Christina Fowler-White is president and co-owner of DT Fowler Mfg. Co., Inc. in Lapeer, Michigan. DT Fowler Mfg. is a third-generation family-owned business that began as a sawmill and wood pallet manufacturer and has evolved into a full-service packaging supplier.
Pallet Enterprise: Have you recently started pursuing any new markets or product lines?
Fowler-White: In the past few years, we have focused on diversifying our customer base across industries. Being a Michigan-based company, of course, automotive is a key industry we serve. We also have a strong mix of building supplies, chemicals and lubricants, aerospace, agricultural and other emerging markets.
Pallet Enterprise: What is one thing you do at your company that is different from other pallet companies?
Fowler-White: Several of our competitive advantages have been developed going back to 1950, when DT Fowler Manufacturing was created. Coming up on our 75th anniversary and being a third-generation family-owned company has provided continuity and experience in expanding our base and product offerings. It has also helped establish long-standing relationships up and down the supply chain. We are also more vertically integrated than the majority of other pallet companies.
Pallet Enterprise: What is one of the hardest business decisions you have ever made?
Fowler-White: Running a business sometimes comes down to evaluating risk-reward decisions. Several years ago, we initiated a major capital expenditure to grow our footprint and invest in multiple pieces of updated equipment. It was a risk that has paid off so far.
Pallet Enterprise: What is the most important lesson you’ve learned about customer service?
Fowler-White: When there are other options for customers in the new and used pallet business, customer service is something we all can control to differentiate DT Fowler from others. The basics are prompt responses, communicating up front if you see a potential issue, and not waiting until the last minute. It’s a mindset, and all our employees who interact with customers are well aware of this and strive to provide this type of service.
Pallet Enterprise: What performance indicators do you track to measure how your company is doing?
Fowler-White: We utilize several key performance indicators to gauge how successfully we are putting ourselves in a position to continue our upward growth path. From the business side, we focus on EBITDA (earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization), return on investment, net profit, and customer growth and retention.
From a manufacturing aspect, we constantly measure our quality by tracking cycle times, scrap rates, and on-time delivery, among others, in real time.
DT Fowler also actively monitors employee retention and employee satisfaction through anonymous surveys with employees and during regular face-to-face meetings, all part of an open-loop of communication internally to foster growth and satisfaction together.
Pallet Enterprise: What is the most important thing you do each day?
Fowler-White: The most important thing I do each day is compartmentalize. I identify matters that have a higher sense of urgency and need attention first. That is followed up by sticking to a consistent schedule of collaborating with our staff on identifying short, mid, and long-term projects and objections. This process ensures that we are allocating the appropriate amounts of resources to each one.
