THE SHIELD
The Shield 2nd Quarter 2016
UNITED STATES COLD STORAGE NEWSLETTER
USCS Opens
McDonough, GA, Site
U
nited States Cold Storage, Inc. opened an 8.6-million-cubic-foot
warehouse and distribution center in McDonough, GA. The facility
is located about 30 miles southeast of Atlanta, just off Interstate 75. The
operation brings the USCS total to 261 million cubic feet of warehouse
space in 38 facilities across 13 states.
“The McDonough, GA, building is ideally located south of Atlanta which
allows great access to the Florida Market yet still allowing outstanding
reach to the remaining southeastern states through our MVC Program,”
says Dave Butterfield, Regional Vice President–Midwest. “The response
from new and existing customers has been incredible and we look forward
to expanding our services further in the near future.”
continued on page 15
Mike Irvin , General Manager,
McDonough, GA
Page 15
2
The Shield 2nd Quarter 2016
Growing Season
CONTENTS
1
Cover Feature
USCS Opens McDonough, GA, Site
2-3 President’s Message
Growing Season
4-5 What’s New at USCS
USCS Partners with Fresno Food Expo 2016
Minooka Named Local “Business of the
Year”
Covington Earns LEED Gold Status
6-7 Employee Highlight
Continuous Improvement:
Robert Hernandez
8-9 Customer News
New Tradition Begins:
USCS’ 1st Western Invitational
Butterball Honors USCS as
“Warehouseman of the Year”
10
Warehouse Operations
Q&A with Steve Cunningham
Regional VP – Northeast
11
Transportation & Logistics
USCS West, Midwest Honor Carriers
12
Technology
The Road to PHENIX Implementation
13
Engineering
McDonough Location Embraces “Fast
Charge” Forklift Battery System
14-16 Employee News
Minooka Supports Troops
Lumberton, NC Celebrates Two with 25
USCS Years of Service
Irvin Leads USCS McDonough
Letha Benjamin Retires After 44 Years
W
e’re entering summer and as I
write this second letter, it’s fairly
impressive that I can talk about another
new addition to the USCS network, this
time in Atlanta.
In my first quarter address, I talked about
acquiring CFC Logistics’ operation in
Quakertown, PA. I’m pleased to report
that the facility has successfully converted
to US Cold’s operating system and is
beginning to feel and act like a complete
USCS location. All stock movements are
tracked electronically—in real time—
and, as a result, inventory accuracy and
productivity are improving daily.
With the second-quarter start-up in
McDonough, GA, we are getting a fresh
start in a previously empty building. That
facility has been operating on USCS’
warehouse management system from
its first receipt of inventory and we were
fortunate to have several staff members
transfer there from other US Cold locations.
With these veterans and our Road Warriors
helping, I’m pleased to report that the
facility was operating smoothly in its first
full month.
It is great to see Mike Irvin, USCS
McDonough General Manager, finally
getting the chance to run his own warehouse
with USCS. We hired Mike two years
ago—expecting that we would be open in
the Atlanta area in 2015. With the delay of
our entry into this market, Mike was willing
to help out wherever we needed him.
He has been a huge resource and help to
Dave Butterfield, Vice President, Regional
Manager-Midwest; and Mike helped at
both USCS Minooka and Wilmington, IL,
facilities.
We wish Mike and the entire USCS
McDonough team continued success and
we all are expecting to see future growth,
which will be exciting.
In April, we met in Naples, FL, to host both
the US Cold Storage Board of Directors
David Harlan, President & CEO
meeting and the biannual US Cold Storage
management meeting.
JB Rae-Smith chaired the Board Meeting
on behalf of James Hughes-Hallett, who
was unable to attend due to health issues.
However, James did join our meeting
electronically and—as always—is a key
provider of strategic direction.
That said, it was formally announced
that James would be stepping down as
our chairman at year’s end and that JB
will replace him in that role. Although we
anticipate great things from JB as our future
chairman, I will personally miss James’
steady leadership in that role. We all wish
James a long, healthy and happy retirement.
At the board meeting, we revised USCS’
three-year plan. I’m pleased to say that the
board continues to support further growth
and modernization of our cold storage
network. This includes ongoing additions
in Warsaw, NC, and Dallas, as well as a new
warehouse in Sacramento, CA. The board
also reaffirmed its commitment to USCS
Transportation initiatives and continued
growth in that area.
continued on page 3
The Shield 2nd Quarter 2016
President’s Message
President’s Message continued from page 2
Following the board meeting, was the US
Cold Storage management meeting, where
we announced three key appointments.
Larry Alderfer, Rod Noll and George Cruz
each were promoted to titles of Senior
Vice President and I’d like to briefly
acknowledge each of them.
Larry, in his role of Corporate Development,
touches most areas of the company and has
developed a tremendous team across USCS’
Business Development, Logistics and Information Technology sections. I want to
properly recognize his role in the company—as a senior member of the team—
and congratulate him on his promotion.
Likewise, I want to recognize George
and Rod for the growth of their areas of
influence with the company. During the
past decade, George has seen his Southern
and Southwest Regions grow from nine
locations and 41.1 million cubic feet to
12 sites with 68.1 million cubic feet, a
65.7% increase. His region now employs
about 725 people. Similarly, USCS West
Region, led by Rod, has grown from seven
locations with 38.7 million cubic feet to
83.6 million cubic feet at 11 facilities with
about 550 team members. That region has
grown by 116%.
I want to thank all three of these leaders for
their tremendous support, which makes my
job possible.
This year’s USCS’ Management Meeting had a strong focus on USCS’ “Best in
Class” commitment to the cold storage industry. Mike Lynch, Vice President of Engineering, put together a dynamic session
about future warehouse design and automation. He brought in automation consultants
from Retrotech. This presentation was well
received and we have since contracted, with
Retrotech, to work on an automated warehouse design concept for a new warehouse
in California.
