Building the Moat Mindset
Dear WPA members and friends,
Glenn
Glenn Meeks
Executive Vice President
Western Pallet Association
July 2025
November 2025
Every business leader knows the rhythm: pursue growth, protect margins, repeat. But the smartest operators in our industry are starting to ask a sharper question, how do we grow without becoming more dependent on the same customers, costs, and market forces that keep us treading water?
This month’s issue challenges that thinking. Kat Vasquez lays it out plainly: stop swimming harder, start building deeper. The companies that will dominate the next decade aren’t just selling more - they’re building moats. Data intelligence, speed, brand equity, and vertical integration are the new defensible assets of the pallet world.
Emily Clark reminds us that advocacy is business strategy in disguise. Legislative wins like 100% bonus depreciation and expanded R&D deductions aren’t just line items, they’re growth accelerators. If you’re not leveraging these tools, you’re leaving cash on the table and competitiveness on the floor
And then there’s the human side of growth. Kevan Grinwis draws a line between ambition and ethics. His reflection, “I’m Sorry—We’re Going to Have to Let You Go,” is a gut check on what it means to build a business worth having: one that grows revenue without losing integrity.
Taken together, these stories point to a single truth - business development is about closing the gap between what’s profitable and what’s sustainable.
The market rewards those who think beyond transactions and build systems, standards, and stories that no competitor can copy. Let’s make that our next advantage.