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Pallet C e nt ral • No vem be r-D e cem be r 2 0 24 19 Our industr y is doing some automation already. ere is a lot more to be done. A great impact for the pallet recycling sector was the development and emergence of the automated robotic dismantler, sorters, stackers, and recordkeeping soft ware. e same goes for new pallet manufacturing and sawmills. With more automation in our plants, we will accomplish many things including: be able attract to our industr y a new, younger workforce; higher efficiency and qualit y of our product; competitive markets; lower cost on insurance premiums; and less injuries at work. In 2025, we will continue with more automation and investing in the newest technologies available. I believe that AI technolog y has its place in our industr y, especially in recordkeeping, reporting, and logistics. - Atlanta Pallets and Ser vices Until the hardwood pallet industr y comes up with a cutting system to make and cut precision lumber and scan boards for potential defects, I do not believe totally automated nailing makes sense. e horse is in front of the cart. A lso, hardwood lumber comes to mills as boards, cants, and cut stock, which makes it complex. I believe the technolog y can be accomplished to cover these three t ypes of input, but at a great cost. I think we will see a lot of technological improvements in other facets of our business. - Jim Kesting, Madison Count y Wood Products By 2025, automation and data-driven technologies will play a major role in optimizing production processes and resource management. In Mexico, recent labor reforms—such as increased vacation time—have accelerated the need for automation to maintain productivity. W hile Mexico's adoption of automation is still developing, the country is aligning with North American standards, which will benefit regional competitiveness and efficiency. - Samuel Podlipsky, Tarimera El Rayo Fur ther advancement of robotics and A I. 2025 w ill be too early, but I feel w ithin the next 5 years, we w ill have the next gen automation that w ill be required to replace some of the work force in our industr y. - Curtis Berry, Berry Pallets Robots and A r tif icial Intelligence are changing rapidly both logistics and production, allowing companies to be more proactive and ef f icient. - Rene Harpin, SPEC Wood and Marketing Solutions A I in t he pu rchasing/forecast ing space. Hopef u l ly, more cost-ef fect ive automat ion equ ipment. - PALtech Enterprises A s a ca rbide t ip cut t ing tool manufact u rer and supplier, we a re cont inua l ly test ing new g rades of ca rbide w it h d if ferent g ra in sizes and binders. T his cont inua l test ing a l lows us to br ing t he latest ca rbide advances to ou r tool desig ns, which ma x imize ou r customers out put and minimize cost. T hese new g rades a re prov id ing good f inish on bot h ha rd and sof t woods. By resea rching and ex per iment ing w it h t hese new g rades in ou r tool desig n and adjust ing hook angles and sheer face angles a long w it h cont rol ling tolerance, we a re prov id ing longer tool life and bet ter f inishes to ou r customers in t heir machining operat ions of pa l let components. - John Lieber, Prof ile Technolog y More automat ic pa l let-ma k ing machine lines. - George Dunn & Olympic Industries A I technolog y w i l l beg in to ta ke ef fect in log ist ics, schedu ling, and communicat ion w it h clients. - Mohammed A lakoli, PALLETCO One of t he most t ransfor mat ive technolog ies in 2 025 w i l l be pa l let inspect ion. A s t he indust r y faces increasing pressu re to reduce per-pa l let costs in bot h repa ir and manufact u r ing operat ions, innovat ive solut ions a re becoming essent ia l. Automat ion and A I have f ina l ly advanced to t he point where prev iously unsolved cha l lenges can now be add ressed w it h precision. For pa l let repa ir faci lit ies, t he abi lit y to presor t good pa l lets f rom t hose need ing repa ir w i l l d ra mat ica l ly lower costs. W hy pay for repa irs on pa l lets t hat don't need it? Wit h inspect ion systems, faci lit ies can now presor t and avoid unnecessa r y work . Add it iona l ly, pa l let inspect ion can be integ rated a f ter repa ir lines to ver if y t he qua lit y of repa irs and t race pa l lets back to specif ic repa ir stat ions for f u r t her accountabi lit y. For new pa l let manufact u rers, automated inspect ion of fers a power f u l solut ion to passively monitor product ion qua lit y. Ident if y ing defects ea rly in product ion means resou rces a re no longer wasted on defect ive pa l lets. By catching problems before a pa l let reaches t he # 2 na i ler or t he pa int line, manufact u rers can avoid unnecessa r y cont inued assembly of pa l lets t hat won't meet qua lit y standa rds. Companies like Universa l L og ic a re pushing t he bounda r ies by ut i lizing A I to process higher-resolut ion images faster t han ever before, w it h t he most defect feat u res detected in t he ma rket. By leverag ing t his technolog y, we can completely ta ke over qua lit y assu rance processes, a l low ing operators to focus on product ion. - Clay Wells, Universal Logic

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