Speaking of Mike Lynch and his leadership,
I would like to officially congratulate
him and thank him for his efforts behind
the design and construction of USCS
Covington, TN, which recently earned
LEED Gold Certification.
We recognize that our commitment to Best
in Cold performance means maintaining
our leadership position in the industry. In
turn, this requires the loyal contributions
from our up-and-coming team memberleaders. To help us focus on how to better
attract and retain future leaders, we invited
representatives from Mercer, a global
talent and human resources consulting
firm, to host an interactive workshop at our
meeting. I must add that our managers were
extremely impressed by the presentation.
In addition to our USCS managers, I am
pleased to report that our management
meeting was attended by Swire Cold
Storage and its leaders. They included
Greg Holt, Managing Director at Swire
Cold Storage; Clement Lam, Director and
General Manager at Swire Pacific Cold
Storage Limited, China; Ngo Quang Trung,
General Manager, Swire Cold Storage
Vietnam; and Gihan Jayasinghe, Director,
Finlay’s Cold Storage, Sri Lanka.
I’ll note that prior to the management
meeting, we led these visitors on tours of
three of our Pennsylvania warehouses and
USCS’ corporate office.
In Naples, Marty Steinmetz, Vice President,
Strategic Partnerships, moderated a panel
discussion with these four gentlemen and
it was beneficial to learn about growth
and expansion in all of these Swire Cold
Storage markets.
We also were very fortunate to have Greg
Holt sit in for a discussion of employee safety and morale. This was a topic of
significant focus by the management team
and USCS’ board and we spent quite some
time discussing US Cold Storage safety initiatives. Greg shared his ideas and success
stories from Swire Cold Storage and from
his previous positions with Swire Australia.
In closing, I’d like to thank all of my coworkers for their support and dedication. I
also want to thank our customers, whose
continued support makes all of this
possible. n
New Key Appointments
Larry Alderfer
Sr. Vice President
George Cruz – Sr. Vice President
Southern Region
Rod Noll –Sr. Vice President
Western Region
3
4
The Shield 2nd Quarter 2016
What’s New at USCS
USCS Partners with Fresno Food Expo 2016
Supporting Growth in the Valley’s Food Production Industry
Rod Noll, USCS Senior Vice President-Western Region (far right) is a member of the Fresno Food Expo Board of Directors.
T
he 2016 Fresno Food Expo is set for July 27-28, 2016.
This year’s Expo will connect more than 150 Central
California food and beverage companies with more than
950 retail and foodservice buyers from across the US and
around the world.
Now in its sixth year, the Expo has evolved into a standalone
501c6 not for profit organization under the newly
announced oversight of a 13-member Board of Directors.
The Expo’s board leadership includes the presidents and
CEOs from Wawona Frozen Foods, Gerawan Farming,
Fowler Packing, Ruiz Foods, US Cold, Valley Lahvosh
Baking Company, Enzo Olive Oil Company, La Tapatia
Tortilleria, Busseto Foods, Certified Meat Products and
Nichols Pistachio.
New this year, the Expo will feature special guest, Simon
Majumdar, a world-renowned author, broadcaster and
Food Network personality, whose judging appearances on
“Beat Bobby Flay,” “Cutthroat Kitchen,” and “The Next
Iron Chef,” have given him the title of the Food Network’s
“toughest critic.”
“US Cold Storage has participated in the Expo the past
three years, manning a booth and attending the pre-event
meet and greet evening,” Rod Noll, Senior Vice President for the Western
Region elaborates. “The Fresno Food Expo was originally the brainchild
of Ashley Swearengin, an economic development-minded mayor who
strongly believed a regional venue to showcase the Valley’s agricultural
abundance would produce big dividends for the Central Valley economy.
Unlike other trade shows, the Fresno Food Expo provides the opportunity
for local, regional, national and international buyers to connect with the
actual presidents and CEOs behind some of the nation’s largest food
industry companies.”
For more information, please visit: http://www.fresnofoodexpo.com
n
The Shield 2nd Quarter 2016
What’s New at USCS
Minooka Named Local “Business of the Year”
S
ay what you will about emails—but
sometimes they bring good news.
USCS Minooka General Manager Matt
Reed received a pleasant surprise from the
Grundy (County) Economic Development
Council (GEDC). The GEDC Chamber of
Commerce commissioners voted USCS
Minooka 2015 “Business of the Year.”
“Dinner was March 9th at the Morris
Country Club. Awards were presented to
local companies and US Cold Storage was
chosen as the Business of the Year,” wrote
Nikki Wills, GEDC Business Director.
“This award started as a way to recognize
a local business that has grown and
prospered in our community and provided
a continued positive economic impact to
Grundy County.”
Matt attended the awards dinner along with
Dave Butterfield, Regional Vice PresidentMidwest; Nicole Janeczek, USCS Midwest
Human Resources Manager; Kevin Sears,
U
USCS Minooka General Manager Matt Reed, second from far right, accepts
award for local “Business of the Year.”
USCS Minooka Superintendent (and his
wife, Nicole); Jennifer Flatness, USCS
Regional Accounting Manager (and her
husband, Chris, Chief Engineer at USCS
Wilmington).
activities as well as in the growing
internship program,” Matt notes. “It is an
honor to be considered the top business
in the county as we work to grow our
community presence.”
“We have been participating in county
Congratulations USCS Minooka! n
Covington Earns LEED GOLD Status
nited States Cold Storage is proud to
announce that their Covington, TN,
facility has earned LEED Gold Status in the
US Green Building Council’s (USGBC)
Leadership in Energy & Environmental
Design (LEED) program.
