A LEADING NORTHERN CALIFORNIA WAREHOUSE LOGISTICS PROVIDER, PRISM LOGISTICS, CELEBRATES 30TH ANNIVERSARY

Prism Logistics was born from the shared vision of Jere Van Puffelen and Paul Van de Roovaart, two guys with a dream and passion for improving logistics. That shared vision, 30,000 sq ft of warehouse space, and no customers in 1993, has grown in 30 years to become a thriving third-party logistics provider with 2.3 mil square feet of warehouse space.

Co-founder and Chairman of the Board Jere Van Puffelen credits a great deal of the company’s success to Mr. Dick Rooney, who managed logistics for General Mills in 1993. He expressed full faith in their dream and character, and decided to shift the General Mills’ flour business to Prism even as a brand new business. 

“I do business with people, not companies,” said Mr. Rooney. He added that for him, it was not much of a risk, knowing these men, their work ethic, experience with his business and commitment to deliver on their promises. Now everyone from small startups to global leaders work with Prism because of the way we build partnerships and focus on people first.

Embracing Change

Through our first 30 years, we’ve been challenged and forged by the challenges and changes of this industry. From technology advancements, to more sophisticated tracking and reporting and handling requirements, to capacity expansions and new locations, we welcome change and the opportunity it brings.

As executive leaders, we’ve chosen to embrace change and stay agile by adopting new technology rather than push back and be stuck in our own way. This has led to developments we never even dreamed possible, like moving into customer service roles for our partners, paperless services well before competitors, automated systems for outbound shipments and Bill of Lading, and client portals for 24/7 data access.

People-First Mentality

A lot may have changed in 30 years, but one thing that has remained constant, is our focus on family, customer-relations, and growing with our employees. 

Prism believes in promoting our industry veterans and we couldn’t be more grateful to have the talented group of people we have the privilege to call our own. The hard workers in our facilities like Arely Velazquez, Blas Anaya and Keizzissa Smith, to name a very few, make our vision a reality every day. We have many tenured employees, but we’d like to take a few minutes to spotlight Arely and Blas in operations and Kezzissa in the office. 

Arely has been with us since 2005. She began with us on a temporary assignment and quickly showed her impeccable work ethic and keen business sense. She is now the Facility Manager of our Stockton, CA location. We love to recognize potential and see our employees flourish.

We have a similar story in Blas Anaya. He came to us 10 years ago as a warehouse clerk.  Now, at 29 years old, he is running the largest facility in our Northern California network, in Lathrop, CA and we couldn’t be more proud of his success in such a short amount of time. 

“Warehouses and services can only get you so far. It’s heart, determination, and our family-first mentality that keep Prism thriving.”

Jere Van Puffelen, Founder and Chairman Prism Logistics

Service Excellence

We couldn’t do what we do without our amazing employees. We continue to meet and follow strict Food & Beverage standards to help our partners thrive. All of our locations are ISO 9001 compliant, AIB rated, and Organic and Pharmaceutical certified. Our team takes pride in delivering service excellence for each and every customer, across each industry we serve. 

Prism is so blessed and honored that the industry and our customers have noticed our commitment to excellence over the last 30 years. Jere Van Puffelen earned the IWLA Distinguished Service & Leadership Award, the AWI Annual Service Award, and CSCMP Circle of Excellence award, and his son Jeremy Van Puffelen, now President of the company and on the board of the IWLA, was recognized this year by Supply & Demand Chain Executive as a Supply Chain ‘Pro to Know.’And maybe more important to us, our customers continue to rate our service and their satisfaction with top marks and continued growth with us. 

Here’s to (at least) 30 More

In the past 30 years, Prism has become well known for its high-quality service, particularly in the areas of Food & Beverage, Consumer Goods, Retail, and Medical Devices/Pharma. Today the company has grown to operate more than 2.3 million square feet of food-grade, safety-certified warehouse capacity for some of the most respected Food and Beverage and Consumer Goods companies in the world. We plan to continue our tradition of excellence and service into our next 30 years and beyond. 

Our family-based company couldn’t be prouder of our team and all our accomplishments. Currently, Jere with Jere’s sons Jeremy and Zech Van Puffelen, along with Mike Mayo are partners and all serve as Prism’s executive leadership team. Paul Van de Roovaart retired in 2014 and we are eternally grateful for his guidance, leadership, and influence still felt in the company today.  

“We may not know what the next 30 years holds, but we do know we can count on each other. This business was built on a foundation that can’t be shaken. Our people, our services, and our work-ethic won’t change today, tomorrow, or the next day. We look forward to pushing the boundaries, embracing the new, building up our employees, and serving others for years and years to come.” Jeremy van Puffelen, President of Prism Logistics.