Food Logistics

JAN-FEB 2015

Food Logistics serves the entire food supply chain industry with targeted content for manufacturers, retailers, and distributors.

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50 JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2015 • FOOD LOGISTICS www.foodlogistics.com Transportation infrastructure is another incen- tive for investing in Kentucky. Businesses have access to 19 interstate highways, plus controlled- access parkways, and 2,760 rail miles served by three Class I railroads — CSX, Canadian National (CN) and Norfolk Southern (NS) — and other regional railroads. The Ohio and Mississippi rivers, along with seven public river ports, create an easy barge thoroughfare along 1,100 miles of navigable waterways. Ongoing investments in intermodal freight facilities are also supporting the transportation of goods. In addition, the state offers five commercial airports and multiple regional airports. Two major air cargo hubs, one operated by UPS and the other by DHL, are located at Kentucky's two international airports, Cincinnati/North- ern Kentucky International (CVG) and Louis- ville International Airport (SDF). One company taking advantage of the air cargo capabilities is Louisville, Ky.-based Clear- water Fine Foods (USA) Inc. The Louisville location serves as a lobster holding facility for fresh lobster caught by Clearwater Fine Foods in Nova Scotia. The company came to Louisville in 1999, when UPS opened its UPS Worldport facility at SDF. Clearwater specializes in live lobster, an extremely delicate and perishable product. At their Louisville facility, the com- pany created an ocean environment that closely replicates both the temperature and salinity that lobster requires to stay healthy. "There's a lot of process that we go through to make sure that we have the best lobster for our customers. We go above and beyond," says Paul Valdez, operations manager. Clearwater can ship a lobster within the same day if needed. The company uses several air carriers, includ- ing UPS. Every day at 5 p.m., UPS arrives to pick up that day's lobster shipments, which are then transported to a special dedicated holding section. In order to reduce stress on the lobster, movement is kept to a minimum, and transport on conveyor belts are avoided. UPS Worldport was created from a smaller UPS sort facility. It now ranks as the largest, fully-automated package handling facility in the world. On an average day, the facility turns 130 cargo aircraft and processes 1.6 million pack- ages. Currently, 416,000 packages move every hour, but the goal is to boost that figure to half a million. Chicago, Ill.-based Newly Weds Foods is an international manufacturer and distributor of food ingredients, breadings, batters, seasonings, rubs and marinades. They make food coatings at their new 326,000-square-foot food manufac- turing plant in Northern Kentucky. The com- pany enjoys access to various resources, logistics options and workforce. The site also puts Newly Weds Foods in close proximity to its customers. With assistance from the state government, five different state organizations work together to create a highly trained and skilled workforce to support Kentucky's businesses. "The workforce is diverse, demographically. You have many Ph.D.'s and folks with Masters degrees, and you have Kentuckians with high school educations," notes Joe Lilly, executive director of the Kentucky Cabinet for Econom- ic Development. The Kentucky Skills Network was created for businesses that need help getting special or specific training for their workers. Worker productivity in Kentucky is rated "above average," which is also attractive to business. In the meantime, Kentucky Gov. Steven L. Beshear is an active and driving force in over- hauling Kentucky's tax code. His goal is to make Kentucky one of the most competitive states in the U.S. The Kentucky Cabinet for Economic Development (www.thinkkentucky.com) has developed the Office of Entrepreneurship spe- cifically to help aid business development, either starting from the "idea" stage or assisting a fully developed business that needs help making con- nections or gaining access to the right resources. In addition, the Kentucky Economic Develop- ment Finance Authority (KEDFA) was set up to provide financial assistance and tax credit programs for businesses. One company that used KEDFA's resources is ZoomEssence, Inc., a food technology company. The company's DriZoom technol- ogy delivers liquid quality flavors and ingre- dients in a powder form, without the use of heat. ZoomEssence tapped into the state's tax incentives, guidance and investment options to expand its operations in Kentucky. KEDFA provided the company with investment funds of up to $175,000, and $300,000 in tax incentives to be used over a 10-year period. A complete list of Kentucky Business incen- tives is available online at www.thinkkentucky. com/kyedc/pdfs/kybusinc.pdf. The state ranks high on other key consider- ations for businesses. Kentuckians are known for their strong work ethic and their "can do" spirit. It also boasts the fourth lowest industrial electricity rates in the nation. The cost of living in Kentucky is one of the lowest in the nation. Housing cost is 30 percent below the national average. There are eight public universities, 20 independent higher learning institutions and 16 community and technical colleges. Kentucky is attractive to business—and the people who live there. The state is a hybrid of sorts—it's located in the Midwest but definitely has a southern flair. Imagine a gentle Kentucky rain, bluegrass pastures, bluegrass music play- ing in the background, relaxing on your porch, holding a snifter of good ol' Kentucky bour- bon—yes, this is a fine place to call home. ◆ Cynthia Y. McCann is a Los Angeles-based pho- tojournalist, whose work has appeared in several B2B supply chain journals, including World Trade WT100 and Food Logistics. Her artwork was recognized on the front page of The Los Angeles Times as part of the newspaper's coverage of the Surfin' Hermosa art exhibit in 2004. • Taking a closer look at live lobster at the Clear- water Fine Foods (USA) facility in Louisville, Ky. • Bottling line at Jim Beam's Distillery. Photo: Cynthia Y. McCann Photo: Cynthia Y. McCann

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