Business & Tech

Lt. Governor Visits Bridgewater Turtle & Hughes Center

Touts New Jersey's business climate in first leg of statewide tour.

Kicking off her 2014 statewide tour highlighting New Jersey’s fastest growing businesses and promoting the state as an ideal business location, Lt. Gov. Kim Guadagno today visited Turtle & Hughes, Inc. at its Central Distribution Center, in Bridgewater, and Preferred Freezer Services in Elizabeth.

“Both of these New Jersey-based companies illustrate our state’s vast appeal from warehousing and distribution to construction, manufacturing and energy, proving New Jersey is the ideal place for companies to succeed, grow and compete in the global marketplace,”  said Lt. Gov. Kim Guadagno. “The Christie Administration remains committed to assisting businesses like Turtle & Hughes and Preferred Freezer Services grow and thrive in New Jersey.”

Turtle & Hughes, Inc. is a fourth generation family-owned business that was founded in lower Manhattan in 1923 and moved to New Jersey in 1970. Headquartered in Linden, the company serves the industrial, commercial, utility and contractor markets from 17 locations nationwide. Jayne Millard, CEO, is the third generation of women to own and operate the business during its 90-year history. With over 700 employees, the company has $550 million in annual sales. 

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Turtle & Hughes has grown rapidly in the field of data communications and sustainable energy, offering a full line of customized and value added service and programs. Its division, Turtle & Hughes Integrated Supply (THIS), is an emerging force in the supply chain management market. In May 2013, the company expanded its presence further into the industrial market with the acquisition of Long Island-based Mid-Island Electrical Supply. Turtle and Hughes was recognized in 2013 by Modern Distribution Management’s Distribution List and ranked 15thamong the top 25 distributors by revenue in electrical distribution nationwide. The company was also recognized by Inc. Magazine as one of the top 5,000 fastest growing companies in the United States. Turtle & Hughes is one of country’s top 50 women-owned businesses and was ranked number one among women-owned businesses by NJBIZ.

“We have been proud to call New Jersey our home for over 40 years,” said Turtle & Hughers CEO Jayne Millard. “What makes our company great is the culture of entrepreneurism. It inspires standards of excellence, extraordinary resourcefulness, and an insistence on innovation. We believe the way to foster success is to hire the right people and then give them the support and resources they need to sharpen their expertise and grow with the company. Over the past seven years, our company has nearly doubled its revenues as a result of the hard work of our employees.”

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Founded in 1989, Preferred Freezer Services offers state-of-the-art, full service temperature controlled warehouses in the United States. The company provides cold storage services from their 10-million-cubic-feet warehouse in Elizabeth and has 362 employees throughout the state. Preferred Freezer Services has expanded to become one of the largest Public Refrigerated Warehouse companies in North America, operating in 31 facilities in nine regions across the United States. 

With a three-year growth rate of 39 percent, the company was recognized in August 2013 as one of Inc. Magazine’s Top 5,000 Fastest Growing Companies in the nation. Its growth is the result of the firm’s comprehensive expansion plans as well as its strategic plans for designing state of the art refrigerated warehouses in port-based locations and transportation hubs. Last month, Preferred Freezer Services was listed as one of the top ranked logistics companies in the nation by Transport Topics. Most recently, NJBIZ ranked Preferred Freezer Services no. 36 on their list of the 50 Fastest Growing Companies.

“In 1989 we began our cold storage services in Perth Amboy, N.J. Since then, our presence in the Garden State has grown with the addition of seven locations,” said John Galiher, president and CEO of Preferred Freezer Services. “New Jersey has a world class infrastructure allowing for easy access in the distribution and warehouse industry that is a top priority. Making sure that we can serve our client base regionally as well as globally is a prime advantage to being a New Jersey-based company and a key factor in our decision to stay and grow in New Jersey.”

Businesses big and small come to New Jersey to take advantage of assets including strategic access to local and global financial markets, a highly trained workforce, comprehensive network of world-class seaports and airports and elite research universities. 

Since taking office, the Christie Administration has worked to retain and attract 262 companies that have committed to generate and retain over 73,000 jobs and spur a total of $12 billion in public-private investment. 

The Christie Administration created the Partnership for Action to serve businesses of all sizes and development stages and provide access to a variety of resources to ensure their success.  The New Jersey Partnership for Action supports the vital role business plays in advancing the state's economy and creating jobs. Led by Lt. Gov. Guadagno, the PFA is a public-private approach to economic development and the starting point for all initiatives, policies, and efforts to grow New Jersey's economy and create quality, sustainable jobs in our communities. The four elements of the PFA include the Business Action Center, reporting directly to the Lt. Gov. and providing the business community with a single point of contact, applying a proactive, customer-service approach to businesses' interactions with state government; the Secretary of Higher Education, which works with New Jersey's institutions of higher learning to prepare an educated workforce for a growing and thriving economy; the New Jersey Economic Development Authority, serving as the state's bank, and Choose New Jersey, an independently funded 501(c)(3) business attraction and lead generation organization that markets the state as an ideal location.

Businesses considering a move or in need of assistance are encouraged to call New Jersey's Business Action Center at (866) 534-7789 or visit the State's Business Portal at www.newjerseybusiness.gov.


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