2026 Pallet Industry Social Media and Website Awards – Pallet Enterprise

The Pallet Enterprise has been recognizing top industry websites since 2019, and this year, the award expands to cover social media as well as a company’s website. The reason for the change in focus is the growing importance of social media marketing for pallet sales and lead generation. Many smart companies find ways to use social media to point customers and partners to their website. Competition CriteriaMajor focuses this year are marketing visuals, success in social media and the customer focus of messaging. As we did last year, our team focused on finding some of the best examples of key attributes or functionality, such as website redesign, videos, blogs and online sales. Also, like last year, we did not use a strict judging scale applied to all websites and categories. Some aspects of a winner’s website may fall below our typical standard if the site scores very high in one important area.Companies that were in the top five rankings last year or received an honorable mention are not eligible for recognition this year. This award is for pallet manufacturers, recyclers, pallet management companies or brokers located in the United States and Canada. The winners are recognized in this article and will be authorized to promote this recognition in their print and online communications.This year the competition is recognizing companies and individuals for the best use of social media and the best websites based on various categories. We judged only elements that are visible to the public and did not include aspects of a website that require passwords or credentials to access. So, let’s see who is setting the standard for the industry this year. Social Media Impact Social media isn’t just for selling used couches anymore. More pallet companies are using it to find customers and move product. LinkedIn claims more than 1.3 billion members worldwide, including roughly 250 million in the U.S. Many are the purchasing and logistics managers who buy pallets. Facebook remains the giant at about 3 billion monthly users, and its Marketplace draws more than a billion shoppers a month. That makes it a natural outlet for recyclers selling to small, local buyers. X is smaller, at roughly 550-600 million monthly users (including Grok AI users), but it still drives real-time industry chatter. Top Five Award Winners  Gruber Pallets – Top E-commerce Winner www.gruberpallets.comGruber’s website now functions as an online store with a shopping cart and “Buy Now” features. This is fairly rare for a pallet company website. Most focus on driving people to a form rather than actually taking a complete order. The language on the website focuses on common pain points for pallet users. The homepage opens with questions, such as “Does your product get rejected because of pallets? Does production stop? Do you run out of pallets?” Gruber’s website was also recently redesigned and refreshed to include a heartfelt family story page. It details the founders’ near-failure and the recent handoff to their sons. It also ties in with a story from a recent edition of Pallet Enterprise magazine. If you want to be featured in the magazine, contact the publisher at chaille@ireporting.com. There is no cost to be covered in the Enterprise, and our team tries to make the process as painless as possible. All you need to do is be willing to share your story. Hinton Lumber – Top Content Providerwww.hintonlumber.comHinton launched a redesigned site in September 2025. The new site has  product pages for block, EPAL, CP and export pallets; guidance on ISPM-15 and export rules; and a quote form built into every key product page. It also provides a U.S. exporter’s guide to the EU’s new Packaging and Packaging Waste Regulation (PPWR). From skyrocketing diesel prices to compliance with PPWR and changing pallet quality requirements, Hinton publishes some of the best content available from a pallet company on its blog. Its series on PPWR attracted attention across the industry. That’s why it earns the top content award for its timely, practical posts. Hinton uses LinkedIn well to promote its blog posts and drive visitors to its website. Edwards Wood Products – Best Company Videowww.ewpi.comEdwards’ newly redesigned website uses a vibrant color palette to provide a modern look to this traditional operation. The new video is one of the best our team has seen when it comes to telling a compelling story and selling more than just pallets. The company has hired a media expert to develop an integrated approach using website content and social media posts to improve the brand’s online exposure and messaging. Product pages break out stringer, block and skid options, and dedicated sections cover sustainability, safety, transportation and careers. This is a great example of a quality website redesign that ties in beautifully with a compelling company video. Girard Wood Products – Best Website Redesignwww.girardwoodproducts.comGirard’s site was redesigned after last year’s judging. It has a dedicated page for precision pallets built for automated storage and retrieval systems, a niche that’s growing as warehouses automate. It also turns nail specifications into a selling point: Girard says it uses .113-inch diameter wire where many competitors use .083 to .099 inch, for stronger joints. The website has a clean, professional look and an informative video. The messaging and site appearance reinforce the company’s expertise and professional operations. Pallet Solutions Inc. – Best Use of AIwww.palletsolutionsusa.comAs a broker, Pallet Solutions uses its website to make pallet pricing faster and more transparent. Buyers can enter a pallet type, ZIP code and volume in about 60 seconds. Independent yards nearby then bid, and the buyer gets one delivered price, with an expiration date, within five business days. Yards join a free bid list, submit their own number once and hear the outcome, win or lose, including the reason if they lose. AI was used to design and run the website, bid engine,  and various pricing tools. Honorable Mentions Kate Matz – Top Salesperson Social Media Profilewww.linkedin.com/in/kate-matz/Kate Matz of McVantage Packaging posts about manufacturing, her experience as a woman in the industry and interesting facts about the industry, her life, her company and anything else that catches her interest. Her LinkedIn posts are frequently reshared. Kate knows how to get attention and focus it on whatever message she wants her followers to notice. Some of her posts are fun. Others make you scratch your head and think, “Wow, I never knew that.” She brands her Wednesday LinkedIn posts as #WhoKnewWednesdays. Advance Lumber & Pallet – Best Website Redesign for a Canadian Company www.advancelumber.comAdvance Lumber & Pallet’s new website puts sustainability front and center, leading with the message, “Durable pallets for a sustainable future.” The homepage highlights FSC-certified wood, net-zero programs built on reuse and repair and engineering with the Pallet Design System. The website offers customer-focused content written by Rick LeBlanc, a well-known pallet industry writer and contributor to Pallet Enterprise. Topics include the dangers in most pallet RFQs, the importance of fasteners in pallet specification, how to navigate the pallet buying process and pallet life cycle analysis. Troymill Wood Products –  Best Pallet Enterprise Coverage Integrationwww.troymill.comTroymill’s website highlights its recent coverage in Pallet Enterprise magazine and does a fantastic job promoting the story. While it links to the original article, the website also uses the story to explain recent changes and improvements at the company. From a top-notch company video to extensive pages on the benefits of working with Troymill, the website design is focused on telling the company’s story and helping it stand out from the crowd. A “Quick Quote” option in the top-right corner of each page is a call to action that allows visitors to conveniently place a request for a pallet quote. Pallet Central Enterprises – Best Customer-Focused LinkedIn Postswww.linkedin.com/company/pallet-central-enterprises/posts/?feedView=allOn its website and LinkedIn page, Pallet Central regularly posts content and images that address pain points for pallet buyers. Its LinkedIn posts often caught the eye of our team throughout the year. It does a good job of consistently posting content that addresses pallet issues that many potential buyers face. Sawmiller LLC – Best Facebook Job Recruiting www.facebook.com/p/Sawmiller-LLC-100063744976723/Ohio-based Sawmiller’s Facebook page advertises jobs for trucking and maintenance and draws a decent number of comments, which is good engagement for this type of post. Many smart pallet companies use Facebook as a tool to promote job openings and tap into their employees’ connections.Hopefully, these winners give you some inspiration for how you can improve your e-marketing. If you know of any pallet company website or social media campaigns that we should consider for the 2027 competition, please send the information to chaille@ireporting.com. SearchSolutions and ideas for sawmills, pallet operations and wood processors© 2026 JNews – Premium WordPress news & magazine theme by Jegtheme.source