Cover Story _____________________________________________________________________________________________________
We strive to be as reliable , helpful , and friendly to work with as possible , and we constantly have our customers in mind
some of our most valued retail customers in more than 18 states . Piazza Produce , on the other hand , was initially a family business that was established in 1970 with a single truck . It experienced tremendous success , becoming an industry-leading operation based around the historic Indianapolis produce terminal . “ However , we ’ ve expanded further since our reorganization ,” he adds . “ Today , we ’ re a group of 12 companies , with a fleet of over 900 trucks , and just over 900,000 square feet in warehousing space , across a total of 26 facilities . Our companies are predominantly focused on food service throughout the Midwest , but we have a small reach down into the Southeast too , and a specific client in Texas .”
Customer collaboration
FreshEdge ’ s recent addition , Testa Produce ( Testa ), joined the family of companies in May 2023 . “ For more than 110 years , Testa has been distributing high-quality fresh produce , proteins , seafood , and beverages ,” says Ross . “ But more than that , its Chicago headquarters is Platinum Certified by Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design ( LEED ).
“ I had the opportunity to visit the site for the first time recently , and the green technologies in place there are amazing ,” he recalls . “ There ’ s a windmill , solar panels , and a rainwater collection system within the property , to utilize renewable energy sources . It ’ s impressive to see the developments there first-hand , and the group can learn and adopt some of these technologies across our other facilities .” Referring to the company ’ s customer support provisions , Ross describes FreshEdge as a ‘ customer-obsessed ’ business . “ We don ’ t design a program and retrofit it to the customer ; instead , we work collaboratively with clients to identify their needs , and then we create a bespoke schedule based on this information ,” he elaborates .
“ We strive to be as reliable , helpful , and friendly to work with as possible , and we constantly have our customers in mind . As we primarily deal with fresh produce , you must consider that from the day it is harvested , it ’ s essentially dying . So , we must do everything
30