Completed in January 2015, the 9,010,000
cubic-foot facility maintains a -20°F
environment for ice cream storage and
is dedicated to an adjacent ice cream
manufacturing facility owned by Unilever.
Developed with Primus Builders Inc.,
Woodstock, GA, USCS Covington last
year earned a 2015 National Design-Build
Project/Team Award from The DesignBuild Institute of America (DBIA).
USGBC’s LEED program works for all
buildings—from homes to corporate
headquarters—at all phases of development.
Projects pursuing LEED certification earn
points across several areas that address
sustainability issues. Based on the number
of points achieved, a project then receives
one of four LEED rating levels: Certified,
Silver, Gold and Platinum.
LEED Gold Certification was achieved
through just some of the following features
and benefits:
• Installation of bicycle racks and
changing rooms to promote health
and alternate transportation practices,
reducing overall emissions from
automobiles
• Use of on-site retention, infiltration and
vegetated swales reducing storm water
discharge and by reducing 80% of the
total suspended solids from storm water
leaving the site
• Landscaping using native vegetated species eliminating irrigation requirements;
• Use of low-flow flush fixtures saving
39,320 gallons of water and sewer
effluent per year
• Through numerous energy efficient
technologies, the warehouse has
reduced energy consumption by 32% or
3,700,000 kWh/year
• During construction, the project recycled
75%, by weight, of all waste generated
on the job site reducing the impact to the
surrounding landfills
• The warehouse was constructed using
20% recycled content and 20% regional
materials
“Covington is USCS’ first LEED Certified
warehouse and we are very proud it was
awarded Gold Certification by USGBC,”
says Michael Lynch, Vice President of
Engineering. “This was a challenging and
complex endeavor, which was a true team
effort by all parties involved including
Unilever, USCS and Primus. This LEED
Certification reinforces the alignment of
Unilever’s, USCS’ and Swire Sustainable
Development goals and objectives.” n
5
6
The Shield 2nd Quarter 2016
Employee Highlight
Coast-to-Coast Career
T
hey say life happens when you’re
making other plans. That’s what happened to Robert Hernandez, who walked
into USCS Tulare, CA, back in 2006.
Back then, the 19-year-old Hernandez
simply went in looking for work. What he
didn’t realize was that he was embarking
on a career that would take him from coast
to coast.
A Tulare native, Robert briefly worked as a
Nextel customer finance representative in
Las Vegas. However, a little more than a
year later, he moved back to Tulare to find
a job to support younger siblings. It wasn’t
long before a temp agency directed him to
USCS. And even though Chris Harrington
(then USCS Tulare’s Customer Service
Manager) had just filled a customer service
opening, he hired Robert as a Shipping &
Receiving Clerk.
In 2007, Robert was promoted to a newly
created post as “Support Coordinator” and
he reported to both the Customer Service
Manager and Operations Manager. Robert
served as the Taskmaster “expert” and acted
as a liaison between operations, customer
service and customers.
“That position and opportunity helped me
learn how to understand the needs of a
TEAM MEMBER CLOSE-UP
At a Glance: Robert Hernandez
General Manager – USCS Turlock, CA;
Western Region Continuous Improvement Analyst
2007: Support Coordinator, Tulare, CA
2009: Warehouse Supervisor-Taskmaster; Customer
Service Manager, Tulare, CA
2011: Senior Continuous Improvement Analyst, Voorhees, NJ
2013: Superintendent, Bakersfield, CA
2014: Operations Manager, Turlock, CA
Other USCS Experience/Awards: Robert has
served as a USCS Road Warrior (helping facility start-ups:
Tulare, Fresno, and Turlock, CA; Omaha, NE; Quakertown, PA).
He has been a team member on USCS’ former “Wolf Pack”
national continuous improvement group, and has overseen
USCS’ Taskmaster User Group (TUG). Robert graduated
(in 2013) from the World Food Logistics Organization
(WFLO) three-year industry training program and
recently attended (2015) as a finalist for the
Don Schlimme Future Leader Award
customer and the impact of that business to
our operations—and balance that with our
system limitations and benefits,” Robert
notes.
Robert’s performance earned him a promotion to Warehouse Supervisor-Taskmaster
in January 2009. Just three months later
however, Tulare’s Customer Service Manager relocated. Robert soon assumed the
title for both Tulare facilities (cold,
ambient) and was responsible for all office
personnel and inventory control staff.
continued on page 7
The Shield 2nd Quarter 2016
Employee Highlight
Coast to Coast
In 2010, Robert assumed additional
responsibilities to oversee USCS’ Continuous Improvement initiative for the
Western Region. This meant assisting in
system training, warehouse assessments
and new warehouse start-ups in California.
In 2011, company officials asked him
to relocate to corporate headquarters in
Voorhees, NJ, and he was promoted to
Senior Continuous Improvement Analyst.
In this role, he managed USCS’ Continuous
Improvement team, he started the eWMS
(now Phenix) project and he helped launch
the first class of “USCS University.”
Meanwhile, he often traveled to assist with
several facility start-ups and helped with
on-site system roll-out changes.
In 2013, Robert was promoted to Superintendent of the Bakersfield, CA location,
and he returned to the west to be closer to
home and family.
In September of 2014, he relocated to
Turlock and was named Operations
Manager as USCS was building its Phase
3 Turlock expansion. Today finds him
responsible for overseeing various aspects
of Turlock’s day-to-day operations. He
remains involved in some aspects of USCS’
eWM project, USCS University, and some
Western Region Continuous Improvement
initiatives. July 2016, Robert was named
General Manager of Turlock.
The Shield: What have
you liked about USCS as an
employer?
Robert
Hernandez: Opportunity.
Nothing has ever been promised to me or
guaranteed. Meanwhile, I’ve never been
given the impression that I need to limit
myself to the job to which I am currently
assigned. I am constantly encouraged to
ask questions, learn more, and in some
cases, take on more responsibility.
