APRIL 2023
business and others to communities and supply chains.
Hachtman stressed the importance of raising issues with the appropriate person. “You might grab somebody's ear, but if they can't do anything about it, then it really doesn't help you in the long term.” He cited the example of raising the issue of unemployment benefits (a federal issue) at the state level.
The importance of relationship building with elected officials was a key takeaway. Even if there isn’t a particular hot button issue you are facing, by inviting state assembly or senate members to your plant, you can help them to understand the importance of pallet businesses not only in local job creation, but for enabling supply chains more generally.
Company owners get to share the exceptional sustainability story of pallets. They are manufactured from a renewable resource. They are repairable, recyclable, made in a zero waste process. Some elected officials might even know what a pallet is, Hachtman noted.
While the industry can always hire people to tell its story, Hachtman said, it is never as effective as business owners sharing their own story with an elected official. “He will always remember now every time he drives down the road and
While the industry can always hire people to tell its story, Hachtman stressed, it is never as effective as business owners sharing their own story with an elected official
sees the pallet on the side of the road, “ he said, “he will know what those pallets do and how valuable they are and what it takes to make a pallet.”
Advocacy through other groups
While NWPCA is involved federally in advocacy regarding wood-packaging specific issues, many regulatory challenges facing pallet businesses face other types of businesses as well. “There are a lot of general business issues that are probably the biggest headaches that each of you and 48forty for that matter, look at every day,” Hachtman said.
Consider joining a business group in your state, such as the local chapter of the National Federation of Independent Businesses (NFIB). Another valuable group to join is the Society for Human Resources Management (SHRM).
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