sept-2017

72 73 NATURE’S TOUCH FROZEN FOODS Cloverdale Cold Storage is British Columbia’s fastest growing public cold storage company – and the secret to our success is really pretty simple. We offer the coldest temperatures and work very hard to provide great service at competitive prices. We also bill using a daily storage billing format, so you only pay for the time that your product actually remains in storage. Colder is better – colder temperatures result in an extended shelf life and enhanced quality for your products. Whether it’s seafood, meat, poultry, frozen fruits and vegetables or retail pack- aged foods, we can provide a frozen handling and storage solution for your company. We have three unique facilities in a campus style environment and are able to provide a wide range of services – one freezer facility offers 80,000 racked pallet positions at temperatures of -28C, state-of-the-art MHE equipment and wireless “real time” data collection. We are extremely proud of each operation and invite our customers and prospective customers to tour through our operations themselves. That’s not all we do – we also offer a wide range of services including container loading, blast freezing, boxing and packaging, glazing, brine freezing, inspection services and so much more. And we are able to do this with the help of the latest technology. We have invested in leading edge technology throughout the warehousing operation. From fibre optics to wirelessly con- necting facilities we’re always looking at leveraging technology. If you need to know what the storage room temperatures were on a specific date and time, we can tell you. And our engi- neers are able to access refrigeration systems remotely and can make system adjustments on-line. But our most important investment is our people. We work hard to create an environment where employees feel that their work is more than just a job. This begins with a safe workplace, good tools, great technology and a sincere desire from ownership to listen to ideas and feedback from all employees. We understand that customers often base their opinions of a company on the relationships they have with the people that represent the company. Our employees repre- sent us well. We know we are an extension of YOUR business. When you succeed, we succeed. Cloverdale Cold Storage LTD. +1 604-541-8271 • +1 604-541-8273 • www.cloverdalecold.ca principles.HACCP is Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Point; it’s a food safetyprogram. And I packed the first sixpallets using a standardweight bucket and a scale and a hand sealer. It tookme about aweek–at night–because in the daytime I was still doingmycommodi- ties trading in order to feedmy family. “When that product was on the shelf,because the quality was phenomenal,and I had the audacityof showing frozen fruit in a clear bag,it tookoff.And that was really the basis of Nature’sTouch.Today,that quality premise,striving tomake surewe always source the best fruit,hasn’t changed.If anything,it’s stronger than ever.As we developed our company,we developed the resources to be able to achieve that goal and perfect it.It’s a continuous process because it’s an agricultural product and therefore it is always a chal- lenge,but,I will say,our culture is based onmaking sure that the consistencyof our product is second to none.” Today,Nature’sTouch pro- cesses about 120million pounds of frozen fruit every year.“We have three plants,” says Christos Panagopoulos,the company’s Senior Vice President of Operations.“Our first plant is located in Saint-Laurent,Montreal,Quebec.We have about 130 employees in the production area and our head office is also located here inMontreal,sowe are at about 180 employees at this location.TheMontre- Consumers are looking at frozen fruit because of a couple of factors that are extremely important. “First: convenience; second: price; third: no waste. JOHN TENTOMAS. FOUNDER