uscs opens mcdonough, ga, site

United 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.”

UNITED STATES COLD STORAGE NEWSLETTER

The Shield 2nd Quarter 2016

continued on page 15

USCS Opens McDonough, GA, Site

Mike Irvin , General Manager, McDonough, GA

5

THE SHIELD

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.

Growing Season

Cover Feature1

What’s New at USCS4-5

Employee Highlight6-7

Customer News8-9

Warehouse Operations10

President’s Message2-3

Transportation & Logistics11


continued on page 3

Engineering13

CONTENTS

USCS Opens McDonough, GA, Site

Growing Season

USCS Partners with Fresno Food Expo 2016Minooka Named Local “Business of the Year”Covington Earns LEED Gold Status

Continuous Improvement: Robert Hernandez

New Tradition Begins: USCS’ 1st Western InvitationalButterball Honors USCS as “Warehouseman of the Year”

Q&A with Steve Cunningham Regional VP – Northeast

McDonough Location Embraces “Fast Charge” Forklift Battery System

USCS West, Midwest Honor Carriers

David Harlan, President & CEO

Employee News14-16

We’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

Minooka Supports TroopsLumberton, NC Celebrates Two with 25 USCS Years of ServiceIrvin Leads USCS McDonoughLetha Benjamin Retires After 44 Years

Technology12

The Road to PHENIX Implementation

2


President’s Message

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 In-formation 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 Meet-ing had a strong focus on USCS’ “Best in Class” commitment to the cold storage in-dustry. Mike Lynch, Vice President of En-gineering, put together a dynamic session about future warehouse design and automa-tion. He brought in automation consultants from Retrotech. This presentation was well received and we have since contracted, with Retrotech, to work on an automated ware-house 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 member-leaders. 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 employ-ee 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 ini-tiatives. 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 co-workers for their support and dedication. I also want to thank our customers, whose continued support makes all of this possible. n

President’s Message continued from page 2

Larry Alderfer Sr. Vice President

George Cruz – Sr. Vice PresidentSouthern Region

Rod Noll –Sr. Vice PresidentWestern Region

New Key Appointments

3

What’s New at USCS

USCS Partners with Fresno Food Expo 2016

The 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

Rod Noll, USCS Senior Vice President-Western Region (far right) is a member of the Fresno Food Expo Board of Directors.


Supporting Growth in the Valley’s Food Production Industry

4

Minooka Named Local “Business of the Year”

USCS Minooka General Manager Matt Reed, second from far right, accepts award for local “Business of the Year.”

Say 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 President-Midwest; Nicole Janeczek, USCS Midwest Human Resources Manager; Kevin Sears,

USCS Minooka Superintendent (and his wife, Nicole); Jennifer Flatness, USCS Regional Accounting Manager (and her husband, Chris, Chief Engineer at USCS Wilmington).

“We have been participating in county

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.”

Congratulations USCS Minooka! n

What’s New at USCS

United 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 Design-Build 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 spe-cies 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

Covington Earns LEED GOLD Status

The Shield 2nd Quarter 2016 5

Employee Highlight

Coast-to-Coast CareerThey say life happens when you’re

making other plans. That’s what hap-pened 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

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 promo-tion to Warehouse Supervisor-Taskmaster in January 2009. Just three months later however, Tulare’s Customer Service Man-ager relocated. Robert soon assumed the title for both Tulare facilities (cold, ambient) and was responsible for all office personnel and inventory control staff.

At a Glance: Robert Hernandez General Manager – USCS Turlock, CA; Western Region Continuous Improvement Analyst

2007: Support Coordinator, Tulare, CA2009: Warehouse Supervisor-Taskmaster; Customer Service Manager, Tulare, CA2011: Senior Continuous Improvement Analyst, Voorhees, NJ2013: Superintendent, Bakersfield, CA2014: 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

TEAM MEMBER CLOSE-UPTEAM MEMBER CLOSE-UP


continued on page 7

6

Employee Highlight

Coast to CoastIn 2010, Robert assumed additional responsibilities to oversee USCS’ Con-tinuous 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 Super-intendent 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?

Robert: I think the constant evolution 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.

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 magnitude of changes with customers, 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


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

Golf 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. 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 Invitation-al” 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 cus-tomers 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 “Sham-ble” 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.

