Keith Yoder is the “Integrator” and CEO of Yoder Pallet Company in Points, West Virginia. Started in 2008 by his father Ken, they have opened two more locations in Maryland. Yoder Pallet Co. focuses on a positive work environment, long-lasting community impact, and supporting missions locally and throughout the world.
Pallet Enterprise: What are the company values at Yoder Pallet? How do those values impact your daily operations?
Yoder: Our values are 1. Committed 2. Hardworking 3. Always Thankful 4. Excellence 5. Others First 6. Neat and Organized – We do our best to live out these values as we relate to our customers, vendors and employees. We find that many times, if there is a problem somewhere, it can be traced back to a lack of Core Value alignment. Having these values in front of us helps us get to the root of whatever problem we’re facing and gives us a constant path to growth and improvement.
Pallet Enterprise: What does it mean to you to have grown up in a “Family business” and now hold a leadership position?
Yoder: When I was a teenager, I had one primary goal in my life – “Not to spend my life in the pallet business.” However, as I grew older, I realized that while I didn’t necessarily love pallets, I did love building and improving the company, and I really loved working with a team of motivated, high-quality people. Many of those people have been family, but as we continue to grow, more and more are not. I’ve found that it really doesn’t matter what your last name is or who your parents are – what matters is, “Do you come with ‘batteries included’?”
Pallet Enterprise: What is your company doing to benefit the community and the greater world? How does your Christian faith affect your workplace and company culture?
Yoder: Our company supports various causes – both locally and internationally. Ken Yoder – our visionary/founder is involved in several startup charitable organizations. House of Hope provides housing security for widows in Honduras and Well of Hope supports an orphanage as well as well-drilling in Kenya, Africa. We are also involved in or support various causes including – schoolchildren in Haiti, bringing the gospel to the Middle East, support for foster care parents in Virginia, and prison ministry in the Southeast. As followers of Jesus, we do our best to treat people according to the Golden Rule found in Matthew 7:12. Our goal is to bring value to our customers, vendors, employees and into our local communities and to use the abundant blessings we have been given to build the Kingdom of God on this earth.
Pallet Enterprise: How is your company working to provide environmentally friendly products and produce pallets in a sustainable way?
Yoder: We are currently in the middle of pouring concrete and adding a building to expand our recycling operation. This will allow us to expand our repair-and-return program and continue to develop our recycling capabilities. In addition, pallets are essentially a zero waste product – sawdust goes for wooden pellets, broken boards and pallets are ground up for mulch and cant ends are used as firewood.
Pallet Enterprise: What is the most important piece of wisdom you have gained that you hope to continue to implement within the business?
Yoder: Hire motivated people and compensate them well. Don’t hire unmotivated people and try to motivate them through compensation.
