Ace Endico Newsletter, November 2022

“The entire staff has been challenged to the max and has still managed to get through record breaking numbers I believe a thank you should go out to the entire warehouse staff, both day and night, for their efforts throughout this growth period”.

-Ed Machado, Director of Warehouse Operations

DRIVER PHOTO CONT

This summer, drivers from Br and New England participa photo contest. Below are th second and third place win

FIRST PLACE

Jonathan Maitland

Votes!

SECOND PLACE

Plaziak

Votes!

ACE ENDICO HEADQUARTERS EXPANSION

Under the direction of Mr Michael Endico, Ace Endico has launched a large expansion onto the existing Brewster, NY Headquarters

International Boulevard is currently being relocated to accommodate a168,000 square foot addition onto the existing headquarters. The construction includes newly renovated office space, a brandnew Cash and Carry, an employee parking garage and an additional 118,000 sq. feet of warehouse space. Stay tuned for more updates!

THIRD PLACE

Votes!

Stalin was promoted from Facilities to Customer Support. Stalin quickly learned how to key orders and answer the phones. He has a positive attitude and is great on the phone with our customers. Stalin is a great addition to the CS team!

Sam has always gone above and beyond, never saying no to any request or ad-hoc project. Recently we lost a member of our marketing team & Sam stepped in to help tackle some important projects, keeping marketing on track. She is a great asset to the Marketing & Ace Endico team. Her hard work & dedication is much appreciated!

Appointments

The Fit For Work office

by: MattHertzberg

Submitted by: PaulCannillo GeneralManager, AceNewEngland

Dionna wears many hats (customer service, receiving, inventory, supervisor in the warehouse). She puts out fires as they arise. Dionna hopped on a truck at 6am to deliver products when a driver called out. I am proud to work with you. Thank you for all you do!!

Lewis

Stalin Cardenas

by:

We received over 500 new items for school bids, and inventory is at a record high! Thank you for all you do Frank!!

Dionna Marsella AceNewEngland

P L O Y

E R E C O G N I T I O N !

you know that Ace Endico offers an on-site Injury Prevention Specialist for all employees?

Athletic Trainer, Jenni Berean, is available Mondays & Thursdays 3 PM – 7:30 PM.

PROMOTIONS

JERRY DANIELE was promoted in June to Senior Specialist, specializing in pre made frozen desserts and hors d’oeuvres.

NATALIA MIRANDA who works in our Finance department, has been promoted to Staff Accountant

WELCOME TO THE FAMILY!

In May of 2022, Ace Endico acquired Monelli Fine Foods, located on Long Island. Members of the Monelli team, including Anthony (Tony) Falgiano, Ray Costagliola and Paul Sferrazza have come on board to join the Ace Family!

Ace Endico more recently acquired Catanzaro Quality Meats in Hartford, CT. The company was started during the Great Depression in 1939 as a local wholesaler of meat and dairy, servicing mainly "mom & pop" stores, as well as restaurants. In 1949 Joseph Catanzaro joined the company, and eventually purchased the company in 1976. Joe and his family have been running the business for 37 years, and counting. Ace Endico is happy to welcome Larry & The Catanzaro family!

New Hires!

Jenny Teague, who previously worked at Adam’s Fairacre Farms has been hired to work in the Bid Department.

CONGRATULATIONS!

Two new additions to our New Jersey sales team include Alexa Trujillo and Joe Cannillo.

Sarah DiAntonio and Nicholas Sheehan have joined our finance department as Credit Coordinators.

