SAN LORENZO, California – A growing family pallet business is flourishing in northern California as it continues to expand and venture into new ways of recycling wood and developing new products.
Oakland Pallet has five locations in northern California, including two in the greater San Francisco region. Its work with recycling and utilizing wood waste is central to the company’s strong environmental credentials, which is important to customers in the San Francisco area. Oakland Pallet’s relationship with Rotochopper has enabled it to turn wood scraps into usable products.
The company was started in 1987 by José Padilla Sr., now retired. Today, Oakland Pallet is owned and operated by his five children. Javier is president and Carlos is vice president. José Jr. is operations manager. Manuel is in charge of strategic growth and planning, and Juana oversees human resources.
Oakland Pallet produces both new and recycled pallets although about 60% of its production is recycled and the remainder, new. Dealing with such a large volume of used pallets, damaged and broken pallets that are not suitable to be refurbished and dismantling many pallets to reclaim and recycle repair stock, grinding scrap material is integral to the company’s operations.
The company invested in a Rotochopper EC-256 electric-powered grinder for its Modesto plant several years ago. It added a second Rotochopper horizontal grinder, a B-66 E (a larger model and also electric-powered), to replace an aging diesel-powered grinder at its San Lorenzo facility last year. The switch to electric grinders has provided Oakland Pallet a number of benefits including lower emissions, operational cost savings and decreased maintenance needs and expenses. Besides grinding the scrap generated at those plants, the company trucks waste wood material from the other plants to Modesto and San Lorenzo for grinding.
The Rotochopper B-66 E offers precision grinding capability, rugged engineering for durability and efficiency, and the reliability of electric power for steady uptime and production. With a 66"x36" infeed, it can be powered by an electric motor up to 1,000 hp.
Oakland Pallet’s B-66 E features Rotochopper’s RotoLink® remote monitoring system; which allows Rotochopper’s customer service team to remotely monitor and adjust critical machine settings in real-time. RotoLink also provides machine owners with maintenance tracking, system triggered alerts, and machine health reports. The grinder features Rotochopper’s patented Generation II coloring system for efficient coloring and patented screen installation system for changing screens quickly without the need for overhead lifting equipment or special tools or fasteners.
Designed and ruggedly built for simplified maintenance, the B-66 E can grind a broad range of wood material to produce colored landscape mulch, animal bedding, and other premium wood fiber products.
The Rotochopper machines are used to grind whole scrap pallets, scrap from recycling operations, and trim ends from its lumber remanufacturing operations. The company’s wood grindings produced by the Rotochoppers are sold to a business that makes mulch.
“The Rotochoppers have been great,” said José Padilla Jr. Rotochopper grinders are “very low maintenance,” he added. Oakland Pallet personnel perform all routine maintenance on the machines, which have not required any additional service from Rotochopper technicians.
The newest Rotochopper replaced an old diesel grinder, he noted. The company switched to the electric-powered Rotochopper because of California’s strict air quality regulations, said Padilla.
The company gave scant consideration to other manufacturers of grinders, he said, because of its positive experience and relationship with Rotochopper.
José Padilla Jr. said he would not hesitate to recommend Rotochopper to other pallet companies in need of a grinder. He cited the speed of the machines and the ability of some models to grind wood material into mulch and to color it in one pass through the equipment. “Being able to colorize simultaneously is a plus,” noted Padilla.
Oakland Pallet chose a Rotochopper model equipped with Rotochopper’s colorizier, providing them with coloring capability for its newest machine. They are planning to produce colored mulch in the future.
Oakland Pallet recently acquired another business in the area, Organic Pallet Design. Organic Pallet Design recycles wood material – mainly from pallets, crates, and dunnage – that otherwise would be headed to the grinder. The material is reclaimed and recycled to be used for display and exhibit furnishings for special events. The company also plans to process material into siding using a Japanese process to preserve the wood.
Editor’s Note: For more information about Rotochopper or its products, visit www.rotochopper.com, email info@rotochopper.com, or call (320) 548-3586.
