By Sheila G. Kelley, development coordinator
If you’ve had the pleasure to meet Ernest Evans, you know he’s “earnest” about quite a few things – his businesses, his employees, his wife, his country and nature.
Ernest started Pipe Dreams Pallet Company back in 2014 and has been building and rebuilding pallets of different sizes ever since. With a crew of himself and nine others, they ship out 400 pallets each week to American Packaging in Hutchinson, the largest cardboard company in Kansas. They also sent 500 pallets every two to three weeks to the flour mill in McPherson.
At the time of the interview, there were about 6000 pallets on the lot located on the Stanley Black and Decker (formerly Excel Industries) campus in Hesston, KS. With no building nor electricity, all work is done outside year-round in the open and under a of couple tents. Tools are run by generators.
“We work six-hour shifts in whatever weather we have,” Ernest said. “It would be nice to have a building.”
To help his employees stay cool and hydrated during this summer’s heatwaves, Ernest ran large fans off the generators and always had water or sports drinks on hand.
Helping people is dear to his heart. Ernest, who has overcome his own troubles in the past, hires workers from the New Hope Homeless Shelter in Newton to give them an opportunity to get their lives back on track.
“I have hired numerous people from the homeless shelter,” Ernest said. Some of the shelter workers have moved on, some left because they couldn’t handle the work and, the most satisfying, some have left Pipe Dreams after earning enough money to reestablish their identity and gone on to better jobs.
Rebuilding and reconditioning pallets for resale not only provides wages for employees, but it also saves wood, thus helping nature by not requiring more trees and keeping a lot of wood from ending up in the waste system.
When a pallet comes in, it is sorted by size. The most commonly used pallet globally is 48” x 40” and Ernest’s biggest seller. One of the reasons is because that size fits best in a semi-trailer and alleviates empty space in the truck.
After the pallet is unloaded at the site, it is judged on how much work it will need to refurbish and rebuild. If one is a wrong size or damaged, workers tear them apart so the wood can be used to build new pallets or be used as support material.
Because his team uses every bit of lumber they possibly can in rebuilding, there is actually very little that goes into the dumps.
“After we take them apart, we’re able to cut the good pieces down if they are from an oversized pallet and use that lumber to piece into an existing pallet that may have only a board missing,” Ernest explained. “If the wood doesn’t fit on a pallet, it’s used to make supports to help reinforce the strength of the pallet.”
Ernest and his crew then load the completed pallets onto trailers he owns and transports them to their new destination to carry on moving goods safely across the country.
Thank you Ernest and Pipe Dream Pallet for being one of our founding members of Small Business United!
WHAT IS SMALL BUSINESS UNITED?
Small Business United is a group of Harvey County small businesses who have joined together to make a huge impact! Often we see small businesses who would love to get involved and help the Harvey County community, but don’t have the resources to make a large gift. By becoming Small Business United members, these businesses contribute to improve lives and strengthen our community. To become a SBU member, click here and select “Small Business United” on the donation page.