Even now, as an Operations Manager, my
day-to-day routine isn’t limited to Turlock’s
operations. I have the opportunity to be
involved in expansion projects, system
development and the training of supervisors
and future managers with USCS University.
I’d also be remiss if I didn’t add that USCS
doesn’t just feel like my employer—but
rather, it feels like a family. In our network,
I can confidently say that in almost every
facility, I have someone I’d call a “friend”
and someone I could turn to for assistance
if the need should arise.
The Shield: What aspects
of your job most fit your
personality?
The Shield: What stretches
you to grow in your job? What’s
challenging?
Robert: While I’m definitely the type of
person that enjoys taking on challenges and
applying what I’ve learned to identify new
solutions—this is also the most challenging
part of the job. As our company and the
facility grow, the requirement for change
seems to increase. The change in my role—
combined with the timing of the changes
initiated by others—has pushed me to grow.
It is quite a challenge to balance the
Robert: I think the constant evolution magnitude of changes with customers,
of our industry—as well as our customers’
demands—means that we need to
embrace an atmosphere of continuous
improvement. I think it suits me well to be
able to analyze an opportunity and work
with a group of individuals to identify
ways of accomplishing our goals. As
we’ve expanded, this has definitely been
an exciting challenge keeping up with
new customers, new processes and a new
building.
expansions in our plants, and the hiring
of new people. Meanwhile, we need to
maintain the very culture and experience
that provided those opportunities. n
7
8
The Shield 2nd Quarter 2016
Customer News
New Tradition Begins: USCS’ 1st Annual Western Invitational
G
olf is a game of traditions and some
are well known—like a
ceremonial green jacket
awarded to each year’s
winner of The Master’s
at Augusta, GA.
USCS 2016
For the past 25
years,
USCS
observed its own fun tradition—with
an invitational golf outing.
Starting this year, however, USCS selected
April for its first new “Western Invitational” customer event. 52 players had a fun
day at the at the Dragonfly Golf Club just
outside Fresno, CA.
Sam Spicher, Vice President of Business
Development-West explains that—when
it comes to traditions—meeting with customers and partners is the most important
ongoing concern.
“USCS held an invitational golf outing on
Saturday of the AFFI-CON Frozen Food
Convention for the past 25 years,” he says.
“This gathering of customers and USCS
participants was, in a small way, a time for
our company to thank those companies for
allowing us to serve them, and to have an
enjoyable day before the convention work
began. Mark Lorion was instrumental in
making this work, along with the support
of President Dave Harlan and the people of
USCS.”
Sam continues, “We determined that
an early April time frame and central
California location would be easy for all of
our customers in California to attend. We
also hosted customers from the East Coast,
Midwest, and Southeast and they used their
time to hold facility and business reviews
with a number of our facility personnel.”
Participant foursomes played a “Shamble” format, which counts the two best net
scores per hole. At the end, officials needed
a “card off” (total scoring) to break a tie and
decide first place.
L-R: Sam Spicher, USCS; Scott Campbell, Dole; Matt Reid, SupHerb Farms;
and Mickey Hoffmann, USCS
L-R: Brian Ford, USCS; Eric Ahlin, Ruiz Foods; Keith Mowery, USCS; and
Ron Woods, Ruiz Foods
That award went to Scott Campbell, Dole
Packaged Foods; Matt Reid, SupHerb
Farms; and Mickey Hoffmann and Sam
Spicher of USCS. They nosed out Eric
Ahlin and Ron Woods of Ruiz Foods, who
teamed with Keith Mowery and Brian Ford
of USCS.
“After being involved in the planning of
our Western customer event for 25 years,
I’ve found that hosting this event has
been very rewarding,” says Mark Lorion,
Vice President, Business Development &
Marketing. “This year Sam Spicher, Jason
Smoyer and Lisa Mullins coordinated all the
details and the changes will work out very
good for future venues.”
“It is always great to have the opportunity to
thank our customers for their friendship, support and to build on our relationships,” Mark
adds. “We plan to continue this tradition with
some excellent venues in the future.”
Sam says USCS’ second annual Western
Invitational will be next April, at a location
(to be determined) with easy access to all
customers and partners who can attend. n
The Shield 2nd Quarter 2016
Customer News
Butterball Honors USCS as “Warehouseman of the Year”
T
urkey processor Butterball LLC selected United States Cold Storage for
one of the company’s top annual logistics
awards: “Butterball Warehouseman of the
Year.”
Butterball, Garner, NC, is the nation’s
largest turkey processor. It supplies the
retail, deli and foodservice channels and
it also exports to as many as 30 countries
worldwide. Stateside, Butterball works with
several third-party warehouse operators.
“The award was based on superior service
and leadership in the cold chain industry,
measured against the competition in our
key performance indicators,” said Daniel
DiGrazio, Butterball Director of Logistics.
“Butterball awards a ‘Carrier’ and
‘Warehouseman’ award yearly to its best
vendors.”
US Cold Storage won out over 30 warehouse companies in Butterball’s list of
vendors.
George Smith, Butterball’s Senior Manager
of Warehousing, said that USCS stood out
for service, communication, flexibility,
administration, and “value.” Butterball
works with USCS Wilmington (IL), USCS
Warsaw (NC) and USCS Lake City (FL).
“We want to make a special recognition
to Jonnie Grantham and US Cold Warsaw
team, for the excellent service they have
provided in 2015,” Smith added. “Warsaw
went above and beyond countless times
in 2015 for Butterball. The entire group
at Warsaw stood out among the 43
warehouses we use throughout the year.
We also want to recognize Paul Boartfield
and the US Cold Lake City, FL, team, who
flawlessly handled exports, and Butterball
Fresh Whole Bird season at perfection.”