SAN LORENZO, California – A growing family pallet business is flourishing in northern California as it continues to expand and venture into new ways of recycling wood and developing new products.
Oakland Pallet has five locations in northern California, including two in the greater San Francisco region. Its work with recycling and utilizing wood waste is central to the company’s strong environmental credentials, which is important to customers in the San Francisco area. Oakland Pallet’s relationship with Rotochopper has enabled it to turn wood scraps into usable products.
The company was started in 1987 by José Padilla Sr., now retired. Today, Oakland Pallet is owned and operated by his five children. Javier is president and Carlos is vice president. José Jr. is operations manager. Manuel is in charge of strategic growth and planning, and Juana oversees human resources.
Oakland Pallet produces both new and recycled pallets although about 60% of its production is recycled and the remainder, new. Dealing with such a large volume of used pallets, damaged and broken pallets that are not suitable to be refurbished and dismantling many pallets to reclaim and recycle repair stock, grinding scrap material is integral to the company’s operations.
The company invested in a Rotochopper EC-256 electric-powered grinder for its Modesto plant several years ago. It added a second Rotochopper horizontal grinder, a B-66 E (a larger model and also electric-powered), to replace an aging diesel-powered grinder at its San Lorenzo facility last year. The switch to electric grinders has provided Oakland Pallet a number of benefits including lower emissions, operational cost savings and decreased maintenance needs and expenses. Besides grinding the scrap generated at those plants, the company trucks waste wood material from the other plants to Modesto and San Lorenzo for grinding.
The Rotochopper B-66 E offers precision grinding capability, rugged engineering for durability and efficiency, and the reliability of electric power for steady uptime and production. With a 66"x36" infeed, it can be powered by an electric motor up to 1,000 hp.
Oakland Pallet’s B-66 E features Rotochopper’s RotoLink® remote monitoring system; which allows Rotochopper’s customer service team to remotely monitor and adjust critical machine settings in real-time. RotoLink also provides machine owners with maintenance tracking, system triggered alerts, and machine health reports. The grinder features Rotochopper’s patented Generation II coloring system for efficient coloring and patented screen installation system for changing screens quickly without the need for overhead lifting equipment or special tools or fasteners.
Designed and ruggedly built for simplified maintenance, the B-66 E can grind a broad range of wood material to produce colored landscape mulch, animal bedding, and other premium wood fiber products.
The Rotochopper machines are used to grind whole scrap pallets, scrap from recycling operations, and trim ends from its lumber remanufacturing operations. The company’s wood grindings produced by the Rotochoppers are sold to a business that makes mulch.
“The Rotochoppers have been great,” said José Padilla Jr. Rotochopper grinders are “very low maintenance,” he added. Oakland Pallet personnel perform all routine maintenance on the machines, which have not required any additional service from Rotochopper technicians.
The newest Rotochopper replaced an old diesel grinder, he noted. The company switched to the electric-powered Rotochopper because of California’s strict air quality regulations, said Padilla.
The company gave scant consideration to other manufacturers of grinders, he said, because of its positive experience and relationship with Rotochopper.
José Padilla Jr. said he would not hesitate to recommend Rotochopper to other pallet companies in need of a grinder. He cited the speed of the machines and the ability of some models to grind wood material into mulch and to color it in one pass through the equipment. “Being able to colorize simultaneously is a plus,” noted Padilla.
Oakland Pallet chose a Rotochopper model equipped with Rotochopper’s colorizier, providing them with coloring capability for its newest machine. They are planning to produce colored mulch in the future.
Oakland Pallet recently acquired another business in the area, Organic Pallet Design. Organic Pallet Design recycles wood material – mainly from pallets, crates, and dunnage – that otherwise would be headed to the grinder. The material is reclaimed and recycled to be used for display and exhibit furnishings for special events. The company also plans to process material into siding using a Japanese process to preserve the wood.
Editor’s Note: For more information about Rotochopper or its products, visit www.rotochopper.com, email info@rotochopper.com, or call (320) 548-3586.
