oct-2017

80 81 first onewas opened in 2014.So,we’re really trying to stayahead of the curvewhere there are requirements fromour current customer base,as well as growing wherewe have strengths,already,which is our back- yard: Salemand Portland,Oregon,and the northwest in general.Location is a key factor in our ability to serve clients,sowe have to be located in a proximity that makes sense for the customer.Wewant tomake sure we’re strong and their number one choice.” Another differentiating factor that separates Hen- ningsen Cold Storage from the competition is its clean, professional,and state-of-the-art facilities.In fact, its first Salem,Oregon facilitywas the first one of its locations to receive a SafeQualityFoods (SQF) Level 2 Certification.Administered by the FoodMarketing Institute and recognized by the Global Food Safety Initiative (GFSI),SQF is ameticulous food safetyman- agement system that allows food safetyand quality systems to be verified and validated throughout the food supplychain.SQF is recognized by retailers,food service providers,and regulatoryagencies around the world,and is the onlyGlobal Food Safety Initiative HENNINGSEN COLD STORAGE CO. (GFSI) standard that offers a separate approach that incorporates a quality certification component. Lucarelli says that it is the compa- ny’s goal that all of its facilities will be similarlycertified over the next several years.“Today,we have three of our facilities certified-soon to be five, within the next six to twelvemonths,” he says.“We feel that at some point in time,it’s probablygoing to be a require- ment bymanyclients of ours that we have some sort of certification like this. So,we’ve invested the time,staffing, resources,and capital costs to do that program,andwe’re ahead of the curve. Manycompanies in our industryaren’t doing that,but we feel that’s something that helps us stand out.We have had, and still do have,a number of various third partyaudits done at our facili- ties,as well-groups like theAmerican Sanitation Institute and theAmerican Institute of Baking,and those all work fine.But neither of those goes to the level of the GFSI.So,we’re ratcheting it up one notch fromwherewe already are.It takes an investment and commit- ment on the company’s part from the top down.” Henningsen Cold Storage is also amember of the Global Cold Chain Alliance.“That is our industry’s pri- mary industryassociation,”Lucarelli says.“Manycompanies in our industry belong to that; certainly the leading companies that are at the top of their game belong.It’s a global organization,