Butterball officials held an official awards
presentation at Butterball’s Garner, NC,
headquarters in late March and hosted
Jonnie Grantham, General Manager, USCS
Warsaw; Paul Boartfield, General Manager,
USCS Lake City; and Greg Rohrbaugh,
L-R: George Smith, Butterball; Brian Inman, Butterball; Paul Boartfield,
USCS; Jonnie Grantham, USCS; Keith Rigdon, USCS; Devany Yokum, USCS;
Greg Rohrbaugh, USCS; Dan DiGrazio, Butterball; and Wiley Keel, Butterball
General Manager, USCS Wilmington.
Also attending from USCS were David
Harlan, President & CEO; Larry Alderfer,
Senior Vice President; Jesse Hooks, Regional Vice President, Mid-Atlantic; and
Dave Butterfield, Regional Vice President,
Midwest.
All three USCS managers are quite
appreciative.
“The entire Warsaw team made this
possible,” says Jonnie. “Our goal is to be
‘Best in Class’ and we all take great pride
in the service we provide.”
For its part, USCS Wilmington provides a
full, 48-state chilled and frozen distribution
program for Butterball. The facility
incorporates Butterball products in a
refrigerated multi-vendor consolidation
program and annually ships more than 12
million cases and more than 220 million
pounds.
“We’re proud to have achieved a 95%+
perfect order rating with near-perfect case
fill,” notes Greg. “Butterball is a great
partner in the aspect of working with
USCS to devise a plan that works for both
companies. Butterball officials always
challenge us in ways to improve processes
that fit all areas in our network. In the
end, their guidelines make USCS better for
everyone and we appreciate working with
them.”
Finally, Paul speaks on behalf of USCS
Lake City.
“USCS Lake City exported several hundred
loads of whole bird turkeys to markets in
the Caribbean as well as Central and South
America,” he adds. “This process was quite
complicated due to the USDA certification
requirements and the time frame of the
shipments. Most of the shipments were to
be loaded out during a six-week time period
just prior Thanksgiving. In conjunction with
the export shipments, we all shipped several
million pounds of fresh Butterball turkeys
domestically for everyone’s Thanksgiving
dinner table” here in the Southeast. I want
to acknowledge our entire local staff, which
was instrumental in meeting Buttberball’s
expectations with these programs.”
Butterball evaluates its third-party
warehouse operators with scoring metrics
against five key criteria. They include
details within service, communication,
flexibility, value (competitive, fair pricing)
and administration.
Congratulations to USCS Warsaw, USCS
Lake City and USCS Wilmington! n
9
10
The Shield 2nd Quarter 2016
Warehouse Operations
Operations – Area Insights
The Shield talks with Steve Cunningham, Regional Vice
President - Northeast. Steve oversees five sites in Bethlehem,
Quakertown and Hazleton, PA. These warehouses employ
641 team members.
Q
Congratulations on
the purchase of the second
Quakertown, PA, site. How are
things progressing?
Steve Cunningham: The Quakertown
West acquisition has gone very well. The
site came online under USCS in January
and has since been transformed into a fully
functional USCS facility. We’ve made investments in equipment and building upgrades and they will continue through 2016
and into 2017.
All facility employees were retained after
the sale and transitioned as USCS. The
most recent upgrade was the implementation of the USCS WMS system at the site.
Quakertown West previously had been running on an out-of-the-box system, which
was purchased with the operation. With the
USCS WMS system in place, the facility is
now fully transitioned from an operational
perspective.
.
Q Why was it important to
add this site to USCS’ network?
Steve: The addition of Quakertown West
adds significant density to the USCS Northeast portfolio. The site is located right at
the Quakertown exit of the Pennsylvania
Turnpike, roughly 10 minutes from the
USCS Quakertown East location. This
puts four of the five Pennsylvania facilities
within 30 minutes of each other. This offers significant synergies in transportation,
labor sharing and operational support.
Q Any immediate
customer benefits, to date?
Steve: Right out of the gate,
Quakertown West was nearly 100%
occupied. It actually provided some
overflow opportunity at Quakertown
East, which continues today. The sites
have become sister facilities—given
their proximity—and this means they
can share business and operational
opportunities. The ability to share
labor during busy periods already has
paid dividends and will continue to do so
going forward.
Q
This must be a boost for
USCS’ Northeast region. Does it
feel that way?
Steve: USCS’ growth in Pennsylvania
during the past 10 years has been
significant and—with every new facility
or addition coming online—there is an
eagerness to help from all of the other
Pennsylvania buildings (along with the
entire USCS network). This atmosphere
greatly contributes to the success of the
new operation and certainly shows what
the USCS family is all about.
Q
What else are you proud
of in regards to your operations’
achievements?
Steve: I’m very proud of our Pennsylvania
facilities going one million hours without
a lost-time incident. All sites contributed
and did a tremendous job of focusing on
Steve Cunningham
Regional VP – Northeast
employee safety within the region. With the
continued increase in case-picking activity
(industry wide) it is important that all of our
associates focus on doing their job as safely
as possible—not only for themselves but
also the person next to them.
Q
What would you most
like to accomplish during the
remainder of this calendar year?
Steve: Certainly the continued development
of the Quakertown West site is a top
priority. Also high on my list is continued
work with our customer in Bethlehem, PA,
at Miller Circle facility. We’re improving
the equipment and building infrastructure.
We want to be sure all of our associates at
the site have the equipment to safely and
effectively perform their jobs.
We also want to ensure a smooth midyear transition of two large accounts in
Bethlehem. Transitions of this size require
tremendous effort to be both operationally
and financially successful. n
The Shield 2nd Quarter 2016
Transportation & Logistics
USCS West, Midwest Honor Carriers
I
t goes without saying that transportation
is all about movement. Then again, it’s
nice to stop and slow down now and then.
