Associated Pallet, Inc. Company History

Throughout the years, Associated Pallet, Inc. has vertically integrated into the logging, sawmill, grade lumber, and kiln lumber industries. It has also expanded its product line into specialty pallet, mine timber, mulch, chip and sawdust markets.

Below is a timeline that shows the progression Associated Pallet, Inc. has made from a small pallet manufacturing company into an unlimited source for all industrial wood products needs.

October 1964 - Associated Pallet, Inc. was founded by Carl "Mickey" Perry with $100 and five employees at Five Spot (near Cleaton, KY). The first load of pallets they built was a 42 x 42 for International Harvester.

1968 - The company began sawmill operations to insure a ready supply of raw materials for pallet manufacturing.

1974 - Automatic nailers replaced hatchets; manufacturing moved to Bremen, KY.

1979 - A fleet of tractors and trailers was added to the company's assets to guarantee on time delivery to its customers.

1984 - Michael D. Perry, Mickey's oldest son, helped form the Perry Hardwood Lumber division to manufacture and market grade lumber.

1986 - Mine timbers were added to Associated Pallet's product line with acquisition of Matney Lumber Company in August.

1987 - Perry Hardwood Lumber Fredonia Mill began operations; grading station and kiln drying facilities were completed. As a result, grade lumber sales, formerly a by-product of the pallet lumber production process, started to exceed pallet sales.

1992 - Michael founded Premium Hardwoods, Inc.; started planning state-of-the-art band mill that would produce superior sawn lumber for flooring and furniture customers in a facility designed to maximize the yield from its timber resources. He had realized that his father's 25 year-old circle sawmill could not accomplish his dream of expanding into the secondary and finished lumber markets.

1994 - Turbo Max nailing machine was added to pallet production line. An interesting fact is that the 42 x 42 pallets Mickey built by hand with 5 men in 16 hours in 1964 can now be built in 2.5 hours by 3 men.

1996 - After extensive research and development, construction of the new Premium Hardwoods, Inc. plant began. The project was engineered by one of the company's employees, Dwight Rickard. Everything from the ground work to the programming of the state-of-the-art equipment was almost entirely accomplished by company crews in approximately ten months.

1997 - Final sawmill construction was completed in January, and the manufacturing machinery was totally on-line one month later.

2000 - Michael and his brother Kevin founded Industrial Drying & Sterilization, a division that specializes in the treatment of pallets to meet regulations set by national and international agencies. With Associated Pallet, Inc.'s 35-year experience in manufacturing custom built pallets and Industrial Drying & Sterilization's capabilities to kiln dry and heat treat pallets for international use, both divisions together provide a single source for high quality dried pallets at an economical price.