OUR MISSION
Sierra Pacific Warehouse Group makes our customers successful by providing professional, quality, friendly, dedicated, accurate, safe, and efficient warehousing and logistics services.
GREETINGS TEAM!
It is so crazy that we are already a month into 2025. We fin shed 2024 as a great safe operator, our team did a great job supporting our customers. Many of our clients are experiencing headwinds and challenges right now due to the unknowns in our economy, but we are here to support them and help them succeed. We were a great help during the east coast port shutdowns and we supported a huge tomato pack season. Now, we focus on being the best we can. Our job is to deliver excellent service, accurate orders and make our customers successful with their customers. As you know, we all have customers. Here at SPWG, we are each others’ customers when it comes to customer service, inventory, trucking as we each help each other do their jobs. And so it is for our customers. The more successful they are, the better it is for SPWG. So I thank you for taking that extra moment, to make sure we do it right the first time, load the perfect load so it all goes smoothly I am confident we have the right team to do this. Thank you, Chris Murphy
NEWS...
NEW YEAR 2025
WAREHOUSE OF CHOICE 2025
When choosing your warehousing and logistics provider, you want a partner who is committed to helping your business grow and succeed in 2025. Sierra Pacific Warehouse Group offers a network of cold and dry warehouses in California’s Central Valley. Our strategic 50-mile radius connects the I-5 and Highway 99 corridors, with easy access to the Port of Oakland, Port of Stockton, and major distribution centers. Sierra Pacific is GFSI Certified by BRCGS, FSMA ready, and our food safety program ensures product protection. We provide the time and space to get your company where it needs to be, when it needs to be with our excellent warehouse and distribution teams. Our Modesto facility is also a bonded wine cellar, handling federal tax processing and accounting for wine, beer, and spirits storage. We are proud to play a central role in the Food Safety Modernization Act (FSMA) and routinely travel to Washington DC to represent your interests in the food safety and logistics industry. Sierra Pacific Warehouse Group is loyal to its customers, and we are always mindful that it is your decision to do business with SPWG. To us, our customers are more than just customers, they are part of the Sierra Pacific team and we look forward to the year ahead.
We are “AA+” BRC Certificated!
Sierra Pacific is proud to be BRC Audited and Certified, where we hold ourselves to a high standard of quality warehousing and product handling. Audits are opportunities to review how we operate, and SPWG is always committed to finding ways to improve our procedures and programs. With the 2025 BRC approaching in late March, Sierra Pacific is excited to maintain our facilities and hopes to again receive AA ratings in Modesto and Patterson! We have effective procedures and plans in place, but it’s our warehouse crews, sanitation teams, CSRs, and supervisors that make our warehouses top notch for our customers. We know that we keep our facilities running beautifully all year-round and can always be ready to show off our quality service. Thank you for all your hard work keeping our facility safe, clean, and a great place to work.
It’s Trade show Season!
The beginning of the year from January to March is our busy time of year for trade show and other business networking opportunities to make sure that we know what our customers need and are keeping up to date with industry updates, changes, and forecasts. Sierra Pacific is focused on learning as much as we can about the frozen food industry, transportation trends, and food processing needs so that we can be the best partners for our customers and help the supply chain keep moving. This month, we will be at California League Food Processors Expo in Sacramento which focuses on California food producers and manufacturing – lots of tomatoes! People call this one the tomato show! Later in the month, we will be at AFFI CON in Dallas, Texas. The American Frozen Food Institute advocates in Washington DC for food producers and frozen storage facilities to make sure frozen foods are top of mind when working on new regulations and incentives. We round out the month and start March at Food Shippers of America! Food Shippers takes place in Palm Springs and brings together trucking companies, railroads, and food man-ufacturers to make sure that all the work that both producers and warehouses do every day makes it to the final destination on time and in great shape. We can’t wait to report back to you on how the industry is doing and bring updates from our customers and friends we meet at the shows!
SPWG ORGANIC
All SPWG facilities are “Certified Organic.” All warehousing processes are in place so we can best store your organic products. Our sanitation standards allow us to operate without chemicals to further keep your product pure and safe.
WE ARE RAIL SERVED
Take advantage of our excellent rail service with both of the Class A railroads. Our Modesto facility features daily connections to the Burlington Northern Santa Fe (BNSF) and Union Pacific lines via the Modesto and Empire Traction Company. Plus, our Patterson facility offers frozen rail via the Union Pacific Railroad as well.
TRUCKING AND LOGISTICS
Sierra Pacific Express is here to solve your trucking and logistics need for Northern California and beyond! Headed by Dave Cultrera and Jeff Lawson, you have access to over 65 years combined experience in complete freight programs, pooling, and customer experience. For deliveries around the state and greater west coast region, Sierra Pacific Express can set up customized programs for single or scheduled service.
