West Texas Pallets is a family-owned pallet and crate company based in Ballinger, Texas. Owned by husband and wife Jason and Jill Battle, it has been serving the region for over 23 years and supplies pallets and custom crates across West Texas. The company is committed to quality, reliability and customer service – which has made it a trusted partner for businesses throughout the area.
Pallet Enterprise: What is the best piece of business advice that you have ever received?
Battle: Take care of the pennies, and the dollars will take care of themselves. That came from a great friend who was in the meat packing business. Our industries align well, with prices changing daily and finding the best deals in the market to keep costs down.
Pallet Enterprise: Have you recently started pursuing any new markets/product lines?
Battle: We are always scanning the market looking for new opportunities and business. Living in rural West Texas, those opportunities are kind of few and far between. We ventured into the grass pallet market some this past summer and look forward to doing some again this summer. We also started doing some crating for a brick tile company. We’re always looking to expand the basket and not having all the eggs in the same basket.
Pallet Enterprise: What is one thing you do at your company that is different from other pallet companies?
Battle: The one thing our company does differently than most pallet companies is guarantee our product. If our pallet is defective from a manufacturer standpoint, we will fix that pallet at no cost to the customer. Fortunately, we have the luxury of being in the same small town as our two biggest customers, and we have a good working relationship with them so that we can manage this situation if it arises, which is rare.
Pallet Enterprise: What is one of the hardest business decisions you have ever made?
Battle: The hardest business decision I ever made was to go with an automated pallet nailer. Being located in a small town, I never wanted to take jobs from the local economy. Unfortunately, over the past few years finding dedicated employees has gotten harder. With automation you can perform the same task with fewer employees, and the product does not suffer.
Pallet Enterprise: What performance indicators do you track to measure how your company is doing?
Battle: I track sales and cost of goods sold (COGS). If those two are in alignment and the fixed expenses stay constant, you will have a good year. As we all know, the COGS can fluctuate and get way out of alignment, especially in recent years. I try to find a median in the market and base my prices off that, but unfortunately there are times when we must adjust and get costs back in line.
Pallet Enterprise: How do you go about your workday to stay productive and on target?
Battle: This is one of my biggest weaknesses, staying focused and productive. In today’s life, there are many distractions (technology) that can keep us from achieving our daily goals. I plan to work on this and become more productive throughout the day.
Pallet Enterprise: What is the most important thing you do each day?
Battle: Thank God for the opportunity to own my own business. That was my goal growing up, to one day own my own business and be my own boss. I was fortunate my dream came true at age 24 when I started my business from scratch. We have had 23 years of success and look forward to many more.
Pallet Enterprise: What is the biggest challenge facing your company at this time?
Battle: The biggest challenge my business is currently facing is the rising cost of lumber and fuel. Those two are a bad combination in our industry. I’m looking forward to those getting back to normal and getting to more of a stable market.
Pallet Enterprise: If you could change any business decision that you have made in the past, what would you do differently and why?
Battle: I tried my hand in the trucking business for a few years. I thought buying a long-haul truck and hauling in all my inventory was a clever idea. In the end I decided to leave trucking to the truckers and focus my attention on what I do best, the pallet business.
