DC Velocity - July 2014

BY DAVID MALONEY, SENIOR EDITOR

LOADING DOCK EQUIPMENT

SARTORI CO. KNOWS THAT ITS REPutation is on the line with every shipment of cheese that leaves its premises. The fourth-generation family-owned company prides itself on making quality and food safety top priorities as it fills orders from its 100,000-square-foot converting center in Plymouth, Wis. The facility converts 40-pound blocks of cheese and 20-pound cheese wheels into grated, shredded, and packaged cheese products.

Like all food manufacturers, Sartori also has a responsibility to maintain quality throughout its supply chain. The Food Safety Modernization Act (FSMA), which President Obama signed into law in 2011, sets guidelines for assuring the security of the nation’s food supply against such threats as contamination, tampering, theft, and terrorism. It charges the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) with regulating how goods are grown, harvested, processed, and stored. So in essence, the FSMA covers the entire supply chain. And distribution center integrity is a key part of assuring security.

Many would be surprised to learn that the most vulnerable place in their facility is their docks. Docks are where thieves, rodents, dust, and outside temperatures can steal, contaminate, or spoil precious cargo. That’s why companies like Sartori have taken steps to shore up this vital area of their distribution operations. They have selected dock equipment with an eye toward choosing items that not only aid in productivity, but also protect products from spoiling, damage, and tampering.

IMPOSING RESTRAINT

Sartori has six dock positions at the Plymouth operation, which it uses for receiving hard cheeses from its two production facilities along with other ingredients and packaging supplies. Once the cheese is converted into store-ready products, it will move through the same shipping docks onto outbound trailers. To keep the trailers snug to the dock faces, Sartori relies on vehicle restraint sys-