ChrisDevinewelcomedhisfirst

Urgently Hiring at Ace HQ and Ace NE For:

CDL Delivery Professional

Warehouse Associate

Warehouse Associate

ENDICO WITH SENATE MINORITY LEADER ROB ORTT

GinaArenaand StateSenateLeaderRobOrttjoinedbyYorktownSupervisorandCandidateforStateAssembly MattSlater,PutnamCountyRepublicanChairmanAndresGilandotherrepsandcandidates, forafulltourof thecompany'sheadquartersinBrewsterandforadiscussiononthebusinessclimateofNewYorkState

"Ace Endico is a staple in our region and the state. Being a family-owned business, for decades they have always provided our communities with the highest quality product. At a time when supply chain issues and inflation threaten everyday consumers, Ace Endico has proven time and again that they have what it takes to provide great service and supply delicious, quality products, no matter the challenges. Imagine what they could do with a healthy business climate in New York State. I thank Ace Endico for allowing us to tour their exemplary business. Let's bring back the Empire State one business at a time."

Gina Arena, candidate for State Senate in District 40

aceendico.com/joinourfamily

More access points are scheduled to be installed in the warehouse to support more devices on our network.

We are in the final stages of implementing the new voice picking hardware and software. This will increase the speed and productivity of the pickers at night.

Email login is now available for your customers on the pepper app. Contact Jason in IT for details.

HOUSEKEEPING!

Sales

Check-out the Italian Holiday Catalog with many unique items for your retail customers or for your next holiday gift basket!

Specialty holiday items & special orders will require longer lead times because of supply chain issues. Please send special orders as soon as possible to ensure that your customer’s order is fulfilled.

Be sure to pick up the new 2022 Ace Endico Sales Kits on your next stop to the office!

Parking

Effective immediately, management is asking employees NOT to park in the customer parking lot. Only employees with assigned parking should be parking in the Employee Parking Lot with designated spot numbers. Office staff with no assigned parking should

in the newly paved lot across International Blvd. All day crew, drivers, and company store employees

park in the back gravel

In October 2019, Ace Endico acquired Supreme Dairy Farms located in Woonsocket Rhode Island. Supreme ended 2019 with annual sales of approximately $12.7 million, averaging a little over $1 million per month. Jason Magnell, VP of the New England Division said that his goal is to have moved $45 million worth of product by the end of 2022. Since the acquisition, the Rhode Island distribution center has only grown. An additional warehouse receiving dock door has been installed to accommodate more deliveries, and more parking space were built for the growing team.

New England has gone from receiving two nightly transfer trucks from Brewster HQ to four nightly trucks. The daytime loads have increased from two trailers a week to one trailer per day. Ace Endico’s business has penetrated northern New England, from Boston to Maine. As such, the New England fleet has grown by three tractors with pup trailers and two non-CDL trucks to accommodate this territory expansion.

Most recently, a beautiful new "Ace Endico" sign has been installed onto the front of the building, and the finishing touches are being put on a new test kitchen and break room.

Butternut Squash Carbonara

A fall spin on the classic carbonara, made with a butternut squash purée, pancetta & sage.

CONGRATULATIONS TO OUR TOP SELECTORS!

JULY:

Dillon McDonald 49,631 Zachary Stombaugh 41,460 Matthew Naczi 37,187 Matthew Soderstrom 36,713 Dylan Stombaugh 35,834

AUGUST:

Dylan Stombaugh 60,537 Dillon McDonald 58,581

Zachary Stombaugh 57,918 Matthew Naczi 51,084 Matthew Soderstrom 49,353

SEPTEMBER:

Dillion McDonald 64,972 Dylan Stombaugh 45,204 Matthew Soderstrom 44,812 Dylan Villodas 41,792 Zachary Stombaugh 41,577

NUMBERS REPRESENT THE TOTAL NUMBER

CASES PICKED EACH

BY EACH EMPLOYEE*

¼

1

½

Diced Pancetta

Butternut Squash Purée

grated Parmesan Cheese

3 Egg Yolks

6

¼

Sage

Directions:

For

Combine

Prepare

of salted

Render pancetta in a sauté

In

crispy. Remove from heat.

yolks,

Parmesan

Cook pasta until al dente. Drain and reserve 1 ½ cups pasta water.

Return pancetta to medium heat and add pasta to the pan, tossing gently to coat.

Pour pasta and pancetta into the egg mixture and toss gently to coat the pasta and emulsify. If mixture is

thick, use reserved pasta water to adjust consistency.

