Recent food contamination scares and product recalls have heightened consumers' concern for food safety. As more buyers want to know where their food comes from and how it is processed, the safety and sustainability of the world's food systems are increasingly being scrutinised, emphasising the need for more high-quality and efficient cold storage facilities. Building the most sophisticated cold storage warehouses in the United States, Preferred Freezer Services (PFS) is keen to share its engineering and operational expertise with emerging markets in Southeast Asia and worldwide. Providing state-of-the-art, temperature-controlled warehouses, PFS ensures frozen food products are delivered to customers in a secure, timely and efficient manner. Its freezers are located all over the US, including the country's top 10 major ports, and overseas in China and Vietnam. Servicing the entire supply chain, the leading refrigerated services provider is a reliable partner to food importers, brokers and end-customers such as retailers and food service companies. "We apply leading-edge technology to design the most modern refrigeration equipment and systems," says CEO John Galiher. "We broke industry norms to achieve reliability, flexibility and efficiency." As one of the first to use white roofs in its cold storage facilities to improve energy usage, PFS proactively applies innovations and constantly communicates with customers to enhance its services. Understanding the impact of freezer warehousing systems on clients' businesses, PFS tailors its offerings to find the best possible solutions for clients. "Service is at every level of our process, people and culture," says president Brian Beattie. Working mostly with importers of frozen seafood and speciality frozen foods, PFS grew organically from a company earning US$3.6 million in 1989 to a firm with more than US$300 million in sales today. Apart from its advantages in location and technology, PFS also had the foresight to nurture strong relationships with frozen food suppliers and packers via shipment lock-in agreements to sustain its operations. "We went directly to the source," Galiher says. "We let them know that they can sell to all or any of the traders and importers, but the products should come through us. We became their trusted middlemen." Intent on improving the quality and infrastructure of the cold chain industry, PFS welcomes joint ventures in Asia as it leads the march to energy efficiency in the food handling industry. "It's all about quality," Galiher says. "Our culture is completely different. The difficult, we can do immediately; the impossible will take just a few minutes longer." Preferred Freezer Services: http://www.preferredfreezer.com
