For more than four decades, Pennyrile Pallets has built a reputation as a dependable custom pallet manufacturer serving western Kentucky and surrounding markets. The company’s approach has always leaned toward steady improvement rather than dramatic reinvention. But a recent series of equipment upgrades — including a new Titan nailing machine from Pallet Machinery Group, a modernized Pendu material-handling line, and a Keystone Machinery pine resaw system — shows how the Kauffman family is evolving its operation to meet changing customer demands while preserving the culture that built the business.
Founded in 1983, Pennyrile Pallets focuses on quality-driven manufacturing supported by vertical integration and on-site processing capabilities. The company emphasizes building long-term relationships rather than chasing high-volume commodity work. “We focus on quality over quantity,” the company explains on its website, noting that its vertically integrated approach helps control consistency from raw material to finished pallet.
Today, that philosophy is shaping how brothers and co-owners Marlin and Kenneth Kauffman, guide the company into its next chapter.
Replacing an Aging Workhorse With a Titan Upgrade
The most visible step in Pennyrile’s recent evolution is the installation of a Titan nailing system supplied by Pallet Machinery Group (PMG). The decision was less about boosting volume and more about updating infrastructure that had simply reached the end of its useful life.
“We installed the Titan nailer last fall, and it has worked well for our needs,” explained Marlin Kauffman, co-owner of Pennyrile Pallets. “The old machine was 30-plus years old. It had been retrofitted before, but it was just an aging line that needed to be replaced.”
Unlike many automation investments driven by aggressive expansion goals, the Titan purchase was rooted in operational stability. Pennyrile wanted to maintain consistent output while reducing downtime risk and improving operator usability. The new system’s touchscreen controls and modern interface have helped simplify training and day-to-day adjustments. The Titan’s touchscreen controls, remote monitoring capability, and advanced safety features allow operators to track production in real time and make adjustments quickly.
“It’s more user-friendly than what we were used to,” Marlin said. “It’s not a huge difference from the Viking machines. However, the control interface has been even easier for our operators to use.”
Kenneth Kauffman, co-owner of the company with his brother, added that familiarity played a major role in the final decision. “We didn’t want something that required three or four months of training. This felt like a natural step forward without reinventing everything.”
One of the biggest differentiators in the Titan installation was the addition of a customized inline corner rounder – a feature driven by specific customer requirements in the agricultural seed sector.
“We do a lot of pallets for seed companies,” Marlin explained. “They want the corners rounded so they don’t puncture bags or damage product. PMG worked with us to design a solution when a lot of other suppliers weren’t interested.”
The customized system rounds the entire pallet corner, including the stringer, creating a safer finished product for delicate loads. For Pennyrile, that level of customization underscored the value of working with partners willing to adapt machinery to real-world needs.
“There’s just not a big market for that kind of equipment,” Kenneth said. “But PMG was willing to help us figure it out and make it work.”
So far, the Titan line is producing roughly 1,800 to 2,000 pallets per eight-hour shift with a three-person crew — output that aligns with the company’s goals of reliability rather than rapid expansion.
“We weren’t necessarily looking to increase production,” Marlin noted. “It was more about updating what we had, providing flexibility to produce various designs and keeping things running smooth. The Titan nailer lets us react faster to customers and keep quality where we want it.”
For Pennyrile, the Titan’s versatility was a deciding factor. “We run a lot of different specs,” Marlin said. “We didn’t want a machine that forced us into one style of pallet.”
Strategic Workflow: Titan and Woodpecker Work Well Together
Pennyrile operates multiple nailing lines, including a Woodpecker system installed about a year prior to the Titan. The Kauffmans have strategically divided production between the two lines based on pallet weight and material handling requirements.
“Heavier pallets go on the Titan,” Marlin explained. “The material handling is easier for the operators there. Lighter pallets, especially pine or thinner decking, go on the Woodpecker because the operators are placing boards manually.”
That approach highlights the company’s pragmatic philosophy. Instead of chasing a single fully automated solution, Pennyrile has built a balanced workflow that aligns machinery capabilities with labor efficiency.
