The secret to Tommy Starnes’ success has been that he never forgot what his father told him. Tommy Starnes, president and owner of Starnes Pallet Service in Charlotte, N.C., recalled, “When I got into the business, my daddy told me that customers can buy pallets on almost any corner, but when it comes to the quality and the service you have to be ahead of the competition.”
A focus on quality permeates everything that Starnes Pallet does, and the company has been successful in the growing and competitive Charlotte market.
A key strategy for Starnes has been to provide a wide variety of services and products. The company does a lot more than just sell wood pallets. It has extensive warehouse space, provides warehouse racking and consumable packaging supplies, offers dumpster services, operates a sort center for proprietary pallet pools, manufactures wood crates and dunnage, and sells recycled lumber to other pallet companies. When it comes to pallets, the company produces new, recycled and specialty wood pallets.
Starnes admitted, “The diversity of our products mix has helped us when the pallet business is slow or prices are down. We always have something to keep revenue up so that we can make payroll.”
Find a Better, Greener Waste Solution
A recent major initiative for the company has been to upgrade its wood waste processing. The company used to put wood waste in dumpsters that were sent to a third party for processing. Tommy Starnes recalled, “This wasn’t always a reliable place to take scrap though, and we wanted to find a more cost-effective solution.”
Meghan Starnes-Moore, corporate counsel, controller and business manager for the company, explained, “We had a lot more scrap coming out of COVID, and it just made sense. We were paying too much to get rid of our scrap. It was a big one-time investment, but we have been able to recoup the cost quicker than we thought.”
Tommy saw an ad in Pallet Enterprise and contacted Brad Boulware, the owner of Boulware Equipment. He was looking for something more than just a traditional grinder. Starnes Pallet grinds about a trailer load per day now thanks to a turnkey grinding solution designed and provided by Boulware Equipment.
Tommy said, “Everything gets recycled now. Brad’s solution reduces handling; ground material is blown into trailers for easy processing. The equipment eliminates three or four steps for us that we were having to do. Brad’s approach has made everything more efficient.”
Starnes Pallet’s main production facility is located in an industrial park where noise, waste and fire safety are a major concern. Brad Boulware explained, “We provided a high-volume, high-output design featuring a Cresswood grinder. It is a completely enclosed system, which makes it very quiet.”
Increasingly, Boulware is finding that pallet companies are locating in industrial parks or urban areas where pleasing the neighbors and local government authorities is a major concern. Boulware noted, “These customers need solutions that reduce noise levels and the likelihood of an explosion, fire or other accident. As some recyclers have sought to grow, we have been part of the secret formula to help them grow quickly by efficiently processing their waste in a safe, clean and enclosed way.”
The Starnes wood waste processing system includes bins and waste conveyors where wood scrap and trims are collected and transported to a Cresswood (XR 2400-150) grinder for processing. All metal is removed from the ground wood trash. Ground material is then loaded into enclosed 48’ trailers by “Closed-Loop” Pneumatic Transport. The entire system is enclosed for safety.
Meghan pointed out, “We like that Boulware offers a full turnkey solution. They have good maintenance staff who can handle anything we need. Boulware was able to deliver the grinding system quickly, within 3-4 months.”
When Boulware says that it offers a turnkey solution, it means everything from system design and consulting to installation and maintenance to connecting customers with buyers who will pay for the wood material. In the case of Starnes Pallet, Boulware Equipment connected the company with buyers and even provided trailers initially to facilitate transport. Boulware noted, “Initially, they didn’t know where they were going to take the ground-up material. When someone buys a system from us, we offer a complete turnkey solution, including finding a buyer for the material.”
Boulware added, “Over time, Starnes decided to do more itself so that it would reap more of the rewards of its investment.” While Boulware may provide the customer connection, it doesn’t hold that relationship hostage if a customer wants to directly manage and service those accounts. Boulware declared, “We don’t try to be stingy or hold our arms around them…Our customers have the benefit of always having a partner for recycling their wood chips. Usually for most companies, in the beginning, that’s the hardest part.”
