Willow Run Foods In The News

Kirkwood truck driver 'a hero' to one Long Island resident

Thu, 17 Feb 2011 00:00:00 GMT

KIRKWOOD -- John Palmer doesn't see himself as a hero.

Bishop Lester L. Williams disagrees.

A truck driver for Willow Run Foods Inc. in Kirkwood, Palmer saved Williams' life, the church pastor says.

"Saving me was not on his agenda for the day. But when the opportunity presented itself, he rose to the occasion," Williams said. "For that, I deem him a hero."

It was a few days after Christmas and both men were stuck in traffic on a snow-choked roadway in Queens.

Palmer, 38, was making his weekly run from Kirkwood to supply fast food to Popeye's restaurants in Queens.

Williams, 58, had dropped his wife and daughter off at a train station and was heading home to Nassau County when traffic in Queens -- already slowed by a snowstorm -- came to a standstill because of a traffic accident.

An hour crawled by, said Williams, who was stranded without any food or drink in his church van because he only expected a 20-minute trip to and from the train station.

That was a problem for the bishop of The Community Church of Christ in Queens. He was minutes away from going into a diabetic coma, and traffic wasn't moving and wasn't going to move.

Eventually, Williams, who gives himself an injection of insulin six times a day to control his diabetes, was starting to black out. That's when he began asking people for food or candy.

But this was Queens.

"I began asking passersby if they had food or candy and they looked at me like I was crazy," Williams said.

Then the bishop walked up to Palmer, sitting in his Willow Run rig, right behind Williams' van.

There was no hesitation. The Bainbridge resident gave Williams his lunch. Then he walked back to the van with him.

"He looked sick," Palmer said. "I wanted to make sure he was OK."

With Palmer standing watch, Williams ate a banana and other food and slowly, the pastor began to feel better.

There was no point in calling an ambulance. Besides, the road was so clogged with unplowed snow that paramedics wouldn't have been able to get to Williams anyway, the bishop said.

In fact, the snow that hit New York City during Christmas week had so paralyzed the city's emergency service system that numerous ambulances and their crews from Broome County had been called to volunteer to help city crews respond to emergencies.

Even though the pastor looked better, Palmer wasn't convinced. He went back to his truck and returned with half a bottle of Mountain Dew. Palmer stood by while Williams drank the soda.

"He didn't have to do these things," Williams said. "But he did."

Slowly traffic was beginning to move.

Williams asked Palmer for his name, and Palmer gave it to him, but the truck driver didn't want anything in return.

"His 'thank you' was more than enough," said Palmer, who is married and the father of two children.

Still, Williams was determined to make his "thank you" stick.

So, he followed Palmer out of the traffic jam far enough to write down the "Willow Run Foods" logo painted on Palmer's rig.

When he got home, Williams looked up the Kirkwood-based company and sat down and wrote a letter to Terry Wood, the president and CEO of Willow Run, praising Palmer for his actions.

Wood runs a busy company. The casual-dining and fast-food distributor serves restaurants throughout the Northeast and Mid-Atlantic. Annual sales at the company are $494 million.

The CEO knew nothing of Palmer's Dec. 28 actions until he opened Williams' letter -- written the day of the rescue, he said.

"John is an unassuming guy," Wood said. "He didn't say a word to anyone."

But Wood made sure Willow Run employees knew about what Palmer had done, publishing Williams' letter in the company newsletter.

A hard worker and quiet man, Palmer deserved the praise, his boss said.

There was no disagreement on that.

"He is the reason that I am alive," Williams said.

Source: pressconnects.com
By Nancy Dooling

Willow Run trucks to be fit with tire pressure monitors

Tue, 27 Apr 2010 00:00:00 GMT

KIRKWOOD -- Willow Run Foods said special sensors that monitor tire pressure on its tractor trailers could help the company and others like it improve fuel use and safety and lower operating costs.

Willow Run, based in Kirkwood, has agreed to let its roughly 100 tractor trailers be part of a demonstration project using this technology from Par Logistics Management Systems of Rome, Willow Run President and CEO Terry Wood said. The tractor trailers are being outfitted now with the sensors. All of the vehicles should have them in about a month.

The study will last about a year, and the findings will be presented to industry, energy and environmental groups, said the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority, which awarded Par a $500,000 contract to demonstrate its tire pressure monitoring system.

Par will receive the tire pressure information and post it to an online system that Willow Run can access and monitor in "live time," Wood said.

Improper tire pressure can result in tire erosion and blowout and the need for roadside repair, Par President John Sammon III said.