“We try to make the heavy work easier on people,” Kenneth said. “Standing there with thick hardwood boards all day is different than handling lighter material. The equipment helps us manage that physical stress for employees.”
From Hand-Built Beginnings to Integrated Manufacturing
Pennyrile’s story stretches back to the early 1980s, when the business began building pallets by hand for other manufacturers. Alton and Marvin Yoder founded Pennyrile Pallets in 1983. Later the second generation, Melvin Kauffman, Alton’s son-in-law, and Leland Yoder, Marvin’s son took over the business. Now, Melvin’s sons run it.
Over time, the company added a sawmill, cut-up operations, and automation — gradually building a vertically integrated model that controls quality from raw log to finished pallet. Today, Pennyrile produces both hardwood and pine pallets with on-site manufacturing capabilities that reduce dependence on outside suppliers.
The company markets itself as a “log-to-pallet” operation, emphasizing quality and direct relationships rather than high-volume commodity production. Its facility can manufacture up to 15,000 pallets weekly while maintaining a focus on customized specifications and consistent service.
Kenneth explained that the company’s evolution has always been tied to practical improvements.
“We’ve never been the biggest,” he said. “But every few years we’ve tried to make the next smart step — whether that’s adding a sawmill, expanding cutstock, or investing in automation.”
One area where Pennyrile has quietly expanded is cutstock production — supplying pallet components to other pallet manufacturers as well as feeding its own lines. Over the past few years, cutstock has become an increasingly important revenue source.
Pendu Line Brings Efficiency to Cut-Up Operations
Upstream from the nailing lines, Pennyrile has also invested in improving material flow with a Pendu/Brewer gang saw cut-up system paired with a newer single-layer Pendu stacker. The stacker allows multiple product types — notched stringers, boards, and bypass material — to move through the same system without constant manual intervention.
“We can stack all our material with one stacker,” Kenneth said. “If we’re not cutting stringers, it bypasses the notcher and still gets stacked automatically.” That upgrade has delivered incremental productivity gains without requiring additional labor, reinforcing the company’s long-standing focus on lean efficiency rather than large-scale automation leaps.
“The Pendu stacker has increased our production some,” Kenneth noted. “But more than that, it keeps the flow steady and reduces handling.”
Material processed through the Pendu line moves directly into the nailing building, creating a streamlined path from raw lumber to finished pallet.
Keystone Machinery Pine Resaw Expands Flexibility
Another key piece of Pennyrile’s modernization strategy has been a Keystone Machinery band resaw line primarily used for processing pine. The Keystone line gives the company greater control over raw material utilization. While hardwood remains central to the business, the ability to efficiently process pine has opened new opportunities in lightweight pallet production and cost management.
“We’ve always been strong in hardwood,” Marlin said. “But pine gives us another tool to serve customers that need something different.”
The resaw system supports Pennyrile’s hybrid manufacturing model — blending hardwood durability with lighter softwood solutions where appropriate. By diversifying lumber processing capabilities, the company can respond more quickly to customer requests while maintaining margins in a fluctuating lumber market. The equipment also aligns with Pennyrile’s vertically integrated approach, which emphasizes control over inputs to ensure consistent quality.
The resaw line allows Pennyrile to break down material efficiently while improving yield from incoming logs. Combined with the company’s sawmill and cut stock operations, the Keystone system strengthens its vertically integrated model — a strategy that reduces supply risk and supports tighter quality control.
“Our on-site processing helps us control quality from the beginning,” the company states, highlighting vertical integration as a core advantage.
Pennyrile used two Eagle dip tanks for treating most green pine lumber to prevent mold growth. Marlin said, “We use PQ-8 from ISK Biocides, which is an FDA-approved mold inhibitor. It works great to prevent mold growth at our facility and while our customer uses it. Our mold issues have gone away since we have started using the ISK Biocides product.”
Kenneth noted, “We have tried a lot of approaches through the years. With mold, you have to get it before it’s there. That’s why we dip our lumber. The Eagle dip tanks are robust, durable and help improve reuse of extra moldicide as much as possible.”
