Kyle Monteverde is vice president-operations for Titan Pallet Company in Memphis, Tennessee. Titan Pallet, which will celebrate 30 years in business in the fall, specializes in reconditioning, remanufacturing, and purchasing scrap and surplus pallets. Kyle has been with the company nine years and works alongside his father and brother.
Pallet Enterprise: What do you think your company will look like 5-10 years from now?
Monteverde: We’re coming up on 30 years in business this fall, and the growth we’ve experienced in the past
5-6 years has been more substantial than the steady growth the years prior. With the addition of a new building that created additional warehouse space, new dock doors, and new offices completed early 2025, we expect continual growth in the next 5-10 years.
Pallet Enterprise: What is one thing you do at your company that is different from other pallet companies?
Monteverde: We are faith- and family-centric as best as we can be, although we know that is not completely unique to us. Cutting corners or getting ahead in ways that go against our ethics and beliefs is not something we entertain. Like any business, there are ups and downs, but we have a firm foundation and trust God’s provision for our business and the welfare of our employees and their families.
Pallet Enterprise: What is the most important lesson you’ve learned about customer service?
Monteverde: I remember receiving good advice from my dad early on in my career. He suggested: always call back, even if you don’t have good news. Clear and prompt communication is paramount to our business operations and building up trust capital with our customers. We have seen time and time again that our honest and thorough communication has created a loyal customer base.
Pallet Enterprise: How do you help new employees understand your company’s culture/core values?
Monteverde: By trying to lead by example, but mainly trusting our core group of labor employees (many who have been with us for 15-20 years) to show them the way and expectations. We hold our labor and drivers to a high standard and make our expectations of timeliness and hard work clear from the beginning.
Pallet Enterprise: How have customer expectations changed in recent years?
Monteverde: There are a handful of customers who expect same-day delivery every time and ignore lead times. We fulfill expedited orders for our customers as we know things change quickly and emergencies come up, but those are rare. Most customers understand reasonable lead time expectations. Everyone is pinching pennies, so the past year or two the expectation has certainly been to meet or beat any offers customers receive from outside vendors.
Pallet Enterprise: What is one thing your company can do in the next three months to become more efficient?
Monteverde: We are continuing to digitize our daily dispatching and production, which allows us to be more efficient on multiple fronts. We are in a different technological place than we were three months ago, and with more optimization in the works as we speak, we expect to be even further down that road in the next three months.
Pallet Enterprise: What is the best part of working in this industry?
Monteverde: I think the consistent need for the product we offer is one of the best parts of being in this industry. While many other industries and jobs are deeply affected by technological advances and AI, etc., it’s hard to envision the demand for pallets changing dramatically in the near or even distant future.
