Guida's Latest Plant Expansion Increases Production Capacity and Quality Capabilities

New Pasteurizing Room
Guida's has expanded again. For the second time in five years, Guida's has built a major addition onto its New Britain processing facility to improve its production and quality capabilities. The first phase of Guida's expansion plans began in 1999. With Phase 1, Guida's added 50,000 square feet of cooler, processing and distribution space. Phase 1 provided Guida's with the ability to serve a wider geographic area and continue to maintain its commitment to quality. Phase 2, which Guida's just completed, comprised a major expansion of the company's blending and pasteurizing areas. Phase 2 added 4,500 square feet of floor space to New Britain.

"In 2000, we added a large cooler facility," said Guida's Vice President, Michael Guida. "A year later we added a new pasteurizing facility, and we're adding onto that right now in 2005. We are expanding to meet the challenges of new growth, and to lay the groundwork for anticipated growth in the future."

The Phase 1 expansion in 2000 resulted in a 50 percent growth explosion for Guida's. A dairy industry group named Guida's the fastest growing dairy in that same year. The latest expansion also increased the size of Guida's blend area.

"The new blend area provides us with a significant increase in our production capabilities for anything that is not white milk," said Guida's Director of Plant Operations Wesley Sliwinski. "This includes things like ice cream products and flavored milks. The expansion also improved our powder room and byproduct press."

New Cooler Space
The combined Phase 1 and Phase 2 expansions have improved every aspect of Guida's processing and distribution capabilities. A redesigned storage cooler now includes automated cooling, labeling and squeezing systems. With its expansions, Guida's eliminated manual load-out on the loading dock by installing hydraulic pushers that push the finished product directly onto distribution trucks. On the receiving side, Guida's expanded from two to three receiving bays to increase its ability to accept raw materials. Mr. Swilinski said that Guida's has also used its expansions to add new processing equipment to its plant and improve aging machinery.

1/2 Pint Line
"We have installed better, faster machinery and equipment," Mr. Swilinski said. "We added the latest technology for filling half-pints, for example. We have also improved our equipment for filling gallons, quarts, pints and half-gallon paper containers. The expansion improved our processing, it improved our quality, it increased our capacity, and it laid the groundwork for future expansions. We have plans to expand our cooler storage and loadout areas in future expansions."

One benefit of the Phase 1 and Phase 2 expansion is that it provides Guida's with the additional production and distribution capacity the company needs to follow-through on plans to expand in major urban markets in the northeast. "With our expansion and our depot in Franklin, Massachusetts, we plan to expand our presence in Boston and New York City," said Guida's Vice President of Sales and Marketing, James Guida.

A second benefit of the expansion is that it allows Guida's to continue providing great service and quality products to its existing customer base.