Return to the sauté pan for 1 minute to heat through. Garnish with pecorino Romano and sage. Serve immediately.

ACE ENDICO'S 2022 FALL FOOD TASTING

a t Y a n k e e S t a d i u m

Ace Endico held its Fall Food Tasting at Yankee Stadium on September 28th after a three year hiatus due to COVID The show boasted over two hundred vendors, including many of Ace Endico’s partners from Italy, who traveled from abroad to attend Among the nearly 2,000 customers in attendance, were many new customers from the New England Division

Ace Endico would like to thank all staff members who helped make the show a success, including Ace Endico’s transportation staff, who assisted in delivering product and equipment to and from the show.

Maureen Hart and the purchasing department work tirelessly all year to ensure that vendors not only attend the show, but put their best foot forward to impress our customers.

The winner of the best booth display, a new distinction that Ace Endico plans to award at all future food shows, went to Mastro. Mastro is a supplier of fine, specialty deli meats like prosciutto, sopressata and mortadella, all inspired by classic Italian recipes.

CASH & CARRY SHOPPING CART

“My

is

I don’t go to the mall for Holiday gifts anymore. All my Holiday gifts are food baskets I make with my favorite products sold at the Cash & Carry.”

the

-Katherine Wetzler

THE LEGEND

b y J o h n W a l s h

“Heroes get remembered, but Legends never die.” Babe Ruth Given our relationship with the New York Yankees, it seems only fitting to begin a writing about an Ace legend with a quote from a Yankees legend.

It’s hard to believe it’s been one year since Vincent “Vinny” McPherson passed away on September 10, 2021. For nearly 40 years, Vinny was a bedrock of the Ace Operations Team.

Bill Endico and Murray Hertzberg founded Ace Endico in 1982, operating the business out of a Mount Vernon garage Vinny was one of their first warehouse hires Shortly after hiring Vinny, Bill told him he would one day become one of Ace’s best employees During his career, Vinny was one of the most reliable employees in company history He never once called out of work, nor was late

Even more impressive is he accomplished this feat without ever holding a drivers’ license Bill and Murray relocated the business twice during Vinny’s tenure, moving to Elmsford in 1993 and Brewster in 2005. Despite the moves, Vinny made it to work!

As Ace grew and flourished in the food industry, Vinny grew as a worker and learned new skills. He started off lumping boxes around the warehouse and loading/unloading deliveries. He spent 20 years working in the freezer at 10° and never complained about his workload. Later, Vinny became an accomplished forklift operator and mastered the new technologies utilized throughout the warehouse operations.

I came to Ace by way of a career change in 2013. I knew very little (if anything) about the food distribution business. Early on for me, things seemed to move at a rapid pace and that seemed somewhat overwhelming What helped my transition was seeing this gentle, quiet, hardworking man He was respectful and got along with everyone He made people smile and laugh At first, we would say hello and give the “what’s up” head nod Over time we chatted about sports, and he always laughed at my jokes about his beloved New York Knicks

Murray compared Vinny to Michael Jordan In his opinion, MJ was the best basketball player of all time No one could perform the job of a basketball player better than MJ because he showed up every day and worked harder than his peers.

Vinny was one of the best at doing the job he was assigned because he showed up and worked hard. It is such a simple, straightforward, easy to remember recipe for success, which Ace will carry on as we move into the next chapter of the company. Vinny will live on in Ace forever because LEGENDS NEVER DIE! “Chop and a Chop” RIP Vinny

I worked at Endico Potatoes [A company owned by my father and my uncles] for over 20 years. Endico Potatoes is a supplier of potato products to the foodservice industry.

Endico Potatoes was acquired by Del Monte Foods (canned food co.) in the early 1970’s, then RJ Reynolds acquired Del Monte in the late 1970’s. My father and his brothers stock doubled overnight.

Then in 1981 KKR, in the biggest leverage buyout at that time, acquired RJ Reynolds.

