Dairy Processing - November/December 2023 - 30

20,000-square-foot expansion
and purchase of a state-ofthe-art
extruded stick bar line
from Tetra Pak of Denmark,
Nasca continued.
" This new extruded
A PINT FOR A PINT
Perry's is dedicated to giving back to the
community, particularly with the Pint for a Pint
program, in which the company donates a pint of
ice cream for every pint of blood donated. Perry's
collaborates with two local partners: ConnectLife
and Red Cross.
" Our Pint for a Pint program for ConnectLife
started in 2021 and has continued for three
consecutive years, " Buryta said. " To date, the
program has resulted in 7,687 pints of blood
donated in the greater Buffalo area. "
The program began to help promote the critical
need for blood donation through ConnectLife,
Western New York's only community blood bank
and federally designated not-for-profit organ
procurement organization, Buryta said.
Throughout the designated months of the
program, Perry's donated a coupon for a free
Perry's pint to all participating donors. The
program was promoted through various social
media and email campaigns, PR, and through
leveraging elements with its Buffalo Bills and
Buffalo Sabres partnerships.
" As a fourth generation family business based
in WNY, supporting our community is one of
our core founding values, " said Gayle Perry
Denning, vice president of strategic branding
and sustainability at Perry's. " Expanding on our
history of donating a 'pint for a pint,' we felt the
time to support the critical need for local blood
donations was never more necessary than now.
In addition, several Perry's team members are
'super supporters' of ConnectLife and aligning
Perry's pint flavor personalities to blood types
is a fun, playful way for our organization to
bring attention and excitement to the need for
donations. "
In 2023, Perry's expanded the program to
partner with the Red Cross of Greater Rochester,
which led to another 3,000 pints of blood
donated, bringing the total of pints donated
between both organizations to 10,687 in the past
three years.
novelty production will launch
the company into this growing
category of sales, " he said.
Included in the investment, Nasca said, is an automated
case packing system designed by CT Pack of Italy.
" The system includes robotic picking, auto-packing
and wrap-around corrugated case packing functions, "
he said. " This new line will be capable of manufacturing
stick novelty varieties including ice cream, fudge, yogurt
and more. "
When it comes to overcoming production challenges,
Nasca said Perry's operations team reviews information
from data management system Redzone daily to
assess problems, address root causes and implement
preventative measures.
" Processes are documented to ensure consistency
across all shifts, " he said. " Redzone is used to measure
OEE, lost hours and to communicate with team members at
all levels of the operation. "
Nasca said the company has used Redzone's quality
module to transition to nearly all paperless quality and
compliance processes.
" As a result, the company maintains an excellent SQF
rating status, " he said. " Redzone is utilized to communicate
a consistent message and implement education tools
throughout the production operation. "
When it comes to sustainability, Perry's is continually
working toward a long term goal of being recognized as
a " zero landfill " operation and maximizing the value of its
resources through improved efficiencies, productivity and
utilization of technology.
Such efforts include using 75% clean, renewable
hydroelectricity to power the Akron, NY, facility, a 75%
reduction in waste sent to landfills since 2010 and new LED
fixtures, which saves 230,000 kWh annually.
In terms of company culture, Perry's employs 145 team
members and the key to the company's continued success
is attributed to dedicated people across the organization
that bring their " good stuff " every day to delight Perry's
customers and consumers.
" Contributing to that success are consistent processes
and process improvement initiatives that reliably deliver
quality products again and again, " Nasca said. " At
Perry's there is a wealth and legacy of ice cream making
30 NOV-DEC 2023 | DAIRYPROCESSING.COM
http://www.DAIRYPROCESSING.COM
Dairy Processing - November/December 2023

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