That’s exactly what USCS’ Transportation does every year when it hosts regional
meetings to discuss new initiatives and
honor carrier partners. Among those regions hosting annual carrier meetings were
USCS teams in the West and Midwest, led
respectively by Julie Gannon, Transportation Manager-USCS Tracy (CA); and Don
Romniak, Midwest Regional Transportation Manager.
who represented as many as 22 carriers. A
month later, USCS’ Midwest group met in
suburban Bolingbrook, IL, for golf and discussion. That meeting drew 90 attendees,
who represented as many as 60 carriers.
Both meetings included reviews of USCS’
overall growth and actions to improve carrier
relations (“Shipper of Choice” program).
Officials also discussed electronic logging
device (ELD) mandates in 2017, potential
solutions for timely updating of delivery
information and opportunities for improved
carrier invoicing processes.
USCS Western Regional meeting included
additional site updates about activities at
USCS’ Tracy, Turlock, Bakersfield and
Union City locations. Western officials also
Bruce Horne, Gorton’s
indicators (KPIs) that Gorton’s uses to
evaluate its own carrier base.
After the meetings, officials at both
events took time to recognize regional top
performing carriers.
Don Romniak, US Cold Storage
Overseeing USCS’ transportation meetings
and program content is David Fleming,
USCS General Manager, Transportation
Operations.
“We know that carriers have a choice of
shippers and we also know we couldn’t be
successful without them. That’s why we
want to be a strong partner,” says Dave.
“It’s more important than ever to communicate, reward and acknowledge our carriers—all while we keep them moving and
offer fair rates. This is tough regulatory
environment with carrier restricted hours
of service and we know that carriers have
a choice of who they partner with among
shippers. We want to develop win-win relationships and be that partner of choice.”
USCS’ Western Region transportation officials and carriers met in April in Pleasanton, CA. Attendees included 44 individuals
L to R: Julie Gannon, Rosario Rodriguez,
USCS; and Chuck Cunning, Gulick
Trucking
reviewed requirements from the California
Air Resources Board (CARB) and how
USCS will ensure carriers are complying
with these regulations.
Along with the items above, USCS’
Midwest Regional meeting also included
a presentation by Bruce Horne, Gorton’s
Transportation & Warehousing Manager.
He provided an overview of Gorton’s and
seafood industry sustainability initiatives.
He also shared the key performance
The USCS Western Region presented
awards to Gulick Freight Services
(Regional Carrier of the Year) Shannon
Bros (Milkman of the Year-Highest Average
Stops per Year), Ruben’s Transportation
(2015 Most Growth Award) and Seaside
Refrigerated Transport (2015 Pool
Distributor of the Year). USCS Western
officials also presented a new “Save The
Day” award (last-minute loads, emergency
situations) to Skikos and Continental C.
USCS Midwest region presented two of its
top awards—Carrier of the Year and Most
Growth—to Joe Dieter and Sons Other
awards went to JF Express (Milkman)
and Synergy Logistics (Save the Day).
The Midwest team also presented Partnership Awards to two carriers for their longstanding relationship with USCS: RFX (30
years) and Vanek Brothers (20 years).
Congratulations and thank you to all
USCS’ carrier partners! n
11
12
The Shield 2nd Quarter 2016
Technology
The Road to PHENIX Implementation
Richard Downs
PHENIX eWM Media Design &
Lead Trainer
E
veryone is hearing a lot about PHENIX
eWM these days, and are curious as
to why we have undertaken this endeavor.
To give you better insight, lets first look at
where we began and where we are with our
current WMS.
In 1990, a small team of IT members
were given the responsibility of developing and maintaining RPG programs on the
System/36. In addition, they were responsible for:
• Support for Software/Hardware
• Changing code standards & Data
normalization
• Combining programs with
introduction to profile concepts
(which made data conversion to
AS/400 easier)
In 1995, the team began Y2K conversion
and re-write of the System/36 to AS/400.
Additional responsibilities included:
• 1997-2000 travel across the nation
for program implementation
• Creating system documentation
• Providing on-site training
• 2003 started managing WMS
service request with an SR tracking
program
In 2001, Srini Gudipati joins US Cold
and brings along with him an invaluable
expertise in coding for the AS/400 system.
Many of the following programs were
either written by Srini or had his direct
involvement in their creation:
• Task Creation
•
•
•
•
•
•
Task Picking
Checking & Loading
Put Away
Take Weights
Generic Receiving
Work Allocation
While we have done well with our current
WMS, it is reaching the end of its life
cycle (15 years). In addition, it simply isn’t
cost effective any longer to run multiple
software platforms.
Which brings us to PHENIX. Why PHENIX? With our increasing customer base
and their requests for new functionality, in
2012 US Cold decided that it was time to
upgrade our systems to meet current and
future function requirements.
When deciding on upgrading the system, it
was also decided to go with a “Unified Approach.” Consolidating the overall architecture “WMS,” “TMS” and eUSCOLD
on a single Web-Based platform provides
us with the following benefits:
• Greater return on investment in
shorter time frame
• Security Models and API eliminates
“Band-Aid” integrations
• Leverages a common IT
infrastructure
• Minimizes application development
and support costs
• Improves user experiences
• Enables simple upgrades,
maintenance and training
With this in mind, should we buy or build
our new system? A lot of thought and concerns went into this decision and ultimately in 2013 it was decided we would build
it. Why? Let’s take a look:
BUY
• Costs: Switching from one WMS
to another is very expensive
• Requires a high level of
customization to its platform to
make it work for us, which also
leads to higher cost to maintain
system
• Longer wait times for upgrades
BUILD
• Able to more easily adapt to
the ever-changing customer
requirements
• Future customization will be easier
with tools already in place to make
them
• Easier to adapt with changes in
Industry standards
• Ability to “Dynamically” change
and grow along with the company
So, where are we with PHENIX today? As
of May 2016 of the three Modules to be
implemented, the first two, MDM & YMS
Lite have been implemented:
• MDM – All Sites
• YMS Lite – Approximately
1/3 of sites
Full deploy along with the Enhanced YMS
are scheduled for implementation at a Pilot
site end of 2017. n
The Shield 2nd Quarter 2016
Engineering
McDonough Location Embraces “Fast Charge”
Forklift Battery System
By Jim Duffy
t is an exciting time for United States Cold
Storage in several respects. For starters,
it’s easy to see the company building and/
or adding new sites nationwide. Likewise,
USCS engineers are continually trying and
applying new and different technologies that
can dramatically benefit future operations.