Endico was able to buy back their company from KKR in 1981 at Book value, a really good deal!

In 1982 I asked for a meeting with my father and his two brothers Felix & Bill. They were the three owners of Endico Potatoes and I had worked for them for 22 years. The purpose of the meeting was to ask them if they would give me the opportunity to buy into the company. My proposal was that I would like to purchase 10% of the shares and the remaining shares would be owned equally by the three brothers 30% each. (10% for me 30% each for Michael (my father), Felix and Bill.

My offer was refused! My father turned to me at that meeting and said “I will give you 10% of my shares” I said Dad it’s not fair to you because you must be equal to your brothers in ownership. I refused my father’s offer; the deal was off the table.

I had nowhere to go and offered to stay to train my replacement. But my uncles said, “Next week clean out your desk" and threw me out. There was no severance package, they cut off my salary and medical.

I had a new house, a wife and two small children to support. But I was moving ahead…I was out! They were trying to bring me to my knees & force me to crawl back. It wasn’t going to happen!

I heard that Ace Provisions was for sale. It was a small local food distributor in Mt. Vernon that sold to local luncheonettes & coffee shops.

Irving Fluxgold was the owner and he and I had a good relationship.

I approached Irving and told him that I would like to purchase Ace Provisions. He was shocked when he heard that my uncles refused my offer.

He proceeded to tell me that he was going into contract with Yonkers Institutional Foods and that they were purchasing Ace. Irving then told me that he really didn’t like the people who owned Yonkers Institutional Foods.

So, I convinced Irving to kill the deal with Yonkers Institutional Foods and sell me Ace. The deal was done, I acquired Ace Provisions.

The name Ace Provisions was changed to Ace Endico because the name “Endico” was synonymous with potatoes and had a very strong reputation & presence in the New York metro area.

I asked Murray Hertzberg to join me in this venture.

So Ace Endico was established on April 29, 1982. We started in a garage in Mt. Vernon, NY with a van and a 12” body truck and in 1982 we posted sales of 1 million dollars.

This year is our 40th anniversary.

Yes, it was a humble beginning, my partner Murray and I were determined to build the finest food service company in the New York metro area. So, we rolled up our sleeves to take on this new challenge.

We worked to the point of total exhaustion, putting in grueling hours, we overcame every unimaginable obstacle with many disappointments, but we were not deterred As a matter of fact, with each setback we became stronger and more determined.

We were drawing meager salaries, just enough to sustain ourselves, just enough to survive. We couldn’t afford to hire decent help, so we did all the work ourselves. It was an extremely difficult time. It was a monumental challenge!

But with the grace of God, we started to inch ahead and we made what turned out to be a brilliant decision which was to reinvest our profits in people, people that we could develop into management. It paid off big!

We developed a highly skilled, dedicated, well trained and competent management team. This gave us the impetus to really grow our business at a very rapid rate, double digits from that point on. Our people enabled us to grow and prosper.

That is why we have our slogan:

“A family tradition of quality & service”

Some historical highlights:

In 1982 we hit 1 million dollars in sales. In 1993 we hit 12 million dollars in sales and moved to Elmsford's 25,000 sq ft building. In 2005 we reached 65 million dollars in sales and moved to Brewster's 100,000 sq ft building. Then in 2009 we reached 100 million in sales. Now in 2022 we are approaching 500 million in sales. An amazing American success story.

Murray retired last year, a well deserved retirement. Murray was the best of the best! When I left my family business in 1982, I said to myself, if I could find one person to work for me like I worked for my father and my two uncles then I would become very successful and that person turned out to be Murray Hertzberg. I miss him dearly! An amazing human being!

I have been turning over most of my duties and responsibilities to my son Michael and daughter Laura. They know the business and are very capable. You are in good hands. I’ve been blessed to be surrounded by so many outstanding people and I thank you for that. You are all very special to me.

“A genius sometimes hides in simplicity”

Then:

Now:

MurrayHertzberg&BillEndico