Superior Pallet started as a small family business in Amarillo, Texas, but has grown over the years to enjoy a footprint in multiple states across the country. Founded in 1979 by Scott and Samuel Lobaugh, they first focused on servicing the distribution needs of businesses in the surrounding Amarillo area. The turning point for the company – and the one that led them to Burkburnett and their now 30-plus-year relationship with First Bank – came in 1984 when Scott and Samuel landed a contract with PPG Industries, a Fortune 500 manufacturer of glass and paint products.
While looking for a building in the Burkburnett area to service the PPG contract, the owners were introduced to First Bank. After locating an existing manufacturing building that would suit their needs, Scott and Samuel worked with First Bank on a commercial real estate loan to purchase the property, and by the middle of that year were up and running packaging PPG glass products for distribution, adding Dwayne Lobaugh to the company to run this part of the operation.
By 2001, the business was going strong and it was time for the owners to expand their operation. They worked with First Bank on a loan to add a 15,000 sq. ft. facility to warehouse the corrugated products used in the packing of the PPG glass. Further expansions in 2002 and 2004 followed, with First Bank there as a lending and banking partner at every step along the way.
In 2005, the company was awarded an additional contract with PPG in their Carlisle, Pennsylvania glass plant to run the packaging and shipping for the glass inside the existing operation. This was a complex deal, and the lenders at Burkburnett worked closely with the owners to put together a lending package that would make it possible. A similar contract in Decatur, Illinois quickly followed, with First Bank acting as partner again.
With 45 employees and looking to their thirty-fifth year in operation in 2019, the business is going strong. First Bank has served as a critical partner along the way, helping Superior Pallet through multiple expansions that have been critical to their growth. When thinking back through their partnership with First Bank, Scott reflected, “We wouldn’t have been here without them.”