"When your customer list includes Wendy's, Arby's ... and Sonic, you understand that timing is everything," Wood said. "If we miss the delivery window for any reason, everyone suffers."

National studies estimate that proper inflation of truck tires would yield between 2 percent and 10 percent increases in fuel efficiency, NYSERDA reported. One billion gallons of excess fuel is used because of inadequate tire pressure.

"Real-time tire pressure monitoring via wireless telecommunications is an industry first in trucking," Sammon said.

Willow Run plans $13 million expansion

Mon, 27 Oct 2008 00:00:00 GMT

KIRKWOOD -- Willow Run Foods said it wants to build a $13 million freezer and cooler storage facility near its current building on Route 11.
The plan still needs various town approvals. The company will meet with the Kirkwood zoning board Monday to discuss the proposal, Willow Run President and Chief Executive Officer Terry Wood said.
If everything goes through as planned, Willow Run could break ground on the 107,000-square-foot facility this fall for a July opening, Wood said. The building would be designed with a 30,000-square-foot addition in mind for potential, future expansion.
About 25 to 50 employees -- mostly truck drivers and warehouse personnel -- would be needed to staff the facility and would be hired in the months preceding the opening, Wood said. The employee-owned company has about 400 employee owners.
Most of the company's warehouse employees receive about $15 an hour, Wood said. Willow Run truck drivers receive an average of $50,000 a year.
About a year ago, Willow Run bought about 20 acres on land adjoining its current building for possible, future expansion, Wood said. The new facility would be built on this land.
State Sen. Thomas W. Libous, R-Binghamton, has committed $800,000 in grant funding to be used to install a railway site for the company to receive products by rail, Wood said. The rail site would be built next spring.
Willow Run is a casual dining and fast food systems distributor with annual sales of $502 million, according to its Web site. Customers include Wendy's, Boston Market, Arby's, Quiznos, Popeyes Chicken & Biscuits and Sonic.
The new facility would serve existing customers and attract new customers who store their frozen/cooler products outside the region, Wood said.
The company is exploring financing options for the project, including possibly working with the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority on incentives to implement energy-saving initiatives, he said.
Source: pressconnects.com
By My-Ly Nguyen
Business Editor

Willow Run gets two multimillion dollar contracts

Fri, 18 Jan 2008 00:00:00 GMT

KIRKWOOD -- Willow Run Foods said it has received two significant contracts that will lead to about 30 new jobs at the Kirkwood-based food systems distributor.
The company has signed a four-year extension with ARCOP to continue distribution for nearly 400 Arby's throughout the Northeast, including the Binghamton area. Revenues from the contract are estimated to be about $380 million, Willow Run President and Chief Executive Officer Terry Wood said. Willow Run has serviced ARCOP for 10 years.
Willow Run also has signed a five-year agreement valued at about $300 million to service existing Sonic drive-ins throughout the Northeast starting in February. Some locations in the Binghamton-area could eventually be included in that Sonic mix.
"It does two things for us," Wood said. "One, it validates our service and our company in that we were able to extend an ongoing contract. And it's very exciting for us to be considered and chosen for new business, especially for something like Sonic, which is growing so dramatically."
Willow Run's business growth will result in the immediate hiring of about 30 drivers, warehouse personnel and supervisors, Wood said. Willow Run, an employee-owned company, has about 400 employee owners.
The company's warehouse workers are paid $10-$13 an hour, Wood said. Drivers, on average, receive $45,000-$50,000 a year, he said. Supervisors are paid about $25,000-$35,000 a year depending on the position and level of experience.
Oklahoma City-based Sonic does not have a restaurant in New York state, according to its Web site. But Wood said the chain has rapid expansion plans for the Northeast, including possibly opening four locations in the Binghamton area.
A Sonic representative did not return a call for comment.
Marc Newman, managing member of Vestal-based Newman Development Group, said his business has shown Sonic representatives a few area sites for possible restaurants. Sonic seems committed to opening at least a few area drive-ins, but has not confirmed with NDG any specific sites, Newman said.

Willow Promotes Employees

Thu, 12 Apr 2007 00:00:00 GMT

Willow Run Foods Inc. announced the promotions of two of its valued employees. James Donovan and Leonard Basso have been promoted to vice president. Donovan has served as chief financial officer since June 2004. Basso has served as transportation manager since October 2000.

High-Volume Distribution For The Retail Food Industry

Wed, 20 Dec 2006 08:00:00 GMT
Ryder Edge Magazine focuses on Willow Run Foods in it's March 2005 issue.