From reducing environmental impacts to increasing production capacity, automation is transforming the pallet industry. VP of Operations Transformation Greg Bowen shares how automation is benefitting our team members, customers, and suppliers.
Watch the video to learn more. Transcript follows below.
My name is Greg Bowen, and I'm Vice President of Operations Transformation at 48forty Solutions. My first automation was in 2001, and there's a world of difference between where we were and where we are now because change isn't a one-time thing. It's continuous. Automation benefits not only our employees but also our environment and customer base.
The Robotic dismantler takes the pallets apart so that we glean the pieces to build another pallet back with it. Taking pallets apart has always been known as the most physical job in the pallet recycling industry, and this dismantler replaces it. This machine takes the job and turns it into a push of a button, opening up a world of who we can hire to put in that position to run that operator. We're not limited anymore because the robot's doing all the physical work.
The Urban Sawmill is a machine that can cut up to 4,000 boards an hour, which is a much higher production than anything we've had on the market before. It reduces the amount of physical labor by making all the decisions of how to separate and cut the boards. We will tell it what we are looking for through a computer program, and it makes all the decisions.
One thing that I'm most proud of, now that I am a part of this automation movement at 48forty, is how it will affect our environment. At 48forty, our definition of recycling goes much deeper. We're going to repurpose everything we bring in here, and nothing will go to the landfills. It will find a new purpose if it can't be used to be put back into another pallet.
We're not going to be known as simply the biggest pallet company in the future, we're going to be known as the most innovative, transparent, and trustworthy company that recycles pallets in America.