“January and February were a little soft, but year-to-date has been pretty good,” said Reilly Jr., president of the company. “Springtime is much better for us. All of the California stone fruit is getting started. This is a good time for us because we ramp up with sweet corn, watermelon and all the summertime items.”
The company is also very excited about its tomato business, which is handled by Gary Goldblatt, and its tropical business, handled by Felipe Matias.
“We’re doing a good job with the tropical items and we are a big Eastern veg house and Southern veg house, and we do a good job with all the fruit categories also — domestic and imported,” Reilly said.
Part of Ryeco’s commitment to maintaining the highest quality and optimal freshness of its products is having a streamlined and modern network of transportation that offers expedited delivery to vendors across the country.
The company has 10 units on the Philadelphia Wholesale Market and feels that has been a big part of its success. It’s diverse customer base serve those in the Northeast and parts of the mid-Atlantic. The mix includes everyone from someone who may buy one box of peppers or tomatoes to those who can take truckloads of stuff.
“Working in Philadelphia, we are lucky, because our reach is as far south as Virginia and as far north as Connecticut, which has been good for us; we don’t just focus on the Philadelphia area,” Reilly said. “We have over 25 trucks on the road every day making deliveries.”
The company is constantly focused on how it can improve its service and how to best manage its labor.
“Our vice president, Filindo Colace, has implemented a warehouse management system with Produce Pro, so our pickers are now scanning from their location when they load product,” Reilly said. “That’s helped us manage our labor.”
Elsewhere around the company, Brian Beckmann has been moved into a new position, now acting as director of sales. Additionally, John Hickey an industry vet known for his work with Coosemans, has been added as a new buyer.
“Brian is managing the sales team and doing a great job and John has been a great addition for us,” Reilly said.
The company also has a 50,000 square-foot warehouse in the works, and it’s currently putting racks and refrigeration in to get it ready.
“We have big plans for what we’re going to do there and how it’s going to help us increase our business,” Reilly said. “It will give us more capacity to have better inventory. We’re excited about the future and we see plenty of avenues of growth for us.”
Photo: Brian Beckmann, Joe Rossi, John Dohanicz, Greg Mirabelli, John Hickey, Steven Levchenco, Brandon Dohanicz and Timmy Reilly.
