Congratulations to RLS Logistics, the 2022 Foodservice Distributor/Logistics Provider of the Year. Typically honoring a foodservice distributor, this year we expanded this award to include logistics providers and I’m glad we did because the RLS Logistics story is compelling.
Despite all-time high transportation rates and tight capacity throughout the COVID pandemic, the company maintained growth, experiencing +12.5% growth in revenue YoY amid nationwide shutdowns in 2020. In 2021, RLS experienced a boom in business due to the country reopening and demand for logistics surging, experiencing a +50.2% increase in revenue YoY. In addition, they have made impressive acquisitions and invested in technology and food safety.
Other highlights in the September issue include a look at the Boston/New England cold storage market and cold design-build firms making an impact through charitable work. Columns this issue cover startup strategies for cold food distributors by Robin Kix, Renewal Department manager at Lance Surety and our C-Suite Q&A features Joe Battoe, CEO of Varcode. Short for variable barcode, Chicago-based Varcode serves the food and beverage, and pharmaceutical and life sciences industries.
Our departments this month focus on the latest in frozen meals and entrees, packaging equipment and materials, and X-Ray, metal detection and vision inspection systems.
Last, I’d like to focus on what we can’t bring you in this e-magazine, which is access to everything else we have on RFFmag.com, including our From the Cold Corner podcast, industry news updated daily, newsletters, white papers and more. I invite you to visit our website and take a look around.
As I approach my year anniversary as Editor-in-Chief of Refrigerated & Frozen Foods, I’m hoping to engage more with cold and frozen foods processing plants, and cold storage and logistics facilities, to better cover the innovation and success stories in the food industry. I am eager to see your facilities firsthand now that pandemic restrictions are receding. Please contact me at rodriguezk@bnpmedia.com so we can schedule a tour.
