Unprecedented Growth

As warehouse skills grew, C&S ambitiously pursued new clients.

During the first ten years in Vermont, C&S surpassed their $300 million goal and grew to over one billion dollars in annual sales. By now, Lester had retired, Rick was the third generation CEO, and C&S flourished under his leadership. To accommodate increasing business, in 1993, C&S purchased a 350,000-sq. ft. warehouse in South Hatfield, Massachusetts. That same year, C&S opened one of the largest freezers in the world in Westfield, MA.

In 1996, C&S became owner of what could become the world's largest freezer. The Westfield, Massachusetts freezer facility, at Phase I, has a capacity of 15 million cubic feet. The company's goal is a 22.7 million cubic feet capacity. (The world's largest freezer to date is 16 million cubic feet.)

Prior to the acquisition of the new freezer, C&S operated with a 20,000 cubic feet freezer in Brattleboro. In 1981, that freezer held 100,000 cases and shipped 200,000 cases each week. A 1988 expansion of the Brattleboro freezer made it possible for Brattleboro to ship 700,000 cases a week, the same quantity that Westfield ships. The total Brattleboro grocery and freezer facility now has a 1 million square feet capacity.

Hundreds of trucks move thousands of tons of product daily from C&S facilities.