News

It was only a month ago, but do you remember the rain? So much fell from the skies day after day in December that stories of flooding were a constant on the nightly news and in the daily newspapers. So what does wet weather have to do with an automotive dealership you ask? It goes to the theme that Sunset, as with any business, is really a reflection of the collective values of that large team of employees whose daily efforts are the face you see.

One face you usually don’t see is Brenda Wiser, who not only manages the administrative side of Sunset Imports but is also the person who years ago assumed the task of decorating the dealership with holly and poinsettias’ each holiday season. If you visited us last month, you might have noticed there was nowhere near as many plants as usual. Why?

On her own, Brenda made an executive decision to divert a majority of the budget that was to be used for dealership decoration and turned that into the seed money of an effort to assist The Oregon Food Bank in Vernonia, OR where the needs were most critical and flooding most severe. Collection boxes were set up at Sunset and employees donated 200 lbs of food items to go with the $1,200 raised.

With the money collected, Tim Haburn, Sunset’s Service & Parts Director decided to approach one of our clients in the packaged food business, Mr. David Truitt of Truitt Bros., Inc. of Salem to see if their firm would consider furnishing their products at wholesale so Sunset could acquire as much as possible on behalf of The Oregon Food Bank. In a gesture truly fitting the spirit of the holidays, Mr. Truitt declined the offer of our collected funds and on behalf of his firm, donated nearly 2 tons (3,900 lbs) of canned foods to help his fellow Oregonians. All we had to do was transport it to Vernonia.

On Thursday, December 20th, Santa’s helper arrived in the guise of Ron Reichen, owner of Precision Body & Paint and his flatbed sleigh. Off Tim & Ron went to Salem to collect the generous gift from Truitt Bros., Inc. and made the delivery to The Oregon Food Bank in Vernonia not only in a time of need, but in time for the holidays.

To all of the employees of Sunset who made personal donations, to Mr. Truitt for his considerable gift and to Ron Reichen for his time and energy, we’re certain the beneficiaries of your kindness in Vernonia say thank you.

by John Woo, General Sales Manager, Sunset Imports

At Truitt Bros., “green” thinking has always been part of our DNA. So in our quest to make our sustainable canned green beans even greener, we asked an independent research company to find out how our product’s carbon footprint fared against fresh and frozen varieties. The result? Fresh local sustainably grown green beans are best as long as they’re in season. But the rest of the year, our canned beans turn out to be more responsible than even we imagined.

With all else being equal, canned green beans use up to 70% less energy than frozen on their trip from the farm to your tables.

•   IQF freezing consumes at least twice as much energy as the canning process.
•   Frozen beans must remain at 0°F, consuming energy from the time they’re
    shipped to the end of their life in your freezer. Canned beans can be shipped and
    stored at any temperature, requiring no energy for storage.
•   Room-temp canned beans require less energy than frozen to heat to serving
    temperature.

By switching to canned beans instead of frozen, you can, over time:

•   Reduce fossil fuel usage, greenhouse gases, acidification, and ecotoxicity
•   Improve air quality and human health, and
•   Have a significantly lower impact (up to 39% better) on global warming

This award recognizes outstanding manufacturers, that are making world class products, creating job opportunities and strengthening our communities. It is given to the organization who has been active in SEDCOR, has made contributions to the industry and community, and exemplifies the highest business ethical standards. David Truitt, Vice President, Truitt Bros., accepted the award.

Recognized as one of the fastest growing privately held businesses in Oregon, Truitt Bros., Inc., has been a leader in the shelf-stable foods industry since 1973. This position has been established through innovation and by bringing quality, customized, shelf-stable foods to a wide variety of establishments.

In March of 2006, Truitt Bros., Inc. started down the path of continuous improvement when the Oregon Manufacturing Extension Partnership provided grant-funded training in the concepts and principles of Lean Manufacturing. Eighty employees from the Special Products Department participated in the sessions. Bruce McDonald, Special Products Operations Manager, attended intensive Lean ñChampionî training and has headed up the Lean program at Truitt. Bruce meets with individuals and teams to discuss and plan various events to continuously improve processes and reduce waste. Through the efforts of line workers, mechanics, supervisors and managers, three projects are expected to generate combined annual savings of $90,000.

Truitt Bros. is also the first in the nation to earn a Food Processor Certification from Food Alliance, a Portland, Ore.- based national non-profit organization, dedicated to certifying environmentally sound, socially responsible farms, ranchers and processors to support sustainable agriculture. With this certification of sustainable practices, the 33-year old cannery and specialty food processor is re-introducing two of their signature products - Blue Lake Green Beans grown in the fertile Willamette Valley of Oregon, and 100 percent juice-packed Bartlett Pears, grown in The Dalles, Oregon Æ with a new label that shares their story of commitment to quality, farmers and the land.

The American Advertising Federation (AAF) has awarded a prestigious Gold ADDY Award for national creative excellence to NOBLE for a direct mail campaign created for Truitt Bros., Inc., a leading manufacturer in the shelf-stable foods industry. The award was presented at the 2007 National ADDY Awards Show held on June 9 in Louisville, Ky., in conjunction with the annual AAF National Conference.

The winning submission was a unique 3-D mailer introducing prospective customers to Truitt Bros. Pembrook Southern-style Green Beans. The attention-grabbing piece promotes the fresher taste, firmer texture, and brighter color of the product, while incorporating the company's corporate sustainability message.

"We are proud of the partnership we have with NOBLE and the high-caliber work that partnership produces," said Peter Truitt, president of Truitt Bros." NOBLE's commitment to insight-driven ideas mirrors our own dedication to providing innovative, quality product solutions for the foodservice industry."

With more than 60,000 entries annually, the ADDY Awards is the world's largest advertising competition. It is the only creative awards contest to require three levels of judging; local, regional, and national; and is the only such program to be administered by the advertising industry for the industry. The ADDY Awards competition is conducted by the AAF, a not-for-profit industry association.

"In a contest dominated by consumer companies and campaigns, it is quite an honor for a foodservice agency and manufacturer to receive top national recognition," said Tim Bade, executive vice president and creative director at NOBLE. "We'd like to applaud the ingenuity and perseverance it took both from the NOBLE team and Truitt Bros. to see this big idea through. This honor is proof that great things are possible when the idea takes the lead."