deSter, in Lima, makes the McFlurry spoon for McDonald’s, along with to-go containers used by many restaurants. Many items are made from biodegradable or recycled materials.
File photo | The Lima News
LIMA — Whether locally owned or a global corporation, Lima is host to numerous businesses in the food and packaging industry, driving innovation around the world.
These companies provide jobs and innovative food and packaging products used daily by the restaurant, healthcare, education and other industries locally and globally.
Rightway Food Services, a local food products distributor, delivers finished food products to restaurants, caterers, schools, hospitals and other locations, said Ron Williams, president of Rightway Food Services.
Williams said company employees receive products, load them onto trucks for delivery and provide them straight to the customers.
Williams said his grandfather started a portion of the company, which merged with other companies to eventually become what it is today. He said although it is not completely family-owned, he considers it a family business, with some of his sisters working at the company.
An advantage of such a small business is customers’ ability to communicate with the company at all times, Williams said. Williams said being such a small distributor, he or numerous other employees can deliver items a customer needs at the drop of a hat.
“There’s a real niche for distributors our size who are able to go out there and make sure that our customers are being taken care of,” Williams said.
Williams said the company likes to provide for the community whenever it can. He said it donates food items to some events as part of the mission.
The company prides itself on employee appreciation, Williams said. It maintains about 70 employees, which Williams said are 70 families they support.
“(My grandfather and father) always felt the biggest impact they had was the number of families with good jobs we’re able to supply,” Williams said.
Some larger companies with Lima locations maintain a small-town feel in their operations. deSter, a food packaging manufacturer, is one of these corporations, administrative specialist Jennifer Johns said.
The company is headquartered in Antwerp, Belgium, with locations in Chile, the United Arab Emirates, China, Hong Kong, Thailand, Germany, Seattle, Atlanta and Lima, Ohio.
Johns said the Lima location has about 70 employees who work with people across the globe. She said this creates a unique work environment open to new ideas.
deSter makes the McFlurry spoon for McDonald’s, Johns said. The spoon is uniquely shaped, with a square-shaped hole in the handle that connects to a machine that mixes the ice cream with the toppings once added.
The company also makes to-go containers used by many restaurants. Many items are made from biodegradable or recycled materials, Johns said.
deSter is unique in its selction criteria for suppliers, Johns said. The company employs a code of conduct for the manner in which vendors treat their employees.
“We have a code of conduct that any of our vendors have to review and sign saying that they will, in fact, treat their employees fairly, which is a big part of anything that impacts local,” Johns said. “How are you treating your people? If you’re bad, we don’t want you here; we want to set a precedent that we’re one of the greatest places to work.”
Johns said deSter is preparing to grow, with new machines coming very soon to the Lima location. Job openings are expected to come with this growth.
CELEBRATING OUR SPIRIT
Plenty of foods, items and ideas are created right here in the Lima region. Celebrating Our Spirit looks at those organizations that make the area such a vibrant place to live, work and play.
Read more stories at LimaOhio.com/tag/spirit.