Dave Cultrera Jeff Lawson
OUR TEAM SEAN HILTABIDEL
This quarter, we are excited to highlight and feature our 3731 Swing Shift Supervisor, Sean Hiltabidel! Sean is attending Global Cold Chain Alliance classes each year and has really taken this newer position as Swing Shift Supervisor seriously. We spoke with Kenny Sauls, VP of Operations, to share a few words about Sean and her participation in #TeamSPWG as a great leader. “Sean comes to work every day with a great positive attitude. He has taken on a big role trying to get our pick crews in check on swing and graveyard and has done an outstanding job with his communication with our CSR’s which we have never had for a long time. Sean is great communicator with all team members involved with the Purina account. Sean is not complacent and is always looking or suggesting ways to make things better. His only downfall is he’s a Steelers fan!! LOL” Thank you, Sean, for all you do and we hope you know how much we appreciate your teamwork!
COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT
business, family, and community leaders
For over 35 years, Sierra Pacific Warehouse Group has been a proud member of the Central Valley business community with locations in Modesto and Patterson. From the start, our founders had a commitment to operating the best company they could while always emphasizing the importance of family and community. This commitment continues today as Sierra Pacific remains family operated and a dedicated sponsor of many community events. We are so happy to support many local events that encourage community engagement, historical preservation, arts & music, and business in our vibrant downtown. Make sure to check out some of these fun things to do in town!
Almond Blossom Cruise! Modesto USA is now famous around the world for the annual magic that the almond blossoms deliver. Now, thanks to the great work of Visit Modesto, we are ranked right up there with the Cherry Blossoms in Washington DC and Japan. How cool is this? While you are out there, get your camera ready and join the Van Gogh photo contest. The Almond Blossom Festival is always held during the last full weekend of February this year, from Thursday, February 20th, to Sunday, February 23rd, 2025. Try the cruise clockwise. Start at Rodin Farms and work your way to Oakdale. Then take the ModestoView Cruise hack from Oakdale/ Knights Ferry to Robert’s Ferry, take Willms Rd south to Warnerville Rd then to Crabtree Road. This allows you to make a loop out of your trip and then head back on Highway 132 with stops at Sciabica and Rodin Farmer’s Market downtown, with many restaurant options with almond dishes on the menu. Learn more at www.visitmodesto.com
Crab Feed Season! There are great non-profits, schools, and organizations throwing fundraisers this time of year by hosting delicious crab feeds in town. If you haven’t been to a crab feed before, you’ve got to check it out. A few stand outs are the Modesto Fire Fighters Crab Feed at the Veterans Center on 2/23 and Modesto CHP Crab Feed on 3/01. To learn more, check out the ModestoView event calendar at www.modestoview.com for more info on each event.
Annual MLK Celebration at MJC! In the 31st year of the Modesto Peace/Life Center hosting, the event will recognize Gladys Williams of the NAACP and will feature LaDoris Hazzard Cordell, the first Black woman to be appointed to a superior court judgeship in California. Doors open at 6:00 PM on March 1st, presentation at 7:00 PM at MJC Performing Arts and Media Center – don’t miss it, it’s a free event!
St. Patrick’s Day Celebration! St Patrick’s Day at P. Wexford’s. While Murphy’s favorite holiday on March 17th falls on a Monday – the festivities continue into the evening at P.Wexfords with live music, traditional Irish fare, and lots of fun. Always celebrate responsibly!
SAFETY CORNER
Audit Ready, Every Day
With various announced audits and unannounced inspections throughout the year, Sierra Pacific is committed to maintaining our warehouses to a top level of food safety and quality. All safety programs, whether for workplace safety or the products we store, are in place to give our teams the tools and resources needed to keep SPWG prepared for anything. Following through on messes when they happen, incidents or damages when they occur, and our product inspections at inbound and outbound handling all supports a warehouse that is ready for any visitor at any time, whether it’s a customer coming to check their product, a government inspector from the FDA or OSHA, or the annual BRC audits. We always want to put our best foot forward, with a sense of pride for the services we provide our customers and the facilities we operate, so thank you for doing your part every day to make Sierra Pacific successful and audit ready, every day! As a reminder, BRC audits are scheduled for March 31st to April 4th, 2025. Let’s do this! Questions or concerns? Reach out to Harrison Power at 209-534-7695 / hpower@spwg.com
NEW YEAR 2025
HR and Insurance Corner!
Benefit Updates: W-2’s have been mailed so anyone that needs help finding those should contact us, and can always get copies in the portal. Reminder for those that are direct deposit to select ELECTRONIC paystubs to save paper! And those that are NOT direct deposit should think about it…you receive the funds at least 12 hours earlier than a paper check! 401K meetings and information will be coming up soon – so stay tuned!
We would love to shout out Lillian, Belinda, and Jay! The end of one and the beginning of the New Year are busy times for HR and they have been working diligently on compliance tasks, payroll, and benefit updates.
Thank you all for keeping us moving safely, efficiently, and accurately forward! We appreciate all you do.
3731 Finch Road, Modesto, CA 95357
Phone: 209-572-2882 / 209-572-0221 Email: contact@spwg.com • www.spwg.com
Do you have a question about your benefits? Please contact Belinda Kachalkin at 209-593-3709 or bkachalkin@spwg.com Michelle Powers at 209-593-3712 or michelle@spwg.com
