Greystone Logistics pivots to closed-loop pallets and tracking to offset client loss

Following the abrupt loss of a major customer, Greystone Logistics accelerates its shift towards managed closed-loop pallet systems, technology integration, and recycling solutions to stabilise revenue and position for future growth.

Greystone Logistics is reshaping its business after an abrupt, high‑impact loss of volume and revenue following the termination of an 11‑year customer relationship with pallet pooling provider iGPS. The breakaway , which precipitated im...

mediate revenue declines, plant idling and staff reductions late last year , has prompted management to accelerate a strategic pivot toward recycling services, closed‑loop pallet programmes and technology‑enabled asset management.

Chairman and Chief Executive Warren Kruger framed the setback plainly on the company’s January 15 earnings call. “This was a punch in the nose,” he said, but he added that Greystone would respond forcefully by redeploying capacity and pursuing new, higher‑control pallet solutions.

Shorter‑term cashflow from recycling

To blunt the near‑term hit, Greystone secured an eight‑month contract to grind and granulate roughly 18 million pounds of plastic, work that taps recycling infrastructure scaled during its years supporting iGPS. Kruger noted the company had previously recycled in excess of 300,000 pallets a year for that customer, creating substantial resin volumes that the business can now process for third parties. Management presents the contract as a bridge to keep recently installed machinery active and to generate immediate cash while longer‑duration programmes are developed.

A sharper focus on closed‑loop systems

Strategically, Greystone is steering away from broad, national open‑loop pools toward managed closed‑loop arrangements that keep pallets moving predictably between fixed points. Management argues these loops, deployed with manufacturers and distributors that move consistent volumes on regular routes, are more amenable to recovery, condition control and digital monitoring than pallets that circulate widely.

That repositioning underpins a push into Pallet‑as‑a‑Service (PaaS) and managed return programmes. Kruger told investors the company is collaborating with Adaptive Pallet Solutions to scale returnable systems that require hands‑on coordination and sustained visibility, a model Greystone believes will produce steadier, recurring revenue versus one‑off pallet sales.

Technology and customer trials, with Walmart central

Greystone is pairing service‑based offerings with new technical capabilities. The company has launched a cellular‑enabled tracked pallet , marketed as Palletrip , that embeds real‑time cellular telemetry to report location, impact, temperature, dwell time and movement history. According to the company announcement, the pallet is being offered under lease arrangements including pay‑per‑use and fixed‑term options designed to lower customer capital outlay and support sustainability goals.

Walmart figures prominently in plans for scaling closed‑loop, technology‑driven pallets. Greystone has delivered a redesigned warehouse pallet trialled at Walmart import facilities in Chicago and Mira Loma, California, and is running tests of the cellular‑tracked unit to provide daily visibility into asset location and condition. Kruger said the data could be particularly valuable on the retailer’s food side for monitoring product quality and pallet dwell times.

Capacity, equipment and financial flexibility

The loss of iGPS volume has left substantial idle manufacturing capacity. Management disclosed approximately $60 million of historical equipment investment, including around $10 million in new machinery that has not yet been fully utilised. To bridge financing needs, the company’s lender agreed to convert debt service to interest‑only payments for calendar year 2026, easing what had been roughly $250,000 in monthly obligations, and Greystone expressed confidence in renewing its revolving credit facility.

Management is also evaluating third‑party outsourcing and non‑pallet plastic programmes to absorb excess capacity. Recent corporate communications highlight an extrusion line and an automated production facility in Jasper, Indiana, that enable custom‑sized pallets without new tooling and a production cadence management projects at roughly one pallet per minute, with potential revenue contributions in the low tens of millions.

People and execution risks

Layoffs affecting about 140 employees have reduced the workforce, but Kruger emphasised the continuity and experience within remaining operations, sales and plant leadership, asserting that those teams understand the product set and can execute programmes. Nonetheless, replacing the volume lost from iGPS is expected to take time; management estimated a recovery measured in quarters rather than weeks and indicated it anticipates meaningful progress within six months.

Market context and prospects

Industry observers say closed‑loop, returnable plastic pallets with embedded tracking align with broader customer demand for greater asset control, improved hygiene for food‑grade supply chains and lower lifetime environmental impact compared with virgin resin wood pallets. Greystone’s blend of recycling capability, leasing models and cellular tracking positions it to pursue higher‑margin, recurring service revenue, but success will depend on converting trials with anchor customers into scaled contracts and on filling or repurposing existing plant capacity.

According to the company website and recent releases, Greystone supplies recycled plastic pallets to sectors including food and beverage, automotive and pharmaceuticals and is marketing the Palletrip system and leasing options as part of a multi‑pronged recovery and growth plan. Management frames the strategy as both defensive , sustaining operations after a sudden client loss , and offensive, by shifting toward services, sustainability and traceability that customers increasingly demand.

Greystone’s next few quarters will test whether the combination of immediate recycling work, closed‑loop programmes, Walmart trials and embedded telemetry can restore revenue momentum and convert idle capacity into a competitive advantage.

Source: Noah Wire Services