Evolution Without Losing Identity
Perhaps the most interesting aspect of Pennyrile’s story is how the company has evolved organizationally without losing its family-driven identity.
In earlier years, the Kauffman family operated a sawmill directly tied to the pallet plant. Over time, ownership of that sawmill transitioned to another family operation, though the relationship remains close and the material flow continues largely unchanged.
“All the low-grade lumber produced there still stays here,” Kenneth explained. “The setup works well for both sides.”
The operation today includes multiple buildings dedicated to specific stages of production — sawmill processing nearby, cut-up operations centered around the Pendu line, and final assembly housed in the nailing facility.
While the physical footprint has grown, the philosophy remains consistent. “We’re still one location,” Kenneth said. “We’ve added equipment and improved processes, but the way we work is still very much the same.”
Customer-Driven Automation
One defining theme throughout Pennyrile’s evolution is that automation decisions are driven by customer needs rather than technology trends. The corner rounder on the Titan is a perfect example. Seed customers required rounded edges to protect bags, and Pennyrile responded by seeking out a customized solution even when suppliers hesitated.
“That was probably the biggest reason we went with the Titan,” Marlin explained. “PMG was willing to work with us to develop a custom solution.”
For PMG, the willingness to invest in specialized features reflects a broader strategy focused on niche value rather than just mass production. In the same way, by serving customers with unique requirements, Pennyrile strengthens relationships that are harder for competitors to replicate.
Kenneth said that relationship mattered just as much as the technology itself. “We wanted a company that understands pallet plants — not just selling machines,” he said. “PMG has been around the industry long enough to know what actually works in production.”
Marlin added that the Titan’s oversized hydraulic system and heavy-duty design also appealed to Pennyrile’s long-term mindset. “If we invest, we want it to last,” he said. “The Titan is built heavy, and that fits how we think.”
Looking Ahead: Measured Growth
As the pallet industry continues to face labor challenges, fluctuating lumber prices, and evolving customer expectations, Pennyrile’s incremental modernization strategy may offer a blueprint for similarly-sized operations.
The Titan nailing line, Pendu stacker, and Keystone resaw collectively represent a thoughtful upgrade path – one that balances automation with practicality.
“We’re happy overall,” Marlin said of the recent changes. “We’re still working through a few things, but the support has been good from PMG, and the equipment is doing what we needed it to do.”
Kenneth echoed that sentiment, emphasizing that progress at Pennyrile is rarely about dramatic expansion or major strategy overhaul. “It’s about making the operation better for the people working here and for our customers,” he said.
Both Marlin and Kenneth were quick to recognize the contribution of others in the business’s success. Marlin acknowledged, “We feel truly blessed by God to have this opportunity to continue this family business that the generations before us made possible for us to continue. Also, our employees are a huge part of our success. Without their contributions, we would not be able to have what we have today.”
With more than 40 years of history behind it and a clear commitment to continuous improvement, Pennyrile Pallets demonstrates how a family-run manufacturer can evolve with technology while staying grounded in the relationships and quality focus that built its reputation in the first place.
Pallet Machinery Group Develops a Pallet Corner Rounder
Some pallet users with bags of products or other sensitive unit loads, struggle with product damage related to sharp edges or corners. Pallet Machinery Group (PMG) has developed a unique corner rounder station to solve this problem. It rounds the entire pallet corner, including the stringer, creating a safer finished product for delicate loads.
This unit can be set up on an existing line between the right angle and stacker. Doug Jones, president of PMG, commented, “We can also set this up as a standalone unit if someone does not have enough room to fit it in their nailing line.” This could involve a de-stacking station, a corner rounder and a restacker. The specifications for the new pallet rounder are below:
Specs:
American designed, built and serviced
Designed for 6+ pallets per minute
Min size pallet: 28″ x 28″
Max size pallet: 72″ x 60″
Adjustable round radius
Cutter head: Profile Technologies
Automatic metering system
Pass through capable for inline production
