gruber Pallets has four cells dismantling and repairing all-in-one and three repair-only cells because the company doesn’t have a saw there. Management has put three cameras over those repair-only stations and immediately production has popped by 25-30%. Employees are either repairing or stacking those pallets. The Zira system is counting pallets and tracking the uptime/downtime of the station. It brings accountability in a way that is hard for employees to argue with.
Dale explained, “Zira provides both competitiveness and accountability. We were getting regularly like 550 pallets per shift. I set a goal for 700 per shift just to see what they could do. And it’s not uncommon for them to hit 800 now. Our best day so far was 900 pallets.”
Production results are displayed on monitors above the workstations. This is critical to ensure that people know how well they are doing and provide opportunities to identify problems and benchmark from top performers at the end of each shift. Luke noted, “We have put TVs everywhere so that Zira shows people in real-time where they are at.”
But beyond just production numbers for those cells, the Grubers are analyzing that data in comparison to overall production numbers. Luke explained, “The reason why you have to zoom out and look at it is because if you just look at the cell, they’re going to start competing in an unproductive way. Some will say, ‘I could dismantle a lot more if you guys pre-sort it better.’ But then this guy goes, ‘Well, I could do this much more if I could just throw this in this pile to go to him.’ Then you just start robbing production from another one. The real win is to make incremental improvements everywhere that lead to total production increases through the entire process.”
The company rewards higher performers not with production bonuses but with higher salary bumps and higher positions on the team. Daily production comes into play looking at annual evaluations and raise discussions.
Gruber Pallets has already purchased additional AI Vision cameras to expand Zira to other areas of its business and really like the dashboards and tools offered by the AI Vision software company. Luke said, “We’re very impressed with Zira’s dashboard. We’ve used Salesforce or HubSpot, these are big time dashboard companies. And Zira is as easy to use as it comes. In regard to making the widgets, pulling the data you want in, shaping the visual layouts of those data samples, getting the time frames, all of that ease of use, it feels very similar to me like Salesforce. And I don’t expect that from software developed for the pallet industry.”
Dale added, “With Zira, we are starting to get the piece rate like output with the hourly benefits and being a team and being able to problem-solve and flex all the different things.”
The vision telematics eliminates disagreements about true counts. Dale declared, “I don’t think the operators actually trusted the counts perfectly in the past. This is the first time everyone knows that the numbers are 100% true.” Reliable counts allow for the managers to turn data into actionable coaching on a daily basis.
Gruber Likes to Be Different
In addition to lean management, the company is trying to have as little finished inventory in storage as possible. Dale acknowledged, “We’re trying to get it from unfinished to finished and shipped as fast as possible. The more we look at it that way, the more our total metric of productivity has gone up, again, 10 years straight.”
Luke added, “I would say that we have a better production-to-inventory ratio than many other plant processes.” The Grubers don’t have a lot of safety stock on hand. This helps them keep the facility turning just-in-time production, reducing waste and improving cash flow.
The facility has no resaws. Everything comes in pre-cut green material, but they do cut to length and notch when needed. Over the last six months, Gruber Pallets has added another Kiln-direct heat-treating chamber for drying the green pallets that are produced. The previous kiln was maxed out. The company continues to get more requests for dried pallets and the team at Kiln-direct was able to get them a second unit very quickly.
A key driver for the success of Gruber Pallets is its employee longevity. The average tenure is around 15 years due to the company’s management philosophy, competitive pay and cross-training approach. The facility is very clean, and there is an emphasis on everything being labeled and put in its correct place. The company even has a stencil cart and lamination station that helps employees ensure proper labeling even as the facility is optimized and things are moved around from time to time.
Luke stressed, “We really care about our people being empowered to grow in their own abilities. Maybe not everyone will stay with us forever, but part of our heart is that when anyone leaves, they learned how to become a better manager, team member and person while working for us.”
A major focus for the Gruber brothers is to lead the lean culture at the company. Dale said, “Luke and I are naturally improvers. We like innovation and thinking through challenges. That is easy for us to do as owners. The real challenge for us is if we are gone tomorrow, would Gruber Pallets become a better company? Would our team and managers be able to continue this culture? And we are starting to turn the corner on that issue. More and more improvement is being driven by our people every day.”
Full Size Woodpecker Pallet Nailing Machine Recent Upgrades
The Woodpecker’s newest upgrades and improvements include the following, just to name a few:
(some upgrades are available for existing machines)
- Runner Feeder Detection System: This system detects the presence of all runners before they are loaded into the jig. If no runner is present, the machine automatically stops. This feature improves quality, reduces downtime, and improves operator safety. It includes independent controls for each runner feeder to turn the system on or off, and a visual alarm that lets the operators know a runner is missing and which runner feeder it is.
- Runner Feeder Markers: Each runner feeder includes an easy-to-see marker and ruler that shows the specific location of the runner feeder. This feature allows operators to adjust the machine even faster using our standard width adjustment system.
- Pallet Stacker Markers: The pallet stacker now includes an easy-to-see marker and ruler that shows the specific location of the stacker’s critical components, such as the forks and guides. This feature allows operators to adjust the stacker quickly and accurately. Plus, it reduces the risk of the stacker forks not being properly aligned.
- Updated Controls & Hydraulics: New hydraulic manifold and controls provide more reliable operation. This design allows the gantry to run even smoother than before.
- Updated Nailing Machine and Pallet Stacker Logic: New and improved logic is more reliable and safer than ever. It makes the Woodpecker even easier to operate.
- The Woodpecker Junior: The Original Single-Operator Pallet Nailing Machine: The 2025 model features updated controls for easier and safer operation, plus a redesigned jig that allows for better control of various stringer heights, and the ability to build pallets with stringer spacing of 63 on-center.
Gruber Pallets Through Tough Times and Transition
Dale R. Gruber Sr. and his wife Dianne share about the history of their business. And the tough questions come from their grandchildren. This video is not only precious. It captures the true grit that made this company successful. And they even answer the most important question of them all, “Will there be pallets in heaven?” (https://tinyurl.com/3djup9xm)
