“We certainly are happy to have winter behind us,” Bruce Klein, director of marketing for Maurice A. Auerbach in Secaucus, NJ, told The Produce News in late April.

“While we did not really miss any work days, it was just a pain to live through,” he continued. “There was ice on our driveways for a solid month and half. People’s pipes were bursting, water was leaking in homes. The temperatures were simply too low for anyone to go outside. It just made for a very messy and uncomfortable winter for everyone.”

Fortunately for the company, it continues to enjoy its cutting edge facility that opened in fall 2011.

The 60,000-square-foot facility has 45,000 square feet of refrigeration and an unbroken cold chain. The construction also offers enhanced sustainability.

Klein noted that even though the facility is maintained at a temperature that is perfect for fresh produce, it was much more comfortable for customers and employees than if they had to be on an exterior dock that is exposed to the elements.

“We are benefiting tremendously from the increased efficiencies we now have,” Klein added. “Overall, it’s easier for us to do more business, and that was our goal. It is also extremely secure — sort of like trying to get into Fort Knox — which was also our goal. Our staff members are made to scrub down before they glove up and go to work, and that is only one of the many details we constantly attend to.”

Maurice A. Auerbach spent millions of dollars to make the new facility safe, clean and efficient, and Klein said that companies that don’t make efforts in this regard will likely suffer in the future.

He added that the facility accommodates the company’s food-safety initiatives and leaves room for future programs related to food safety and traceability.

Klein said that although the demands for Asian and Hispanic produce items is increasing, garlic, which is a hallmark in the company’s line of specialty products, is used by nearly every culture and around the world.

“The garlic business is always good,” he said. “We do focus on bringing garlic to consumers and foodservice operators alike in more value-added and easy-to-use ways, like peeled garlic in individual sealed packages that enable users to open just the amount they need for a recipe.”

The company introduced new packaging and labels late last year, which Klein said is in keeping with the new facility in that the company’s strategy is to always stay ahead of the curve on what it offers and how.

Maurice A. Auerbach is a third-generation family owned business that started distributing garlic during World War II. In the 1970s, it expanded its product line to include a variety of produce sourced from around the world. It specializes in garlic, shallots and other specialty items, including tropical and Asian produce. Today, the company is the Northeast’s largest distributor of garlic.

The company also offers an organic line that includes garlic, shallots and tofu.

“We have begun offering organic shallots again,” Klein explained. “We stopped handling the organic option when the economy dipped. But now signs of an economic up-tip, upscale stores are asking for them again. This is especially true in New York City and other cities where consumers are more progressive and knowledgeable about food. People in these cities are now searching out organic options once again, and doing so aggressively.”