I
One technology application involves
“opportunity charging” or “fast charging”
for forklifts and it has the potential to
change the ways we approach battery
charging and battery changing. In fact, it
also may influence the “design envelope”
as to how we construct our building support
areas in the future.
Officials and engineers at USCS’ new
McDonough, GA, operation (an existing,
leased site) have decided to apply
opportunity charging/fast charging to the
entire forklift material handling fleet. This
technology was first proposed to USCS
Wilmington (IL) about two years ago
when the Phase Three addition was under
construction.
the batteries. In contrast, the opportunity
charging concept offers more options.
One is to construct considerably larger
battery rooms to accommodate the majority
of the forklifts—during breaks and
lunches—when batteries can be charged.
This area will most often serve a dual
purpose as a maintenance shop as well as
the battery charging area.
Another option is to install opportunity
charging in the dock area conveniently
located near the breakrooms and dock. One
concern that has to be considered with this
concept involves any hydrogen gassing of
the batteries when charging. This requires
that we install ventilation to meet minimum
requirements for battery charging.
When changing batteries conventionally it
can take up to .50 man hours per change.
This includes the forklift operator’s lost
time and the maintenance labor to change
the battery, actions to start the charging
process, and then perform the necessary
paperwork.
What’s the Difference?
Traditionally, a battery is installed into a
forklift and then utilized until the battery
is fully discharged (roughly 85%). Then,
the operator drives it to the changing room
to be swapped out for a freshly charged
battery. That empty battery then is fully
charged over an eight-hour period before
it’s recycled into the fleet.
Making the Decision
After reviewing the McDonough building,
USCS engineers considered two reasons in
favor of a fast charging system.
With opportunity charging the batteries
are charged throughout the day and week
for a short period of time, (between 15 to
30 minutes) at every “opportunity.” Then,
once a week, the battery receives a full
equalize charge for roughly eight hours.
Potential Labor Savings: One
consideration simply involved the lost
production time when a forklift operator
had to leave the floor and change batteries
every time they needed a recharge.
With the traditional concept, battery rooms
are typically long and narrow and they
house only the fleet batteries and equipment
necessary to charge, change and maintain
Battery Requirements: The additional
assets (batteries) would have required
two or three batteries—per forklift—for
conventional battery changing.
In the earlier phase 1 and 2 application,
engineers noted that USCS Wilmington
had a two-tier battery changing system. By
switching to the fast-charging technology,
USCS did not have to purchase and install
a new three-tier system to accommodate
additional equipment (related to a Phase
3 addition). In the end, USCS engineers
chose 18 fork lift trucks for opportunity
charging in Wilmington and the results
were quite impressive. Battery changes—
involving the trucks on opportunity
charge—were virtually eliminated.
McDonough is an existing facility that was
recently acquired and it has a battery room
that’s large enough to accommodate all the
reach trucks and most all the fleet. For that
reason, it presented the perfect scenario to
move forward with this technology.
In addition, there was no need to purchase
the conventional battery changing system
(we currently use) because the batteries
will not need to be changed and they will
remain in the trucks most of the time.
There are a few unknowns for USCS to
monitor. For example, we will measure
batteries’ useful life. Due to the fast charge
process, batteries may not (probably will
not) last as long. However, with the proper
maintenance and computerized monitoring
and analysis, we expect to get a good four
years. Depending on the McDonough
facility workload, battery life could
possibly be longer or a bit shorter.
The other concern with opportunity
charging is the potential for increased
energy demand. Operators are instructed
to plug in their forklifts at every
“opportunity” so this could add a peak
energy spike around breaks and lunches.
To offset this, we are looking at having
refrigeration controls automatically back
off on the refrigeration system during these
short intervals. This could help prevent
that temporary spike to the peak demand
aspect of our electrical billing (which most
facilities face).
Jim Duffy – Regional Engineer – Midwest
and a 29-year USCS veteran. n
13
14
The Shield 2nd Quarter 2016
Employee News
Minooka Supports Troops
The Girl Scouts shipped cookies (all
varieties) at the end of January to soldiers
stationed abroad. Afterward, Abigail wrote
a thank you note to Matt.
“Thank you USCS Minooka!! I really appreciate it!,” she said. “I am so glad that my
dad works for great people. I am learning
how giving back is so rewarding. You guys
just didn’t help by donating, you got others
involved! Thanks to you guys, we will be
sending 525 boxes of cookies to the military!!! Plus I got top seller in my area!!!!
Maybe my troop could get a tour of your
business. That way I could show my troop
who helped us out.”
T
John Hougas USCS Minooka, IL, and daughter Abigail
hink of it as cookies for a cause.
This January saw USCS employees
raise $2,000 and purchase 525 boxes of
Girl Scout cookies for US soldiers. The
effort was part of the Girl Scouts’ “Gift of
Sharing” service project and USCS made
its donation through the Girl Scouts of
Greater Chicago and Northwest Indiana.
