Specialty Food Magazine is the leading publication for retailers, manufacturers and foodservice professionals in the specialty food trade. It provides news, trends and business-building insights that help readers keep their businesses competitive.
Issue link: https://www.e-digitaleditions.com/i/110595
Q&A All in the Family BY DENISE SHOUKAS A fter 20 years as a dental hygienist, Jeanette Dufeck joined her husband, Paul, at Dufeck Wood Products as CFO. Known for its sustainable, American-made wood products, like the high-quality cheese boxes found at Zingerman's and Beecher's Cheese, this historic business has flourished despite a fire, a rebuilding and the Depression. And with son Andy preparing to take the helm, they're keeping this family business just that. Q Dufeck has made strategic moves in its time, like relocating near a railroad to lower transportation costs. How do you keep the company moving forward? One of the keys to being in business a long time is that on January 1 of each year, you start over. It doesn't make a difference what you did last year. People will look and say it must be so easy to run that, imagining that it just happens. It does not just happen. It is more important for a business with our history to be aware that every year you strive just as hard as you did before. How long has Dufeck been making value-added packaging for the food industry? We've been making cheese boxes since 1905. These are one of the original products we made and we're still producing them by the thousands for the cheese industry and now for the gift industry too. Wood is the ideal choice for food packaging because it adds value. I always say that our job is to make their product look its best. transitioning the business to the fourth generation—it's one of the biggest challenges of any family business. There's so much emotion and personalities and people tend to let that get in the way. But every generation has their role to play. Andy, our son, is a very hard worker. He understands the business and has vision. He's done strategic things that have put us in the position to grow; we've hired a general manager and put together a gift-marketing team since we want to grow that section. It can be difficult, but you have to work through it, and when it's all done it's so gratifying. If you knew you were having your last meal, what would you choose to eat? Lake Michigan white fish, corn on the cob, warm Sunkist tomatoes out of the garden and Mom's apple pie to top it off. |SFM| Denise Shoukas is a contributing editor to Specialty Food Magazine. What has been the biggest challenge you've faced? There always are challenges. I have a good friend who said, "If it were easy, any fool could do it." At this point, I would say 60 ❘ SPECIALTY FOOD MAGAZINE ❘ specialtyfood.com DUFECK PHOTO: We've always been green. We use regional wood from the North Central regions of the U.S. and Canada. We are diligent about purchasing our lumber from only sustainable forestry mills. Since we start with the board and the log—and the only trash we end up with is a bag from our employees' lunch—we feel it's essential our suppliers are responsible in their harvest as well. We use everything in the process. The sawdust gets sold to local farmers for bedding. All of the larger scraps get ground up, and in winter we use them to feed a boiler that heats the plant. In summer, we use them for mulch. That's the way we've always done it. WOOD PRODUCT S Are you eco-conscious about the use of wood?