Congratulations to the 2011-2012 Board of Directors
Cold Storage Sector
Mr. Anthony Dizon of Koldstor Centre Philippines, Inc.
Mr. Romy Beltejar of Royal Cargo Combined Logistics, Inc.
Mr. Kenji Josef Castillo of Big Blue Logistics Corporation
Mr. Lito Ignacio of Polar Bear Freezing and Storage Corporation
Food Processing & Importation
Ms. Brenda Santos-Te of Dole Philippines, Inc.
Ms. Jennifer Tabios of GenOsi, Inc.
Food Service
Ms. Marjorie Santos of Jollibee Food Corporation
Food Retail
Ms. Lyn De Jesus of Robinsons Supermarket, Inc.
Refrigerated Transport
Mr. Jerry Tugade of Filipinas ThermoKing, Inc.
SWITCHING ON ENERGY SOLUTIONS:DEVELOPING YOUR ENERGY PROCUREMENT STRATEGY
DEVELOPING YOUR ENERGY PROCUREMENT STRATEGY
Cold Chain companies have been buffeted during the past year with wild swings in energy prices and seasonal swings are bound to be felt this year as well.
What’s the best strategy to deal with this?
The most important step is to have a strategy, which many organizations don’t.
“Energy costs are probably the second-highest cost item for most public refrigerated warehouses, yet they are likely paying way too much for their energy,” says Michael Webster, President/CTO of Iceted.com, Inc., which runs an energy management program in partnership with IARW. “PRWs should take advantage of the current energy market to begin a real risk management discipline when it comes to buying energy.”
OVERCOMING TOUGH TIMES
REEFER OPERATORS USING NEW STRATGIES TO SUCCEED
It was the best times, it was the worst of times,” wrote Charles Dickens in his classic novel A Tale of Two Cities. And so it is with the refrigerated trucking business today. Sure, tonnage is down, some shippers have closed their doors, others are flirting with bankruptcy, and many are dragging their feet on bill payments. The inevitable result is that several hundred trucking companies have gone out of business, but a trio of skilled reefer operators reminds us that the glass is not just half empty, it’s also half full.
Take Willis Shaw Express, for example, a 48pstate truckload carrier based in Arkansas with a fleet of more than 1,000 refrigerated units. Willis Shaw President Chris Kozak notes that declines in the temperature-controlled sector are less than half of what they are on the dry side. At the same time, he says, she is seeing many more bid packages come in, with just about all shippers looking for lower rates and more than a few who are trying to improve on contracts that are still in force.
THE COLD ECONOMY: HOW THE COLD CHAIN IS WEATHERING THE STORM
HOW THE COLD CHAIN IS WEATHERING THE STORM
“All I can say is, ‘Thank God for the food business.’ Things may have slowed down a bit due to the economic downturn, but not the extent of other industries.” That’s what the Inland Cold Storage CEO Bill Hendricksen told nearly 300 participants at the 45th WFLO Institute in early February this year.
His comments, along with those of three other industry leaders who volunteered to serve on the 2009 Senior Executive Panel at the event, helped gauge the effect of the economic downturn on the cold chain industry. Nick Pedneault (Congebec Logistics) and Barry Fishetto (Millard refrigerated Services) also reported no significant disruptions caused by the economy, while Mark Smith (AmeriCold Logistics) discussed the critical importance of good management at times like this, in order to avert any serious consequences from the downturn.