Timely delivery and custom solutions have been the hallmark of Pallet Resource of NC (PRNC) since the Grimes family took over the company in the 1980s. That legacy stands true today as the second generation of the Grimes family runs the Lexington, North Carolina pallet manufacturing and recycling operation.
Back in the 1980s, Neal Grimes decided he wanted to work for himself. At the time, he was a manager of a furniture manufacturing plant in North Carolina, and he saw the industry transition jobs overseas. He had a choice – buy a pallet company or an ice cream shop. Decades later, he is glad he went into pallets because PRNC is thriving today. And that ice cream shop was located in a shopping mall that is now defunct.
The family business officially transitioned ownership last year as Neal sold a controlling interest to his three sons, Mac (the general manager), David (human resources) and Stephen (administration). Neal admitted, “Wish I had done this several years before because they were really running the business for years. I would come in a few times a week and stir things up a bit. I wish I had stepped away a few years earlier. It was the best thing for me, my wife, my sons and the business.”
What led to the change? Covid was the real impetus because Neal said his sons wanted him and his wife to avoid infection and reduce risk. As a result, he came into the office much less over the last two plus years. Neal stated, “The company has really prospered under the leadership of my sons. All along, this was the plan for my sons to take over. They each have areas of strengths, and they work together well.”
As the general manager, the final decision now lies with Mac, who is not only the oldest brother but is also a retired military officer with years of leadership training, including decades at PRNC. Neal commented, “We are blessed that we have three sons that want to take active roles in the company.”
Specialty Pallets and Customized Solutions
PRNC is successful because it focuses on odd-sized pallets and custom solutions. The company does not have any automated nailing machines. Everything is done by hand with nailing jigs. Mac said, “PRNC doesn’t build a lot of standard pallets. We build a lot of custom or odd-sized pallets on nail jigs.”
David Grimes pointed out, “We design and build a lot of different sizes and pallet configurations to meet the unique needs of customers. Our sales guys are great at using the Pallet Design System® (PDS) to design what customers really need.”
PRNC has a three-person sales team providing redundancy for customers as well as expert assistance to develop customized solutions. Some PRNC customers have as many as 200 different SKUs and correlated pallet designs. Stephen Grimes suggested that PDS allows PRNC to maintain a rich database of designs and potential solutions for customers. The company produces 26-30 truckloads of pallets per day. PRNC does 72% new pallets and 20% recycled plus, fiber and mulch products.
Stephen said, “Quality of cores has always been a problem. But it is worse today. We used to do more recycling. But since we have taken over from my dad, we are producing more custom-built pallets.”
Mac agreed, “We would have done a lot more used pallet business over the last two years if we could find the cores.”
Another key driver for the success of PRNC has been its quick turnaround time for customer orders. Mac said, “We specialize in very fast turnarounds. The speed of our turnaround sets us apart from the competition.”
He suggested that many other companies in the area take 2-3 weeks to process an order for custom pallets, whereas PRNC routinely delivers in 2-3 days. And for key customers, PRNC can take an order one afternoon and have it completed and put on a truck by noon the next day. PRNC’s secret? The company deploys a second shift that starts at 4 p.m. and works until 2:30. This shift exclusively cuts material for the main shift to process and turn into pallets. PRNC has deployed this strategy for years.
Mac recognized, “The late-night shift allows PRNC to more quickly meet last-minute orders. Customers can send in orders late in an after-noon, the night shift cuts the material, the nailers assemble the order in the morning, and it is out the door before lunch.”
Another key to the company’s success is its personnel. Mac said, “Finding new labor was a challenge in the pandemic. But we are grateful for the outstanding core group of steady emloyees who keep everything running. We have many folks who have been here with us for 10 years plus.”
PRNC tries to work with employees to be flexible on shifts and other considerations to obtain staff to fit around life situations. Currently, the company has 80 employees. Three times per year (Cinco De Mayo, Labor Day and near Christmas), the company puts on big food celebrations to recognize the team and just say thanks. The Grimes family oversees these employee celebration meals and helps serve the food.
Having the Right Equipment Makes a Difference!
Payback is a core concern for PRNC when it buys machinery. While PRNC may not have the most equipment, it certainly has spent money in the right place to boost efficiency and reduce worker strain. Over the years, the company has mostly transitioned customers to softwood pallets although a few customers still need hardwood designs. Everything is done at one location, PRNC sits on an almost 20-acre lot with multiple buildings.
PRNC buys a lot of wood on the open market and resaws and cuts it to length, a lot of 2x6s and 2x4s. The company’s latest purchase is a new Holtec SeleCut V-Series crosscut saw. It is on order and should be ready to install any day now. This unit will replace an older package saw. Mac said, “Our current package saw is a great saw. We have had it for well over a decade. We are upgrading because we are at the point that we think we can get even more production out of a newer Holtec saw. This one will come with a board aligner that lines up the edges of the board. This feature will help us make an even more accurate cut.”
