Midland Davis opens pallet refurbishing division

Midland Davis Corp., one of the oldest full-service recycling companies in the Midwest, has expanded its operations and launched a wood pallet refurbishing division in Rock Island. This fifth-generation family company is now collecting, repairing, reconstructing and selling refurbished wood pallets to customers in the region.

The expansion is contributing to the strength of the Quad Cities regional economy: Midland Davis hired 10 new workers, leased a 27,000 square-foot building at 1320 1^st St., Rock Island, purchased $250K in new equipment, tools, vehicles and trailers for the new venture. The new division will have an annual $2.2 million economic impact on the region, a contribution that is well underway.

At the site, workers take apart the pallets, salvaging the good boards and setting aside the rest to be grinded into mulch. Staff then repairs and rebuilds the pallets that are sold as refurbished A & B grade (40x48 or smaller) to companies in the region. In addition, Midland Davis Corp. can provide commercial customers with pick-up and containers for collection. Businesses can also drop off pallets.

Founded in Moline in 1892, Midland Davis Corp. safeguards our natural and man-made resources by collecting, brokering and coordinating logistics for materials that would otherwise be dumped into a landfill. It recycles ferrous and non-ferrous scrap metals, paper, plastics and wood for businesses and residents. The goal is reuse and zero waste.

“In the past, pallets were just thrown out the back dock and thrown away,” said Michael Davis, Human Resources Manager. In 1991, Midland Davis began accepting scrap wood, removing nails and screws with a large magnet before grinding it into mulch or boiler fuel. “For years our uncle Mitch (Davis, Vice President), had been saying that we were throwing good pallets into the grinder when we could replace a few bad boards and resell them as refurbished,” he said. And the company is excited to provide that service to the region.

“There are a lot of QC businesses that utilize pallets, and if they are throwing them away, we’ll happily take and refurbish them. And if someone needs pallets 40x48 or smaller, we can provide those too,” Davis said.

The Chamber considers Midland Davis one of our successful expansion projects. We are here and ready to provide resources, connections and information to businesses throughout our region.