USCS 2016

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

New Tradition Begins: USCS’ 1st Annual Western Invitational


Customer News

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, sup-port 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

8

Customer News


Butterball Honors USCS as “Warehouseman of the Year”

Turkey processor Butterball LLC se-lected 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 ware-house 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,

General Manager, USCS Wilmington.

Also attending from USCS were David Harlan, President & CEO; Larry Alderfer, Senior Vice President; Jesse Hooks, Re-gional 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

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

9

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

Q

paid dividends and will continue to do so going forward.

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.

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

Operations – Area Insights

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 in-vestments in equipment and building up-grades 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 implementa-tion of the USCS WMS system at the site. Quakertown West previously had been run-ning 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. .

Why was it important to add this site to USCS’ network?

Steve: The addition of Quakertown West adds significant density to the USCS North-east 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 of-fers significant synergies in transportation, labor sharing and operational support.

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

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.

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 mid-year transition of two large accounts in Bethlehem. Transitions of this size require tremendous effort to be both operationally and financially successful. n

Steve CunninghamRegional VP – Northeast

Q

Q

Q

Warehouse Operations


USCS West, Midwest Honor CarriersIt 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’ Transporta-tion does every year when it hosts regional meetings to discuss new initiatives and honor carrier partners. Among those re-gions hosting annual carrier meetings were USCS teams in the West and Midwest, led respectively by Julie Gannon, Transporta-tion Manager-USCS Tracy (CA); and Don Romniak, Midwest Regional Transporta-tion Manager.

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

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.

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 Partner-ship Awards to two carriers for their long-standing relationship with USCS: RFX (30 years) and Vanek Brothers (20 years).

Congratulations and thank you to all USCS’ carrier partners! n

Bruce Horne, Gorton’s

L to R: Julie Gannon, Rosario Rodriguez, USCS; and Chuck Cunning, Gulick Trucking

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 commu-nicate, reward and acknowledge our carri-ers—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 re-lationships and be that partner of choice.”

USCS’ Western Region transportation of-ficials and carriers met in April in Pleasan-ton, CA. Attendees included 44 individuals

who represented as many as 22 carriers. A month later, USCS’ Midwest group met in suburban Bolingbrook, IL, for golf and dis-cussion. 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


Transportation & Logistics

11

Technology

The Road to PHENIX Implementation

Richard DownsPHENIX eWM Media Design & Lead Trainer

Everyone 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 develop-ing and maintaining RPG programs on the System/36. In addition, they were respon-sible 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 PHE-NIX? 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 Ap-proach.” Consolidating the overall archi-tecture “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 con-cerns went into this decision and ultimate-ly 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


Engineering

By Jim Duffy

It 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.

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.

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.

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.

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

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.

Making the DecisionAfter reviewing the McDonough building, USCS engineers considered two reasons in favor of a fast charging system.

Battery Requirements: The additional assets (batteries) would have required two or three batteries—per forklift—for conventional battery changing.

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.

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

McDonough Location Embraces “Fast Charge”Forklift Battery System

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



Minooka Supports Troops

Think 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.

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 ap-preciate 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 mili-tary!!! 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.”

Congratulations to all participating USCS team members! n

Lumberton, NC, Celebrates Two with 25 USCS Years of Service

Steve 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.

John Hougas USCS Minooka, IL, and daughter Abigail

John Smith Larry Jolly

Employee News

The story continues:“Abigail’s words are very kind,” says Matt. “We are working on setting up a tour for the troop!”

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Employee NewsThe Shield 2nd Quarter 2016

Employee News

Mike Irvin, General Manager

It’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 op-portunity 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

Irvin Leads USCS McDonough

McDonough cont. from page 1The 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

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Rod Noll notes, “Letha Ben-jamin has been a ‘rock’ of consistency throughout her impressive 44-year career with United States Cold Stor-age. What a wealth of knowl-edge 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 Man-ager, 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

UNITED STATES COLD STORAGE, INC.Business Development & Marketing33400 Dowe AvenueUnion City, CA 94587

E-MAIL: [email protected]

Please send story suggestions and photos (300 dpi) to Lisa Mullins, [email protected]

THE SHIELDPRSRT STD

U.S. POSTAGEP A I D

HAYWARD, CAPERMIT #3335


Letha Benjamin Retires After 44 Years

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Office 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 want-ads 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.

Letha and David Benjamin

Employee News

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uscs opens mcdonough, ga, site

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