Canadian Vending

morning information on the accounts for the previous
day.
* Now, even faster packaging and improved commis-
sary methods and output.
What started as a one man truck "peddler" has
evolved into this large dynamic, go ahead company.
Apart from its forward looking management and every
day practicality its diversifie~ nature has -~een TRS's
biggest asset in its growth. W1~out _the ab1ht)'. to o~fer
and do a great many different thmgs m the retail feedmg
and refreshment business it simply couldn't have ex-
panded or prosl?ered ~s it h'.1s, nor could it have ridden
out its home city strike without severe !oss of sales.
Really, it all revolves around the comm1ssary/ b~kery
where all food is made and packaged. The commissary
is the "guts" of the whole thing - it enables TRS to
tailor output as to variety and quantity. to sal~s d~m~nds
and it permits absolute control of ~uahty_ which •~ vital.
This explains the constant ~t~ntion paid to this part
of the business to improve efficiency and output because
it supplies every Division of th~ Company. Th~se are-
the Catering Division under Bill Pape - which de~ls
with weddings, parties, conventions. al~ sorts of ~p~~ial
events. The Concessions
and mobile
D1v1s1on
under George Dug:an
which supplies food and refreshmen~s to parks, clubs,
and special events such as local carmv~ls, ~tc. Current-
ly, it serves, among many other orgamzations, a large
ski-club at Pine Ridge, between Oshawa and_ Peter-
borough, which has 3,500 members. The Vending a~d
Cafeteria division (Pic-O-Mat) is run by Jack Menzie,
- it accounts for over 50% of the firm's sales. It is
housed in new quarters to the s~uth of the 11,000 _sq.
foot main building, the Comm1sary and ~urchasmg
Division comes under Rocco Esposito who 1s also the
company's Secretary-Treasurer. Bob Sin?lair as Man-
ager, Special Projects, deals largely with sales and
26
public relations as well as acting as right-hand man to
Executive V.P. Sam Esposito who oversees all opera-
tions. Founder, Tony Esposito is president and chief
financial man of the company
In line with modern practice to create an "image"
and "to identify", especially in the case of companies
with diversified activities Tony's has adopted TRS Food
Services Ltd. as its official title. The TRS logo has
almost replaced any other designation on equipment
cups, labelling, etc. Pic-O-Mat is giving way to TRS
Vending Division though some articles in use still bear
that earlier label.
Looking back to earlier days and our first article
on this firm five years ago it is interesting to note that
all procedures and innovations of the past are still in
use today all-be-they, refined, altered, and improved.
That says something for their rightness in the first place.
Not only that, but some of them, such as Countervend
- the buffet • system, have been widely employed
throughout the entire food service industry. _Yending
was originally gone into "to protect our catenng from
incursions by competitors". Today it is a vital part of
the company but then so are all the other Divisions
leading right back to the Commissary. One supports
and encourages the other. Where something more than
manual is needed Vending augments; when something
more than Vending is required, manual or Countervend
augments it. People complement machines, machines
complement people. This gives T.R.S. the flexibility to
divert its resources to where they are needed and can
be used most expediently for profitability. A major
home town strike of long duration whilst it doesn't help
matters at TRS isn't catastrophic for the company
either, as it could be where the firm less diversified, less
flexible in its services and its locations.