LAFAYETTE, Indiana—In a sector increasingly defined by multi-location entities, Top Shelf Wood Packaging serves as a reminder that the wood packaging supply ecosystem still has room for smart and nimble independent operators.
Tucked into a 14,000-square-foot facility in Lafayette, Indiana, this owner-operated business has combined responsive service, lean practices, and strategic equipment investments to deliver top-tier custom wood packaging and extra-large pallets. It generally serves customers in a 60- to 70-mile radius, with customer backhaul-based opportunities allowing it to extend its market range into Illinois and Minnesota for customers willing to pick up orders at Top Shelf.
Owner Tom Andrew, a 2004 Purdue University graduate, didn’t set out to run a wood packaging business. As a teenager, he worked part-time at Henry Poor Lumber, the family retail lumber operation, riding his bicycle to work. After college, he went to work full-time, initially to manage inventory control. Eventually, he came to manage a company unit focused on prefab wall production for tract home builders.
But when the 2007–2008 recession hit, the housing slowdown provided a flash of inspiration. While brokering pallets as a sideline for another company, Andrew had a load of new softwood pallets delivered to their wall panel facility for buffer stock. “Our supplier was having trouble keeping up,” he explained. “I bought an extra load to store at our main lumberyard. To me, they looked like small walls/half walls with 2×4 studs.”
That’s when he had an “aha” moment. “We had the people and equipment already there,” he recalled. “I looked at those pallets and said, ‘We can do this.’ Our wall panel plant was stocked with everything we needed to build the pallets. It grew from there.”
What began as a project has matured into a specialized packaging business known for quick turnarounds, oversized and odd-dimension pallets and custom wood packaging. The local geographic footprint allows Top Shelf to offer Just-in-Time (JIT) inventory support, stocking custom pallets and boxes on site, then monitoring customer locations directly. It also supplies custom-cut plywood and foam panels to other local pallet companies.
“We go on-site at customer locations and count inventory on hand,” Andrew elaborated. “Once we agree to an amount of product they want us to keep, we’ll stock X amount of their specialty pallet or box so they can pull what they need when they need it.”
Top Shelf operates its own delivery truck. “We will use 3PL occasionally, but it is a hassle trying to schedule a trucking company with our customers’ changing production schedules. Having an in-house delivery capability provides better service.”
monitoring customer locations directly.
Manufacturing Hub – Lean Approach
Lafayette is no stranger to industry. Nestled along the Wabash River between Chicago and Indianapolis, it’s a region defined by farmland and factories. It’s perhaps best known as the home of Purdue University. But beyond the college-town buzz, Lafayette has emerged as a manufacturing hub, with companies like Subaru of Indiana Automotive, Caterpillar, and Wabash fueling demand for reliable industrial supply chains, including wood packaging. Top Shelf just received a Platinum Award for supply chain performance from Wabash. This recognition demonstrates its ability to go above and beyond for customers.
Walk into the Top Shelf facility, and you’ll likely be struck by how clean and orderly everything is. Visual cues help staff quickly identify what’s missing, what needs to be restocked, and what’s next on the floor. “It makes production easier, and it just makes everything work better. You can see stuff, so it’s visual. When something’s out of place, you know,” Andrew commented.
This approach to visual management is deeply influenced by Andrew’s exposure to lean manufacturing through local Chamber of Commerce events. “I originally started attending to meet customers, and I just kind of got the bug for continuous improvement,” Andrew said. “It’s kind of fun. And for a lot of our customers, lean is the language they’re speaking.”
Top Shelf Wood Packaging’s use of cantilever racking supports its commitment to clean, efficient operations. The open, vertical storage system keeps long lengths of lumber organized and accessible, allowing workers to quickly locate materials without shifting heavy stacks. It also improves safety and visual inventory management while freeing up floor space for assembly and production. The result is a tidier, more navigable shop that runs with less clutter and more precision.
Go Fast, Wood-Mizer and More
One of the standout machines in the Top Shelf lineup is the Go Fast double-head notcher with automated feed, which allows the team to notch both ends of a stringer in a single pass. The automatic infeed system helps keep throughput high and labor demands low—an important factor for a 13-person operation.
“It paid for itself,” he said. “We used to have to buy our two-by-fours pre-notched. Now we can run a day’s worth in an hour.” The machine’s precision and consistency mean fewer rejected parts, while its compact footprint fits well within Top Shelf’s clean and efficient workspace. It’s a perfect match for a shop that thrives on quick turnarounds and specialty builds.
Other equipment includes a Wood-Mizer MR200 gangsaw, which allows multiple-blade ripping of deck boards. It replaced an edger during the COVID-era equipment crunch. “We wanted flexibility in what we could cut, and this saw delivers,” Andrew explained.
The MR200 gives Top Shelf serious ripping capability in a compact footprint. With two adjustable arbors and the capacity to mount up to 12 blades on each, it allows the team to rip wide cants into multiple deck boards in a single pass. Designed for precision and output, the MR200’s adjustable feed speed and dual 40HP motors ensure smooth operation even on tougher material.
Their three radial arm saws, purchased from Britt, Iowa-based Original Saw Company, are used for high-volume crosscutting. “We used to go through DeWalt jobsite saws like crazy,” Andrew said. “These are industrial-grade, and we can cut multiple 2x10s in one pass.”
The Top Shelf shop also includes a Wood-Mizer vertical band resaw, a horizontal panel saw, and a Baker bandsaw for specialty dowel-cutting. Dust and debris are managed with a recently installed Donaldson sawdust collection system. “We needed more suction,” Andrew said. “This new system keeps the shop cleaner and quieter.”
Smart Software and Structural Analysis
Top Shelf designs most of its larger pallet configurations using Best Pallet™, which Andrew appreciates for its engineering reliability. “Best Pallet works great on some of these big pallets we build,” Andrew stated. “It really helps on oversized jobs where you need to know your load ratings.” The pallet drawings generated by Best Pallet are also useful for customer communications, allowing the company to convey specs and expectations.
They lean on Best Load™ for structural analysis of corrugated and AutoCAD more generally for custom wood packaging design. Top Shelf occasionally partners with structural engineers when customer requirements exceed software capabilities. Best Load’s main function is accurately estimating the effects of the pallet design on the performance requirements of unitized packaging systems and bulk products by modeling the mechanical interactions between pallets and the intended loading conditions.
The business manages inventory using SOS Inventory in the cloud, and all accounting is handled through QuickBooks. The cloud-based tools help maintain responsiveness and track product flow in real time.
While the company has no ambitions to scale up into a mega-operation, it sees strength in being lean and local. “Our guys are good. We’re quick, we’re flexible. We try to add good quality, because when the packaging is right, everything else down the line works better.”
And for prospective customers who might be wary of trying a smaller vendor?
“Just give us a shot,” Andrew said. “You might be surprised what a small shop can do.”
