Established in 2001 by Mike Miller and Philip Haebler, The Miller Dowel Company manufactures a patented wood fastening system consisting of multi-stepped wood dowels coupled with custom-designed drill bits.  From its introduction, the Miller Dowel quickly became a highly regarded, award-winning wood fastener utilized in a wide range of applications, including furniture, cabinetry, millwork, residential and commercial decks and boats. The product has been featured in numerous wood product enthusiasts television programs, such as the New Yankee Workshop and This Old House.  The company has experienced strong market acceptance and the Miller Dowel fastening system is now sold throughout North America, as well as Europe and Australia.

Several years ago, Miller Dowel initiated research & development to design a revolutionary all wood pallet.  The inspiration to develop a nail-free pallet came from the discovery of the problems nails create in traditional pallets through popping, rusting and splitting wood.

The physical science behind the dowel is straightforward.  Metal absorbs and radiates heat differently from wood.  An example of this process is a car, which is hot to the touch in summer and cold in winter.  This expansion and contraction limits a nail’s fastening effectiveness.  Additionally, water, steel and wood are not compatible, further weakening the overall integrity of nailed pallets. The Miller Dowel is an all-wood fastener and is not subject to the physical limitations found with nails, effectively eliminating the problems of nail-pops, rust and wood splits.

Utilizing the patented Miller Dowel fastening system, Mike Miller and his team spent countless hours developing and refining pallet prototypes until finally achieving their ultimate goal, an innovative all-wood pallet that significantly outperforms the current nailed wood and plastic pallet products in use in today’s markets. To reflect its strength, durability and Midwest roots, the new design was named the Bison Pallet.

To validate their performance claims, Mike and his team submitted the Bison Pallet to a range of highly respected independent testing and research facilities, including the Sardo Pallet and Container Research Laboratory at Virginia Tech and Wood Research and Development, LLC, Corvallis, WA, an ASTM and AIS approved independent testing laboratory

The results speak for themselves. In every metric, the Bison Pallet design proved to be significantly stronger, more durable yet lighter than any comparable wood pallet available. Further, the Bison Pallet was shown to be more recyclable with a smaller carbon footprint than any pallet, wood or plastic, in the market today.

From initial pallet design, the Bison Pallet product line has expanded to satisfy the pallet requirements for virtually any industry and application.