An Illinois-based pallet company, operating in Wright City for about a month without a business license or occupancy permit, was shut down earlier this month after city code violations were discovered. Wright City aldermen, at their Jan. 13 meeting, advised the owners of BNE Pallet Recycling Corporation that the violations would need to be corrected before they could resume operations. An inspection performed earlier that day at the facility the company was leasing , located at 305 E.S. First St., revealed numerous building code violations at the facility that needed to be corrected according to Wright City officials. According to the inspection report, some of those violations included exposed wiring, uncapped sewer lines and the presence of animal feces. Aldermen said the company also was in violation of city code by failing to obtain a business license or occupancy permit from the city. The pallet company is leasing the building from Manchester Investors. The building was formerly occupied by Ameriwood Industries. BNE Pallet Recycling manufactures and recycles pallets. According to its Web site, the company is headquartered in Overland and has operations in New Athens, Ill., and Memphis, Tenn. Aldermen voted 4-0 to postpone approval of the business license until improvements to the facility can be made. City officials this week said improvements are being made to the building following a second inspection. The matter is expected to be reviewed again at this Thursday’s board of aldermen meeting. The pallet company, according to city officials, had previously been operating at the former Wright Way Truck and Trailer located along the North Service Road west of the Stracks Church overpass and outside the city limits. Alderman Jim Schuchmann was critical of the company’s failure to obtain the necessary permits and licenses. “While we welcome new business to town and are very excited to welcome a new business to town, there is a procedure that should have been followed,” he told one of the company’s owners Bill Johns. “Right now, you have two strikes against you. Neither one of those was done properly. That is a troublesome matter.” Johns apologized to the board. He said they recently had a one-year contract renewed with Coca-Cola for supplying pallets the company and is working on obtaining grants to expand the business. He said the company would be employing less than five people for now. “I think it was a mix-up from our office and from when we went from one building to another,” Johns told the board. “Someone thought someone did it. It was a mix-up from here to the other locations. He later added, “I wasn’t really familiar how everything was working with permits.” The inspection report also noted the pallet company had failed to obtain an occupancy permit from the Wright City Fire Protection District. The fire department also must approve the fire suppression and fire protection systems including the sprinkler system and locations of fire extinguishers.