Through the years, Jessica Boulware has developed an extensive network of wood fiber buyers across the country. Beyond just mulch and wood fuel customers, this includes industrial & municipal absorbent products, infrastructure noise attenuation products, biomass facilities, wood flour, etc. He claimed, “No other grinding solution provider can offer this complete service.”
Looking at ROI, it all depends on how much you pay to get rid of scrap, how much wasted staff time is involved in your current process and safety and noise concerns by some other waste processing options. Meghan admitted, “The ROI on our Boulware system has been better than we thought, probably two years better than our initial estimates.”
Automation Efforts Positions for Growth and Efficiency
Starnes Pallet experienced a major growth spurt between 2018 and 2020. The company has installed more automation to boost production and reduce inefficiency. It moved primary recycling operations into a new, larger building with higher roofs. Meghan said, “We specifically went to this building because we needed more space to store pallets inside. This reduces the amount of issues we have with moisture, mold and pallet quality. We try to store as much of our finished inventory indoors as possible before shipping to customers.”
The company recently installed a complete pallet repair line from Pallet Repair Systems (PRS). This double line includes five stackers and the capacity for 16 repair tables on either side. Meghan commented, “The PRS repair line has improved our efficiency and reduced the strain on workers. Employees are not reaching up to grab pallets from tall stacks. The line is very ergonomic. And it has helped to reinforce our quality. Every pallet gets barcoded and graded. We have a quality control person at the end of each line ensuring that our quality standards are met.”
Meghan added, “This person can keep an eye on production and identify if a worker is missing something.” The PRS repair line is monitored by scanners that track production using barcodes that tie into Innovative Data Systems (IDS) enterprise resource planning software. She said, “When we put in this new automation, they were big risks. But they have paid off.”
Starnes Pallet also relies on a PRS dismantling system with six tables total, three on each side. At the end are two 10 feet steel rotating tables where scrap boards fall and are separated by size. There is a trash conveyor running down the middle of the dismantler line for operators to dispose of scrap material.
The entire process starts when forklift operators take incoming stacks to a sort area where workers manually go through stacks, separating them into various grades and conditions. Pallets needing repair are then forklifted to the repair line. Non-usable pallets are taken to the dismantling area. Rental or odd-sized go to other areas. The company also has a separate sort line that is used for sorting CHEP and other proprietary pallet providers.
As Starnes has ventured more into new pallets and combo pallets, the company has just added a new nailing machine from Rayco Industries, and it has a used Viking Champion on its way. Tommy said, “We are focused this year on bringing in some new customers for specialty pallets and selling used lumber to other pallet producers.”
Over the years, Starnes Pallet has also increased the amount of heat treating it does for customers. Years ago, the company bought a pallet heat treatment chamber from Kiln-direct. Tommy raved, “Kiln-direct has been great to deal with too. If we ever run into a problem, they are always quick to respond. Our kiln is almost always full, and it keeps right on running. We do at least 3-4 cycles per day.” When the company first installed this system, it was built up on blocks so that it could hold even more capacity. It can process pallet stacks that are 22+ pallets high.
Diversification Offers Multiple Pathways for Revenue Generation
If a product is connected to pallets, Meghan said that Starnes Pallet probably does it. Her father believes in having multiple ways to serve customers. When it comes to specialty packaging, Starnes Pallet’s affiliate company, Box It Up offers stretch film, corrugated boxes, gaylord boxes, packing peanuts and packing materials and more. Starnes Pallet also has a sizeable industrial racking business where the company sells, installs, and dismantles racking systems. The industrial racking division is managed by Trey Starnes, Tommy’s son. Trey also works in other sectors of the business, including their dumpster rental service, delivering pallets, and overseeing day to day operations.
Tommy noted how his employees have enabled his success. Currently, the company employs 124 people, including two of Tommy’s children and his sister. Some of the employees have been with the business for multiple decades. Tommy stressed, “Employee longevity is helpful because they know how we do things over the years. As a result, we don’t run into a lot of problems. We have a way of doing things, and they keep the quality focus where it should be.”
Some key employees outside of the family include Brad Watts, the plant manager office/warehouse manager, who has been with the company for 28 years. Under him is Floyd Tipton. He manages the company’s secondary location and has been with Starnes Pallet for about 25 years.
