Millwood expands with 3 acquisitions

The August acquisition of Austin Pallet is the company’s first location in Texas. Millwood co-owners and partners Chip Trebilcock and Steve Miller finalized the acquisition on August 8.

With this acquisition, Millwood welcomed nearly 30 new team members to its staff of more than 1,800 people nationwide.

Prior to the acquisition, Austin Pallet acted as a co-packer for Millwood's CORE Erosion Control product group, and it will continue to do so. The acquisition allows Millwood to provide a new area of the country with custom crates and new and recycled pallets.

“This acquisition allows us to expand our physical presence in a rapidly growing part of the country,” Executive Director of Sales Lee Evans III said. “We are very excited about adding James and his team to the Millwood family and look forward to adding our resources to an already excellent operation.”

Austin Pallet opened in 2018 as a family-owned company that serviced the greater Austin area. Updated signage and other branding will soon don the location at 1605 Century Street in Pflugerville, Texas, to help communicate the new name: Austin Pallet: A Millwood, Inc. Company.

“My wife and I purchased Austin Pallet with the hopes of one day being able to make this step,” said James Scherer, regional operations manager. “We’re thrilled to be a part of the Millwood family and look forward to helping Millwood grow in Texas and beyond.”

Since the acquisition, Millwood hired an outside sales manager in the Austin area that works directly with the Austin Pallet location to service current and new customers. Millwood reports it is also in the process of recruiting a customer support manager in Texas to work directly with the new outside sales manager along with a chaplain dedicated to team members at this location.

In September, Millwood acquired its second location in Southern Ohio: Southworth Wood Products. Chip Trebilcock and Miller finalized the acquisition on September 1.

This location sits on 51 acres and will be referred to as MillTree East: A Millwood, Inc. Company, and is just minutes from Millwood’s original MillTree West location in Waverly, Ohio.

MillTree East is a circle mill that is currently cutting material that is resized with band saws for pallet material. Custom crates and pallets are also built at this location.

“This mill here allows us to do more custom lengths than our original Waverly scragg mill,” Millwood General Manager Lionel Trebilcock said. “This acquisition will allow for growth for the company and the team members working at our MillTree operations.”

Railroad ties are also being cut at this new Millwood location.

“When pallets or cut stock is down a little bit, we can switch gears and cut these ties,” Lionel Trebilcock said. “This is a new product that we’ve never done before.”

The team at this location have transitioned into the Millwood family and will work hand-in-hand with the MillTree West location to meet the demands of our customers in this area of Ohio.

“Located only three miles from our existing sawmill and pallet operation in Waverly, acquiring Southworth presented a unique opportunity for us to not only increase our capacity but also our product offerings to our customers in Central and Southern Ohio,” Evans said.

Rich Clark, who now works as a district manager, will oversee the operational and chaplaincy responsibilities for both MillTree locations.

“The team and I at MillTree West are very excited to work with and help develop and grow the MillTree East team,” Clark said.

In October, Millwood acquired its second Texas location: Red Express Pallet. Chip Trebilcock and Miller finalized the acquisition on October 3.

Scherer, the previous owner of Austin Pallet – the first Texas pallet operation Millwood acquired in August, will act as the plant manager at the Austin and Waco, Texas, locations for the time being.

“Red Express Pallet was an operation my wife and I were looking to acquire prior to Millwood buying Austin Pallet,” Scherer said. “Once we sold Austin Pallet to Millwood and joined the Millwood family, I talked to Chip and Steve about this opportunity, and as a team, we were able to make it happen.”

Red Express Pallet’s location sits on about 11 acres. Throughout the next six months to one year, Millwood plans to get the new family there trained and equip them with the necessary resources to become a successful Millwood operation.

“We’re very excited about the potential for this operation,” Millwood General Manager Lionel Trebilcock said. “Once we have it up and running at full capacity, we think it could be one of our most productive whitewood locations.”

Evans added: “Located only 80 miles from our recent acquisition of Austin Pallet, this new location in Waco will allow us to better serve both our current customers and new opportunities in the Central Texas market. We are very excited to see not only the changes that James and the team will make to the facility but also for the opportunities our new team members will have as they integrate into the Millwood family.”

Updated signage and other branding will soon don the location at 7314 Bagby Avenue in Waco, Texas, to help communicate the new name: Millwood, Inc. Waco Operations.

Millwood has a regional sales manager and customer support manager who live and work in the region. They will work together to increase business at both Texas locations. Millwood is also in the process of hiring a chaplain who will be available for team members at each Texas location.

Millwood reports that its mission is that all who come in contact with the company will clearly see the love of Christ in all it does and this at the top of its acquisition checklist. The company reports that each new acquisition fits in with this culture.

“Austin Pallet is a perfect fit to our culture. That’s a priority for us when assessing acquisitions,” Millwood General Manager Lionel Trebilcock said.

“The Southworth Wood Products acquisition just made sense. It fit with our mission and is just minutes away from our MillTree West location,” Loinel Trebilcock added. “The two MillTree locations will work in tandem to meet the needs of our customer base in this region.”