This package saw is something the company uses daily and has become critical to efficiently processing packs of lumber. PRNC buys quality machinery and expects it to last a long time. That’s a big reason the company invested in an SII dry kiln more than 15 years ago. PRNC heat treats about 20% of its pallets as many customers use them for export.
Mac said, “Our SII dry kiln is a solid piece of equipment. We know the folks at SII personally, and the company is located close by. We know they produce a quality product and stand behind their work.”
When the company first got started in heat treating years ago, the ISPM-15 inspector saw an SII dry kiln and said, “Oh, this is going to be easy.” He knew that SII kilns are reliable and work well for ISPM-15 compliance.
The resaw department is equipped with mostly Brewer equipment, a Brewer gang saw, a Brewer Golden Eagle 2000-2HD bandsaw and a Brewer notcher. The plant also has a trimming area that is equipped with chop saws for cutting material to length. Workers use a SCMI Sigma 65 panel saw for cutting plywood panels. PRNC also deploys a drill press because certain customers need bulk patterns built into their pallets.
Pallets are produced by hand using pneumatic hand tools and jigs.
In the recycling area, incoming pallets are sorted at a sorting area toward the back of the property. Stacks of pallets are taken to an Industrial Resources repair line. Mac explained, “We don’t do any sorting in the repair shop itself.”
The Industrial Resources system begins with a powered infeed. A short conveyor moves stacks of incoming pallets into a bucket tipper that tips the stack of pallets down. A chain with dogs brings one pallet at a time to a prep table equipped with an Industrial Resources Clipper lead board remover. The worker manning the clipper decides whether or not a pallet can be repaired. If it is not worth repairing, he sends it for dismantling and lumber recovery. If it can be repaired, he removes damaged lead boards as needed with the Clipper but does not remove any broken interior deck boards. Then he slides the pallet onto the middle conveyor of a three-tier conveyor system. The bottom conveyor is for outbound pallets that have been repaired, and the top tier is for moving scrap material.
A major benefit of the IR line was that it eliminated a lot of unnecessary forklift traffic and made life easier for repair operators. Mac stated, “The main reason we got the IR line and continue to use it is the ergonomic benefits. It gives our repair operators the opportunity to be more productive, reduce fatigue and protect themselves from injuries.”
The repair line is especially important given the changing core landscape. Mac explained,
“With the quality of the recycled pallet pool degrading, that makes the repair line even more important because the operators are having to do more work than they had to do in the past.”
The PRNC repair line has two lead board clippers and six repair stations. But it can be arranged to accommodate eight total repair stations.
Mac added, “The degrading of the quality of the overall recycled pool means that we are having to repair more pallets and produce more combos. And this trend is definitely here to stay.”
A key part of the PRNC repair line is its integration with barcode tracking software from Innovative Data Systems (IDS). Repair operators put barcodes on each pallet. These barcodes are read by a scanner to track production and decide which stacker a pallet should be routed to for further handling.
Mac said, “The IDS barcode solution has brought accountability to the repair department. Since we implemented this approach years ago, our complaints about pallet quality have gone down to almost zero.”
Waste material is ground up in one of two grinders. PRNC has a Schutte hammermill grinder located near the repair area. This grinder produces very small, consistent pieces of material that become playground mulch. The company uses a Morbark tub grinder to produce landscape mulch. Playground mulch is a specialty product that requires certification and a lot of trial and error to find the right mulch consistency. Mac explained, “It took a while for us to find the right formula. We had to do a number of tests to obtain certification by the International Play Equipment Manufacturers Association (IPEMA).” IPEMA looks to see that playground mulch provides adequate levels of fall protection for children. IPEMA certified mulch must have the right amount of particulates; not too much sawdust, uniform size, no long spears, no metal, etc.
PRNC’s mulch business has become an important part of the operation, selling both direct and wholesale to customers. Mac said, “We don’t believe in wasting anything. Everything gets recycled, even the dust.”
Growing Through Strategic Action
Since the Grimes brothers took over, they have moved the company to produce more specialty products and fewer used pallets. Mac admitted, “Finding good quality is tough, and with the pandemic, everything has gotten more expensive.”
The company has added lifts in the trimming and saw areas to reduce worker strain related to lifting pieces of lumber. Mac commented, “We have added conveyors and lifts where possible to reduce worker fatigue. I encourage any pallet company to make similar improvements. It is a minimal investment in equipment that pays big dividends when it comes to worker satisfaction and safety.”
PRNC added extra covered storage space for lumber and finished pallets last year. Mac said, “We added pole barns to keep pallets and lumber dry. This helps mitigate mold concerns due to moisture.”
PRNC knows its lane and tries to stay focused on what it does best. Mac explained, “We are not trying to compete with the big, long-run nailers. Many of those are connected to sawmills, enjoy an economy of scale, and they fill a role in the marketplace. Our specialty is providing custom pallets that require extensive hands-on collaboration and solution development. Our sales team are experts at finding the right pallet solutions, not just selling a standard pallet.”