Quality Starts With the Right People
Meghan stated that when customers think of Starnes, they note the company’s focus on quality and service. Tommy echoed those comments. He said, “We are known for our service. We respond quickly to customer calls…We have customers that we have had since the very beginning of our company. We know what they need. We keep trailers loaded for them and can provide same-day delivery.”
Starnes Pallet started about 36 years ago when Tommy was a truck driver for Southeastern Freight Lines. He had customers that needed to get rid of extra pallets because of overcrowding. So, he rented a truck and moved the pallets on the side. Over time, Tommy built up the business so large that he couldn’t do both. Then, he left Southeastern to go out on his own full time. He recalled, “I didn’t sleep a lot in those early days because I was doing two jobs.”
Today, the company has three locations focusing on different aspects of the businesses. Brad Boulware recognized, “Tommy Starnes has been extraordinarily successful in commercial and industrial real estate, along with his growing this pallet recycle company. He’s a mover and a shaker in the Charlotte area.”
When it comes to quality control, Meghan credits their training, the employee incentives and the mom-and-pop feel of the company. She said, “Quality starts with retaining good staff who know how to deliver to our standards. We have very little turnover. Many of our drivers retire driving with us. I have pallet builders who have been with us for more than 20 years.”
Starnes Pallet pays employees hourly, not piece rate wages, because management was concerned that a piece rate approach would hamper their quality control strategy. Meghan said that she has led efforts to improve training and safety practices and bring in new ideas. The company recently hired its first safety director. Meghan explained, “Everybody has their own training based on the different sections of the facility and what they do.” Employees wear different colored hard hats to help differentiate the various teams. Starnes has put a renewed emphasis on wearing personal protective equipment, mentoring new workers and safety training.
The company’s quality, sustainability and safety focus align with the values of customers, including CHEP and other proprietary pallet pools. Starnes has worked with CHEP for almost two years as a processing center for blue pallets. The company sorts based on grade, keeps an inventory of ready-to-go pallets and transports broken pallets to a nearby CHEP service center. Meghan commented, “Working with CHEP has been a good addition to our business, and it has really grown since we started it.”
Grinding Considerations
Boulware Equipment strives to develop complete systems that reduce the handling and safety challenges of grinding wood material. Boulware believes that little details matter. For example, he explained, “What our system does, it keeps the trailer balanced so that it fills the trailer from front to back. And when a driver takes it to a buyer, they’re not surprised by the application of what happens to the trailer when they put it on a tipper.”
One key advantage of using a Boulware Equipment system is the elimination of manual materials handling and forklift traffic. Boulware noted, “One customer told me that putting in our system has cut his forklift gas bill in half, and it has slowed down the forklift drivers who in the past were always rushing to keep up. Our systems reduce forklift traffic, making the entire plant safer.”
Beyond business savings, Boulware systems offer pallet companies the ability to improve their environmental scorecard. Increasingly, pallet companies that reduce the amount of waste going to landfills are able to pass along those environmental improvements to their customers. Boulware suggested, “Another big benefit of our solution is the environmental benefit of getting rid of waste in a sustainable way. If you have a net zero environmental impact, that’s a huge win when it comes to meeting environmental matrices for big grocery stores or product manufacturers. You get a much higher score than somebody hauling their wood off and dumping it.”
There are some challenges, though, when it comes to preparing wood waste for processing. Some pallet companies struggle to create clean waste byproducts because their employees don’t understand that the waste bins and conveyors are only for wood material. Operators sometimes throw in everything from soda cans, blades, metal banding and other non-wood waste. Boulware observed, “The Boulware team helps our customers develop standard operating procedures to keep the material clean & reduce damages to the system. We remind our customers. ‘This is not trash; it’s a wood trash recycling system,’ so if you want to get the full benefits of the ROI, your workers can’t throw trash in the bins or dumpsters.” That’s where training and monitoring make the difference. Boulware regularly talks with its customers to provide check-ins on how the solutions are working and what can be better.
For Starnes Pallet, installing a Boulware grinding solution has been a game changer. It has reduced costs, improved efficiency, and made the facility safer while improving the environmental performance of the company. The best solutions are those that are truly green for the bottom line and the environment.
