CHICAGO, Ill. (Dec. 4, 2009 - IFMA Press Release)—The International Foodservice Manufacturers Association (IFMA) November 10, 2009, honored a number of industry leaders in the presentation of IFMA's third annual Distributor Awards during the IFMA/IFDA Presidents Conference in Phoenix, Arizona. The awards acknowledge distributor leadership and overall excellence within the foodservice industry. They also give IFMA an opportunity to share its great appreciation for the integral role distributors play in this industry. Three awards were presented by IFMA’s COO Larry Oberkfell as well as key executives from award sponsors ConAgra Foods/Lamb Weston and Splenda/Sun Crystals.
Ben E. Keith Foods was honored with the IFMA Excellence in Distribution Award.
This
award recognizes a corporate or independent distribution organization
that has demonstrated excellence in the categories of management and
leadership, customer relations, supplier relations and
industry/community contributions. Mike Roach, President of Ben E. Keith
accepted the award.
Ben E. Keith is a two billion dollar company
serving the south central United States from six high-tech distribution
centers. Over the past 15 years, they have enjoyed remarkable growth,
doubling their sales every five years. The “Fresh from Keith’s” slogan
reflects the company’s fresh ideas, fresh training methods and
innovative approaches to working relationships with
customers and suppliers.
In
order to be on technology’s leading edge, Ben E. Keith has invested
heavily, employing business technology to analyze and drill down in
order to understand (and help customers to understand) more about the
business and consumer demographics. They have shared this expertise to
help move the industry toward data standardization.
AGAR Supply Company, Inc. was named the winner of the IFMA Distributor Sales & Marketing Performance Award.
This
award recognizes a single independent distributor or an individual
operating company of a distributor with multiple locations that has
demonstrated successful planning and execution of creative sales and
marketing. AGAR's President & CEO Karen Bressler accepted the award
on behalf of the company. Now in its third generation of family
ownership, AGAR has more than tripled its sales over the past 10 years.
Today, the company is the nation’s 13th-largest broad line distributor.
A $650 million company, AGAR delivers branded products with highly
competitive prices. Leveraging their reputation as center-of-the-plate
specialists, they help customers find new solutions, enhance
profitability and achieve success. Among its forward thinking programs,
AGAR launched a new green solution called Nautifish and has
aggressively reinvested in the business. In it for the long haul, AGAR
inspires its sales force to build relationships and grow with customers.
Larry
Pulliam, executive vice president of foodservice operations, Sysco
Corporation, was presented with the IFMA Distinguished Industry
Achievement Award.
This award hich recognizes an
individual who has brought about positive change in the foodservice
distribution community and has been a pioneer in the areas of
management, marketing and operations. Pulliam joined the global leader
Sysco in 1987. Last year, the company achieved record sales of more
than $37 billion, serving over 400,000 customers from more than 170
locations across North America. Gaining experience in virtually every
part of Sysco’s operations, Pulliam has worn plenty of hats and has
helped lead the company in new directions including: introducing Sysco
to the information age; sending quality assurance teams out to
factories and into the fields to ensure the quality of Sysco products;
and leading the company’s drive to develop sustainable agriculture.
The
awards were selected by a jury headed by Caroline Perkins, CEO of
Foodservice Insights and former editor-in-chief of ID magazine. The
jury is made up of the following industry leaders:
Dan Cassidy, President and CEO of KeyImpact Sales & Systems;
Bill Hale, President of The Hale Group, Ltd.;
Ellen Koteff, Editor of Nation’s Restaurant News;
Ron Paul, President of Technomic, Inc.;
Alan Plassche, BP Partners and former CEO of UniPro Foodservice; and
Jim Sullivan, CEO of Sullivision, Inc.
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