Krulder to retire after lifelong career with Waldbaum chain
Krulder to retire after lifelong career with Waldbaum chain
Tommy Krulder, who has spent his entire professional career with the Waldbaum supermarket chain and later its parent company, announced that he will retire in the middle of this month.
"I am going to retire from the retail end of the business," Mr. Krulder told The Produce News Wednesday, Nov. 30. "My last official day is December 16."
Mr. Krulder, 60, left open the possibility that he would remain active in some segment of the produce business, which he has loved ever since he started working while still a teenager for the Waldbaum chain. "My hope is to somehow represent the West Coast growers and shippers from [his home base] on the East Coast," he said.
He left open whether that meant acting as a consultant or in some other capacity, but said he hoped to continue working with growers and shippers on a number of issues such as "getting their products displayed properly."
Mr. Krulder, known almost universally as Tommy K, got his produce start in 1962 "like everyone else -- pushing a wagon," he recalled. He worked part time for Waldbaum Inc., an independent supermarket chain in the metropolitan New York area, for just a short time before becoming a full- time employee in the produce department.
He worked his way up and in 1991 became vice president of produce operations for Waldbaum, which had been absorbed around 1986-87 by the Great Atlantic & Pacific Tea Co. In 2000, he was put in charge of all perishable departments in the northeastern region at A&P. At the beginning of 2005, he was named to his current position, director of produce development for A&P's Food Basics banner.
Asked to comment on his many years in the retail end of the produce industry, Mr. Krulder had nothing but praise for both retailing and produce in general.
"The reason I stayed so long in the business was the camaraderie with the people in the produce industry," he said with conviction. "The atmosphere here [at Waldbaum and then A&P] and working with everyone - they're really a great group of people. That's why I stayed."
He continued, "As I've said many times, we just handle produce but we're really in the people business. That's what I loved about being in the produce business."
Although he was singularly focused on his responsibilities at Waldbaum and A&P, Mr. Krulder also enjoyed his time with the Eastern Produce Council, whose membership includes retailers, wholesalers, brokers and transportation specialists in the metropolitan New York area. He has been a member of the council since 1972, a director since 1986, and served two terms as president: one in 1987-88 and again in 1997-98.
A resident of Holbrook, NY, on Long Island, Mr. Krulder has been married to his wife, Carol, for 40 years. They have two children: a son, Ralph, who works in the New York area for Fresh Express, and a daughter, Kim, who is a school teacher. They have four grandchildren.
Asked to sum up what he most enjoyed during his long produce career, Mr. Krulder responded: "I've thought a lot about that recently, and I have to say relationships. That's what I really valued the most over the years. When you're honest and forthcoming with people, you get it back in spades."
"I am going to retire from the retail end of the business," Mr. Krulder told The Produce News Wednesday, Nov. 30. "My last official day is December 16."
Mr. Krulder, 60, left open the possibility that he would remain active in some segment of the produce business, which he has loved ever since he started working while still a teenager for the Waldbaum chain. "My hope is to somehow represent the West Coast growers and shippers from [his home base] on the East Coast," he said.
He left open whether that meant acting as a consultant or in some other capacity, but said he hoped to continue working with growers and shippers on a number of issues such as "getting their products displayed properly."
Mr. Krulder, known almost universally as Tommy K, got his produce start in 1962 "like everyone else -- pushing a wagon," he recalled. He worked part time for Waldbaum Inc., an independent supermarket chain in the metropolitan New York area, for just a short time before becoming a full- time employee in the produce department.
He worked his way up and in 1991 became vice president of produce operations for Waldbaum, which had been absorbed around 1986-87 by the Great Atlantic & Pacific Tea Co. In 2000, he was put in charge of all perishable departments in the northeastern region at A&P. At the beginning of 2005, he was named to his current position, director of produce development for A&P's Food Basics banner.
Asked to comment on his many years in the retail end of the produce industry, Mr. Krulder had nothing but praise for both retailing and produce in general.
"The reason I stayed so long in the business was the camaraderie with the people in the produce industry," he said with conviction. "The atmosphere here [at Waldbaum and then A&P] and working with everyone - they're really a great group of people. That's why I stayed."
He continued, "As I've said many times, we just handle produce but we're really in the people business. That's what I loved about being in the produce business."
Although he was singularly focused on his responsibilities at Waldbaum and A&P, Mr. Krulder also enjoyed his time with the Eastern Produce Council, whose membership includes retailers, wholesalers, brokers and transportation specialists in the metropolitan New York area. He has been a member of the council since 1972, a director since 1986, and served two terms as president: one in 1987-88 and again in 1997-98.
A resident of Holbrook, NY, on Long Island, Mr. Krulder has been married to his wife, Carol, for 40 years. They have two children: a son, Ralph, who works in the New York area for Fresh Express, and a daughter, Kim, who is a school teacher. They have four grandchildren.
Asked to sum up what he most enjoyed during his long produce career, Mr. Krulder responded: "I've thought a lot about that recently, and I have to say relationships. That's what I really valued the most over the years. When you're honest and forthcoming with people, you get it back in spades."
