Mainebiz

W W W. M A I N E B I Z . B I Z 19 A U G U S T 1 0 , 2 0 1 5 In her own words In her own words In her own words In her own words In her own words In her own words In her own words In her own words In her own words In her own words In her own words In her own words In her own words In her own words What was the biggest challenge of your career? It is always about managing people! We strive to be "best in class" in all we do. This requires an incredible focus on hiring like-minded people and building and maintaining quality teams. When did you know you'd made it? I have yet to experience that feeling! I see all aspects of my life as a work in progress so while I have had many great experiences, I am always anticipating the next move. I love watching our organization in action and seeing how wonderfully we execute our mission. What advice do you wish you'd gotten early in your career? I am more comfortable and approachable than I was earlier in my career. I am told that I was "obnoxiously aggressive" and that is not a style I would recommend. I got knocked down enough to start listening and to become more collaborative. As you might imagine, that is precisely when more opportunities came my way. I'll relax when…? Seriously?? Just not sure it is my thing!! I would say I am most relaxed when I am enjoying some beautiful region of Maine… by boat, by foot or on a bicycle. What was your 'Haven't we gone beyond this' moment? I have these moments when despite all of our communication devices we fail to tell each other a piece of information that is vital to a good partnership! Sometimes we just need to abandon our keyboards and talk to one another. to develop strong teams of professionals who were on the road helping store owners think about seasonality, forecasting and new items. My dad has great business instincts and continues to mentor us. He had a lot of vision and was ahead of his time." Jack Canning retired in 1996 and Charlie Canning retired in 2007. Fast forward to today. Pine State Trading has eight distribution depots throughout its footprint. Its headquarters and central distribution site in Gardiner is 260,000 square feet. Pine State's tractor trailers and other trucks are on the road around-the-clock, stocking stores with fresh food, beer, wine, soft drinks, coff ee, tobacco, candy and snacks as well as vending services. Pine State Trading serves 3,500 to 4,000 convenience store locations; while many are chains, about 45% are single-store operations. Pine State Beverage, which occupies 166,000 square feet in Gardiner's Libby Hill Business Park, serves a range of customers. Overall, the company has 1,050 employees, including 700 in Maine. e company's yellow and green-trimmed trucks are a common site in Maine. But when you see a Red Bull truck in Maine, that's also Pine State Trading, which has the exclusive distribution rights here. Many trucks with strong branding names such as Sam Adams are also Pine State Trading trucks. Pine State Trading's footprint grew as it made small acquisitions and developed partnerships with companies like Green Mountain Coff ee which helped to broaden the geographic area. e growth in convenience store chains also helped strengthen the footprint and extend distribution routes. " e real advantage we have is infrastructure," Canning says. " at infrastructure in Maine is deep. We've been building on a great team for over 75 years. Store owners will often remark that, if you open a new location in Maine you'll fi nd the Pine State wine representative and, when she's done, you'll fi nd the beer representative and in the mean- time the convenience store people are setting your entire shelves … So we might have eight diff erent people assisting this customer to open their store." Staff members in diff erent divisions work together to create "a seamless experience" for the customer, she says. A year ago, Pine State Trading won a new 10-year state liquor contract to provide adminis- tration, warehousing and trade marketing for the Maine spirits business, according to the Bureau of Alcoholic Beverage and Lottery Operations. For the previous 10 years the contract had been held by Maine Beverage Co. roughout the changes in the retail industry, the Pine State teams have pushed the pace of change. As big as Pine State Trading has gotten, Canning says it still has to do the basics well. Snowstorms, delivery delays, a bottle broken in transit — these are the hazards that go with the trade. at's why the managing partners are all too willing to make a delivery run on the way home. "Keith and Nick and I still deliver orders," she says. "Customer service will call and say, 'So-and-so forgot the hot dogs. Is Bath on your way home?' And I'll say, 'It's not out of my way at all.' We are always at the ready because we ask that of everyone in our company." Pe T er Van Al l en, Mainebiz editor, can be reached at Pvanallen @ mainebiz.biz and @ MainebizEDiTor Since 1877 we have been committed to your local insurance needs. P E R S O NA L L I N E S Auto Homeowners Personal Umbrella Boat & Snowmobile Inland Marine C O M M E R C I A L L I N E S Property General Liability Commercial Auto Commercial Umbrella Business Owners Go to www.Patrons.com to find an independent Maine agent near you and achieve peace of mind by protecting yourself, your home, auto or business with our products. Insuring Maine People — Insuring Maine Business

• Cover