USCS Minooka General Manager Matt
Reed says Girl Scout Abigail Hougas lives
in Chicago suburban Morris, IL and is the
daughter of USCS Minooka warehouseman
John Hougas. After telling her father about
the program, Minooka and Wilmington—
along with individual team members—
each contributed $500 in cookie purchases.
Those donations then were matched by
officials at USCS’ Voorhees office.
S
teve Musselwhite, General Manager of
Lumberton, NC, shares the inside story
of two employees who have reached their
25 year milestone with USCS.
“John Smith and Larry Jolly recently
celebrated 25 years of service with USCS
Lumberton. John Smith holds the position
of Supervisor and has been performing
supervisory duties for most of his USCS
career. He runs an extremely efficient dock
while focusing on domestic and export
shipments, along with heavy receipts of
blast product. Larry Jolly was recently
promoted to the position of Lead Person.
Larry is as versatile as any employee at
USCS Lumberton and is proficient with
every type of equipment here. John and
Larry are a big part of why Lumberton is
BEST in CLASS.” n
.
The story continues:
“Abigail’s words are very kind,”
says Matt. “We are working on
setting up a tour for the troop!”
Congratulations to all participating USCS
team members! n
Lumberton, NC, Celebrates Two with
25 USCS Years of Service
John Smith
Larry Jolly
The Shield 2nd Quarter 2016
Employee
Employee News
News
Irvin Leads USCS McDonough
I
t’s the perfect case of conditions leading
to the right place, at the right time—with
the right person. After studying market
opportunities for several years, USCS
knew the time was finally right to open a
warehouse in McDonough, GA, to serve
the Atlanta market and regional customer
needs (the right time, the right place).
But who to run this new operation? USCS
found just the right person in Mike Irvin, a
20-year industry veteran who not only has
senior operations experience—but all of it
right there in McDonough. Since leaving
the US Marine Corps in 1994, Irvin,
an Atlanta native, has held substantial
operations positions with several cold
storage operators. He joined USCS in
August 2014 after 14 years with AmeriCold
Logistics, most recently serving as Plant
Manager for that company’s McDonough
& Tradewater operation.
Mike was hired as General Manager for
USCS’ McDonough, GA, warehouse,
which officially opened mid-May.
“We are honored and fortunate to have Mike
Irvin opening the McDonough facility,”
says Dave Butterfield, Regional Vice
President—Midwest. “Mike’s knowledge
of the Southeast market will be invaluable
and his proven leadership skills are exactly
what USCS needs to ensure our growth in
this area of the country.”
For his part, Mike talks about why the
timing was right to join USCS.
“Over the years, I had always sought an opportunity to work with US Cold,” he says.
“For me it was more about the opportunity
than the timing. Throughout my career in
the industry, I’ve heard nothing but great
things about US Cold. We have a great
reputation in the industry and I’m humbled
and honored to be a part of it.”
Mike continues, “I think USCS has a lot of
great traits but most important I think we
have a great culture. It’s a culture where
people are the most important investment.
It’s a culture where safety is our principal
value—in that we care about the wellbeing
of ourselves and the wellbeing of the people
around us.”
He concludes, “It’s also a culture that has
the patience and endurance to mentor,
coach and develop people. A culture of
service where we provide excellent service
to our customers, our company and our
community. The service we provide will be
our reputation in the industry, our reputation
in the company and our reputation in the
community. Service is our foundation for
growth.” n
Mike Irvin, General Manager
McDonough cont. from page 1
The facility has more than 26,500 pallet
positions and can store a wide variety
of products at temperatures from -18°F
to 40°F. The distribution center has
33 truck doors, four rail doors (served
by Norfolk Southern) and a secure,
30-spot drop lot. USCS McDonough
employs 60 team members and offers
value-added services including repack,
specialized case picking and order
assembly.
“We are excited to have the
opportunity to service our
customers in the Atlanta
market and we look
forward to fostering new
relationships within our
community,” says USCS
McDonough’s
General
Manager Mike Irvin. n
15
16
PRSRT STD
U.S. POSTAGE
The Shield 2nd Quarter 2016
P A I D
THE SHIELD
HAYWARD, CA
PERMIT #3335
UNITED STATES COLD STORAGE, INC.
Business Development & Marketing
33400 Dowe Avenue
Union City, CA 94587
E-MAIL: [email protected]
www.uscoldstorage.com
Please send story suggestions
and photos (300 dpi) to
Lisa Mullins, [email protected]
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Employee News
O
Letha Benjamin Retires
After 44 Years
ffice Supervisor, Letha Benjamin
retired from USCS Union City, CA,
after 44 years of service. Letha joined
USCS in 1972. She tells the story of
moving from Reno, NV, to the Bay Area.
She remembers looking through the wantads in the newspaper for employment.
“That was how you did a job search then,”
she says. She had circled two prospects
and set out to interview. USCS, Oakland, at
that time was National Ice Company, was
the first stop. She was offered the job on
the spot and worked there until the plant
closed in 2001. She then came on board in
Union City as Office Supervisor.
“It was a joy and a blessing to work for
US Cold for 44 years,” says Letha. April
13th there was a celebration and luncheon
honoring Letha. Senior Vice President
Rod Noll, and Area Office Manager, Fran
Tully joined in on the festivities along with
Letha’s husband, David.
Rod Noll notes, “Letha Benjamin has been a ‘rock’ of
consistency throughout her
impressive 44-year career
with United States Cold Storage. What a wealth of knowledge and experience. She
was always a team player
who was respected by our
customers and admired by
her associates. We wish them
many years of happiness in
their retirement.”
Union City General Manager, Dave Sweilem adds,
“I am grateful to have had
the opportunity to work with Letha the last
15 years. Letha was an excellent employee,
loyal, dedicated, and most helpful. We wish
her all the best on her retirement.”
Congratulations Letha and David!. n
Letha and David Benjamin