Amoroso's and Del Campo: A Very Good Fit
Like Amoroso's, Del Campo was a family-owned business. Which is just one reason that Del Campo Baking Company was seen as a very good fit with the Amoroso's organization. Quality, excellence and customer satisfaction were number one priorities for Del Campo, as they are for Amoroso's. These were just among the key considerations that came into play during the discussions leading up to Amoroso's acquiring Del Campo's earlier this month.
"When we first started talking to Del Campo, we knew there was a real synergy between the two organizations," recalled Len Amoroso.
Details Please...
Founded in 1910, Del Campo's was a Wilmington, Delaware institution for more than 90 years. Producing about 11 million pounds of hearth-baked rolls and specialty Italian breads each year, the Del Campo company delivered to some 700 customers on 13 routes throughout Delaware, southeastern Pennsylvania, and parts of Maryland and Virginia.
Under terms of the acquisition agreement, Amoroso's purchased Del Campo's route and direct sales business. Delivery routes were transferred to Amoroso's on February 17, with direct sales following on February 24. Customer service was not disrupted, and the route transition period went extremely smoothly, thanks to the efforts of everyone involved.
The acquisition has enabled Amoroso's to strengthen our route profile to new geographic areas. We will now be delivering the Amoroso product throughout Delaware and points south. Del Campo production and packaging has been consolidated to our bakery.
Team Effort Delivers 110% Percent Before and During Transition...
On paper, transitioning employees, routes and day-to-day business activities from one company to another sound relatively simple. In reality, it can be a bear.
"Amoroso's employees worked hard leading up to the transitional period, and continued to work extremely hard throughout the process," said Len. "Everyone involved deserves a standing ovation."
Over in the sales department, everyone contributed to a smooth takeover, especially Dave McCrae and Tony Orsino. Tony came in at night for the first few weeks, and helped orient the new drivers so they'd feel comfortable and familiar with the new routines. Leading into the transition, Dave McCrae and Tony Orsino met with all the drivers, collected data, interviewed the new drivers, and worked hard to consolidate Del Campo deliveries into existing routes and seven newly created routes. Dave McCrae did an outstanding job to insure timely and accurate deliveries to every customer the new routes affected.
In the office, Charles Bemak and Terri Crouthamel organized all the incoming data and paperwork, with Terry coming in on weekends to keypunch the new accounts. Without Charles' contributions, that included entering the new customer profiles into the system, the aquistion would not have been possible. Now that's dedication.
Charlie Conrad (Maintenance) now knows more about Pillow Pack than he probably ever wanted to. After getting the machine from Wilmington, he tinkered with it until he got it up and running to his specifications. Good job, Charlie!
Everyone in Production stepped up to the plate, coming in early and staying late to make sure the job got done. With orders on the increase, making the transitional adjustments was not easy. Yet everyone pulled together to make it happen. The Production Department truly operates like a team, and they proved it once again during this critical time.
If anyone's having nightmares about line numbers, it's probably Pete Vanni, Pedro Lopez, Paul Jones and Eduardo Razo Gutierrez. Not only did they hustle to get increased orders out, they did it while dealing with confusing new line numbers and unfamiliar packaging (can you say Pillow Pack?). Regardless of these challenges, they gave it their all. Way to go, Packaging Pros! You all deserve a special round of applause.
And over in Shipping, the pace never seemed to let up. Rick Miller, Bill Fegely and their team were bedeviled by the logistics of coordinating seven new routes and loading times. As if that wasn't enough, they also coordinated the entire staging process anew to get all the trucks out on time. Great work, guys!
Jim Keavney (Transportation/Logistics) faced unique challenges. Jim came in on Sundays and in the middle of the night to ride with drivers to ensure that his master plan worked as well in reality as it had on paper.
Thanks to the folks mentioned here and to everyone who worked so hard to make the transition a success. Your efforts are noticed, valued and greatly appreciated.
Employees on the Move...
Former Del Campo employees bring with them a wealth of industry contacts, expertise and professionalism, as well as a reputation for sound business practices.
Of the 90 some Del Campo's employees, about 12 were offered the opportunity to join Amoroso's. Many are drivers, though there are new faces in sales, production and administration. We are pleased with their decision to come on board, and know that all will be an asset to the Amoroso's organization.
Newly aboard from Del Campo are (all driver/sales) Mike Azzarano, Tom Tamone Jr., Rocco Lodise, Mark Julian, Joe Carlini and, Dave Clark. C. J. Wortham joins us as office manager, Amy Hayes as data entry assistant, Bob Rector as special account manager, Donald Van Dyke as Manager of Co-Packing Operations, and, Preston Thomas as Controller.
A warm Amoroso's welcome to these newest members of our employee community! And thanks again to all who worked so hard before and throughout the transitional effort. The task was difficult, yet somehow you made it happen.
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