West Caldwell, NJ — The opportunity for northeast retailers to source the highest-quality produce, fresh-cuts and deli products just got bigger and better. The January 24 opening of RLB Food Distributors’ newly acquired 40,000-square-foot refrigerated facility in Fairfield, NJ, has greatly increased the company’s warehousing capabilities.
This added space provides 8 additional loading bays to the company’s 85,000-square-foot 13-bay warehouse located three miles away at the company’s headquarters in West Caldwell. Produce shippers benefit as well, as the increase in slotting capacity will allow for an increase of their product foothold in RLB’s market area, which spans from Northern Virginia to Boston.
Floyd Avillo, president and co-owner, explains, “This addition solves our past challenges of a limited number of slots. It means we can now handle more of anything that is chilled and take on new lines and suppliers for our customers. We expect this new facility will allow for us to grow all of our business lines for another 10 to 12 years.”
The Fairfield location is formerly a cheese distribution facility, which RLB purchased and renovated. The company has moved its entire deli, chilled and specialty inventory here, while freeing up space in its West Caldwell facility to expand its fresh produce offerings, including organics and locally-grown, to serve a broader range of retail customers. The re-engineered produce facility features 10 temperature/humidity zones with 55,000-square-feet of warehouse space. An additional 13,000-square-feet is devoted to RLB’s fresh-cut processing division, FreshPro.
Avillo says, “We will be expanding our fresh-cut operation within the West Caldwell facility in the future. Currently, the extra space now freed up by moving deli out allows us to have more room for raw product, finished product and packaging and a more efficient production flow.”
Fresh and fresh-cut produce are a major segment of RLB’s business, representing 70 percent of dollar sales in 2013.
RLB offers a full-line of conventional and organic produce and an extensive variety of fresh and branded products. The company is also a full-line supplier of domestic and imported deli products and cheeses, sources private label lines for provisions, prepared foods and salads, and is a distributor/consolidator of chilled foods, soups and prepared foods. This makes RLB a one-stop source for fresh foods.
“We are an innovative perishable specialist that has stayed true to our mission of supplying high quality products, service and value to retailers who look to offer consistency in variety, taste and freshness to their consumers,” Avillo concludes. “This is accomplished through our network of loyal suppliers who understand our needs, our commitments to fresh-cut and organics and our associates who are aligned with these principals.”
Both of RLB’s Fairfield and West Caldwell warehouses are HACCP-certified and third-party audited facilities.
About RLB Distributors
RLB is a full line supplier of produce and perishables products and services to a broad range of customers from Northern Virginia to Boston, including retail chains, specialty retailers, convenience stores and food manufacturers.
Source: RLB Distributors
