The increase in sales is primarily attributed to an increase in demand at two company facilities that are dedicated to pallet production for a major customer, the company said.
The company said it returned to profitability primarily through reduced management and staff positions and expanded lumber processing capacity to improve throughput and yield. The company said it also initiated a program to reduce set-up and maintenance times, completed a program to validate manufacturing process routings and standards, and updated the estimating system to insure pricing integrity.
“With sales soft during the first quarter of fiscal year 2002, our focus is to diversify our customer base, which is now significantly dominated by one major customer,” said Pallet president Zachary M. Richardson. He said the diversification is particularly important because two significant contracts with that customer, which he didn’t name, are due to expire without renewal this fiscal year.
Richardson added that the company will close its Rogersville, AL manufacturing facility in September as a result of an expiring manufacturing contract.
Pallet also added Michael Sawdy as director of operations and B. French Speece Jr. as director of sales and marketing. Sawdy will oversee all of the company’s pallet and container manufacturing facilities, while Speece will be responsible for the company’s sales and marketing and customer service departments, the company said.
