A political battle is brewing in Washington over the fate of the U.S. health care and health insurance system. And it all centers on two key forces – choice and coverage. Quite simply, President Trump is looking to dismantle Obamacare...

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Did you know that OSHA requires employers to provide forklift operator safety training before a worker takes on their first assignment? Do you know what this training should cover?  Employees who may operate a forklift must be trained according to...

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Consumption of hardwood lumber for pallets has been trending down in recent years. It had climbed fairly steadily, rebounding from the decline spurred by the housing industry collapse in 2009. However, as the accompanying bar graph shows, it peaked in...

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It’s been many years now since Baker Products came out with its first thin-kerf, single-head, horizontal band resaw. Those were heady times for my company as many businesses in the pallet industry went through the process of re-tooling. They realized...

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Reducing waste and finding useful markets for wood residuals and waste byproducts is as important as ever. The U.S. forest products market has undergone a significant transformation since The Great Recession in 2008. Concerned about the long-term viability of these...

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RIDGEVILLE, South Carolina —  Andrew Branton knows that a business has to adapt to respond to changing markets. Yet, he is still staying true to the roots of his family business, Ashley River Lumber. His company is adopting technology from...

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The pallet market has changed a lot over the last decade. Increasingly, pallet companies are doing more with less when it comes to workers and poor-quality used pallets. Finding a solution to these two problems is the core mission behind...

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The political season is heating up, and I couldn’t help but think about how the debate in this country has gone from skirmishes to an all-out war. Even in topics that should bring us together, such as education or caring...

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Pallet Enterprise: Can you tell us what your company was like when you first purchased it and how it has evolved since that time? Hoffman: The company was Larson Pallet Company when I acquired it in 2001. It became Larson...

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The employee suggestion box has almost become a cliché for employers going through the motions of listening to employees but not really paying much attention to suggestions, assuming any suggestions are actually submitted. The idea behind an employee suggestion box...

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