Joshua Doyle is the CEO of HD Pallet Company, which manufactures new pallets and recycles used pallets. The company is headquartered in Memphis, Tennessee, and has other facilities in Montgomery, Alabama and Gordonsville, Tennessee.
Primarily a pallet recycler, HD Pallet Company has recently invested in a Pendu gang saw system and a Viking Turbo 505 nailing system to increase its capacity to manufacture new pallets.
Pallet Enterprise: What are the biggest challenges you face now in serving customers?
Doyle: The biggest challenges would be the supply chain, used pallet supply, and price increases across the board for fasteners, lumber, and cores. The energy crunch and the international disputes are driving fuel prices higher.
Pallet Enterprise: How did your company come about? What kind of growth have you experienced in the last couple of years?
Doyle: I’ve been involved in the pallet business since I was 19. It’s part of me. I opened my own pallet company in 2014. We have continually grown in the last couple of years. We’ve enjoyed pretty significant growth and still do.
Pallet Enterprise: How do you think customer expectations have changed in the last two years coming out of the pandemic?
Doyle: They’ve changed quite a bit, but we’re not the only industry experiencing these challenges. Maybe previously we had a 24-48-hour turnaround on a load, and those lead times are changing. We’re trying to stay ahead of that and provide as much lead time as possible so we never put them in a position where they don’t have enough pallets to run their business.
Pallet Enterprise: What have you seen in the nail market in the last six months?
Doyle: We’ve had two or three price increases in the last six months, and within the past year, three or four. We recently had another one and had a meeting with our nail vendor. It’s not as panic-driven as last summer was, when we felt like we had to buy pallets and nails to ensure we didn’t have a shortage.
Pallet Enterprise: What key things are you working on to improve or change or transform your business by the end of the year?
Doyle: We’re in the process of putting in the PalMate™ Enterprise Resource Planning system. It has so much functionality to allow us to make prudent decisions using real time inventory and production planning. We’re also adding to our team. We added a customer service manager who is helping communicate with customers on a day-to-day basis. We’re communicating proactively to ensure our customers have what they need and also informing them of challenges we face.
Pallet Enterprise: What’s the best lesson you’ve learned to have longevity in the industry and keep strong customer relationships?
Doyle: Relationships, relationships, relationships. I don’t burn bridges; I build them. I am customer-driven, and I maintain relationships whether or not business is being transacted. People know they can reach out to me if they have problems.
