Problem with exporting and importing geometry

i made a pallet in a seperate visual components file and then tried to export it as a .obj and import it in to my main file where i need it. the pallet on the right side of the photo was exported and imported correctly. but when i removed the little red box in the middle and tried to export it again witout it, the pallet is misscolored. any idea why this might be happening? ive tried removing the box then saving the file and reloading it but no change.