HOUSTON (August 16, 2013)—Sysco, North America's largest foodservice distribution company, recently honored its top suppliers as part of the 2013 Sysco Supplier Excellence Awards program.
The awards, presented at an industry dinner in Houston, recognize the commitment, support and partnership of suppliers by category and area of accomplishment. This marks the 19th year that Sysco has honored its top suppliers.
Ecolab Inc., headquartered in Minneapolis, Minn., was recognized as Supplier of the Year, Sysco's top supplier recognition, and awarded for the highest level of performance in areas such as sales growth, profitability, Sysco Brand sales and overall support of Sysco. Ecolab's Chairman of the Board and Chief Executive Officer, Doug Baker, accepted the award.
The complete list of 2013 Top Supplier Awards (not in ranked order):
Gold Supplier Award recipients:
| Company: | Product Category: |
| Devi Seafoods, Inc. | Seafood |
| Ventura Foods | Grocery |
| Sanderson Farms, Inc. | Poultry |
| OSI Group, LLC | Beef |
| Cargill (Pork) | Pork |
| Ecolab, Inc. | Foodservice supplies/ chemicals |
| Alpha Baking Company, Inc. | Bakery/Convenience |
| PepsiCo Foodservice | Beverage |
| ProSource Inc. | Produce |
| Bonduelle Canada Inc. | Frozen Veg & Potato |
| Saputo Dairy Foods | Dairy |
| Pacific Coast Producers | Canned |
Other Gold level award categories:
- Renaissance Man Food Services won the Heritage Gold Award, which goes to Sysco's top-performing women- and minority-owned suppliers who exhibit excellence in areas such as innovative products, sales growth and promotional support. Also honored at the Silver and Bronze levels, respectively, were Windsor Foods and Lemon-X.
- Red Gold, Inc., a supplier of premium-quality canned tomatoes and tomato-based products for retail, foodservice, private brands and club stores, won the Supply Chain Partner Award for its ongoing collaborative efforts to improve Sysco's end-to-end supply chain.
- Cardinal Meat Specialists Ltd., a Canadian meat company, won the 2013 Innovation Award for its "Revolution Burger," recognized by Sysco as the most innovative product developed and launched during Fiscal Year 2013.
- Superior Foods Companies, a leading supplier for the retail, food manufacturing and foodservice private brand industries, won the inaugural Sysco Sustainability Excellence Award for its involvement with the Guatemala Highland Value Chain Development Alliance. The alliance, a collaboration among Sysco, Superior Foods, Oxfam, the Sustainable Food Lab and Guatemala's Organization for Agricultural and Microenterprise Development, hopes to reach more than 500 new farmers in the next two years and in the longer-term contribute to improved livelihoods of nearly 4,000 rural households. To date, more than 200 new family farms from one of the most vulnerable areas in Guatemala are now selling in this supply chain.
Silver Supplier Award recipients:
| Company: | Product Category: |
| Northern Wind Inc. | Seafood |
| Stratas Foods | Grocery |
| Renaissance Man | Poultry |
| Cargill | Beef |
| Sara Lee Foodservice (Pork) | Pork |
| Pactiv LLC | Foodservice supplies/ chemicals |
| McCain Foods | Bakery/Convenience |
| Vitality(Nestle Professional Beverages) | Beverage |
| Sigma Sales Inc. | Produce |
| National Frozen Foods Corporation | Frozen Veg & Potato |
| AMPI/Morning Glory Farms | Dairy |
| Agro Sevilla – USA, Inc. | Canned |
Bronze Supplier Award recipients:
| Beef | Beverage | Grocery |
| American Foods Group | Island Oasis | Cargill |
| IBP (Tyson) | Lemon-X Corporation | McCormick for Chefs |
| Holten Meat, Inc. | Lyons Magnus | Domino (American Sugar Refining) |
| Lower Foods Inc. | Sovena USA | |
| Dan's Prize Inc. (Hormel Foods Group) | Red Gold, LLC | |
| Bakery/Convenience | Canned | Dairy |
| Ralcorp Frozen Bakery Products | Allens, Inc. | Michael Foods, Inc. |
| Cuisine Innovations, LLC | Azar Nut Company | BelGioioso Cheese |
| Flowers Bakeries Foodservice | John B. Sanfilippo and Son | Emmi Roth USA |
| Windsor Foods | Mitsui Foods | National Pasteurized Eggs, Inc. |
| United States Bakery | Oregon Cherry Growers, Inc. | Hillandale Farms |
| Pork | Poultry | Seafood |
| Tyson- TPFG | Koch Foods, Inc. | Arista Industries |
| Clemens Food Group | Mar-Jac Poultry Inc. | F.W. Bryce, Inc. |
| Smithfield | Case Farms | Great American Seafoods |
| Fresh Mark Inc. (Sugardale) | Butterball | Paul Piazza & Son, Inc. |
| JBS | Pilgrim's Pride | Shediac Lobster |
| Disp/Chem/S&E | Frozen | Produce |
| John Ritzenthaler Company RITZ Foodservice | McCain Foods | Taylor Farms |
| Libbey Inc. | Expor San Antonio | Tanimura and Antle |
| SCA Americas | Superior Foods Companies | Church Brothers, LLC |
| Handgards Inc. | GreenGate Fresh, LLLP | |
| Heritage Bag Company | J&J Produce | |
Recipients of Sysco's 2013 Supplier Excellence Awards were chosen from more than 1,200 eligible suppliers worldwide. Winners were selected based on key business performance measures as prescribed by Sysco's U.S.-based distribution companies and the company's corporate Merchandising, Sourcing, Quality Assurance and Supply Chain departments.
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