ent. A plastic pallet can cost between $45-$60
without the option of repair if it breaks, while
a wooden pallet can cost between $5-$25, and
are fixable for a variable cost enabling them to
last another few lifecycles.
Tame has noticed a trend within the market
in that companies that are not financially solid,
such as the so-called “mom and pop shops”.
Many of these places have had to close due
to a tough economy. He notes that the bank-
ing system, international, and national markets
have made life more difficult for those strug-
gling in the local commodity markets in their
efforts to receive funding.
“We’ve noticed the trend in the lumber in-
dustry, beginning in the 2000’s, a sort of clean-
ing up of the lumber industry throughout North
America, where the people that aren’t as finan-
cially solid have had to close their mills. That of
course extends to anyone who has been in the
lumber industry from wholesalers to retailers,”
said Tame.
“Being a one-stop-shop sets us apart by quite
a margin,” said Tame.
He added that HWP has never filed for bank-
ruptcy in its nearly 70 years of operation, while
three major companies in the Quebec pallet
manufacturing market have closed their doors
over the past two years. It also helps to be
green. HWP recycles wood for client compa-
nies passing them through an automated roller
and a woodchopper that grinds the pallets,
which are not fit to be put back into circulation.
AUGUST 2014
H
business elite canada 173
