Packaging: Millwood buys Graham Pallet

Millwood Inc., a worldwide industry leader and innovator of unit load and packaging systems, materials and services, as well as a leading supplier of new, used and reconditioned pallets, recently announced that it has acquired Graham Pallet Company, a Tompkinsville, Kentucky, manufacturer of new pallets and lumber.

The acquisition closed on September 30, 2011. The facility will operate as Graham Pallet, a Millwood, Inc. company. Chip Trebilcock, Millwood’s president, is leading the project to install new
equipment and upgrade the plant into a “state-of-the-art” pallet production facility.

“We’re excited to add Graham to the Millwood family of companies,” said Ron Ringness, executive vice president of sales, marketing and technology. “This reflects our commitment to control the flow
of materials in the southeastern U.S. and to grow as a fully-diversified manufacturing company.” Millwood already operates 3 pallet recycling locations in Tennessee and Georgia.

“Millwood brings us a broad range of new resources,” added Mike Scoby, plant manager. “There’s not an area of our operations where they have not been able to bring in expertise and new capabilities to what we do here.”

Founded in 1960, Graham Pallet serves customers in Kentucky, Tennessee, Ohio, Illinois, Georgia, Mississippi and Louisiana. In addition to a reputation for quality and service, the acquisition adds 40 to 50 truckloads per week to Millwood’s manufacturing capacity in the southeast as well as nearly 500,000 board feet of additional lumber production per month. In addition, the location will support Millwood’s regional sales team based in Nashville.

Millwood plans to invest in new equipment and processes to expand Graham’s pallet and lumber production, including new high speed nailing lines scheduled for installation in the pallet plant later
this month. “We expect to double Graham’s lumber production within the next year,” Ringness said.