MANUFACTURING PROFILES
Business Owners Reveal Challenges and Triumphs
By Diane C . Walsh Acting Editor
MANUFACTURERS PROVED themselves to be the backbone of American industry over the past two years . Commerce Magazine talked with a select group of New Jersey manufacturers to learn about their challenges and successes . Each story is unique and gives a special perspective on their experiences .
Photo : Getty Images / iStockphoto / jonathansloane
Alexandra Groezinger Groezinger Provisions Inc Alexian Pate & Specialty Meats
Alexandra Groezinger comes from a long line of butchers , restaurant owners and sausage makers . Her father learned his craft from his father in Germany and brought it to the United States . Her parents opened Groezinger Provisions Inc . 40 years ago in Neptune , when they converted an old hot dog factory to manufacture of their European-style specialty meats .
Groezinger meats are distributed throughout the United States to retailers , delis and other specialty shops that cater to Polish , Ukrainian , Russian and other Eastern European-style markets . The company ’ s other brand Alexian Pate & Specialty Meat is available at high-end grocers and wine and cheese shops across the country and even in the Caribbean , and South and Central America .
Each year the company manufactures more than 1 million pounds of product – and that ’ s a lot of pate at five ounces a package . Alexandra proudly emphasizes the company is certified as a women-owned business . She took over before the pandemic and was grateful Groezinger ’ s could keep its doors open because it was deemed an “ essential business .” Thankfully , all 30 employees showed up every day since demand skyrocketed . “ Pate and sausage are comfort foods and that ’ s what people needed to eat during the height of the pandemic ,” she said .
The huge sales uptick was like a wave that Groezinger rode . But the pandemic brought challenges too . Shortages of raw materials and shipping delays forced
Alexandra Groezinger Groezinger Provisions Inc Alexian Pate & Specialty Meats
Sean Glasser BLUETRACK Inc .
Alexandra to better forecast her needs when order products , which are all sources domestically , primarily from the Northeast and the Midwest . The high cost of freight is the latest issue vexing her . And Alexandra said a price increase is not the answer necessarily because most of her customers require a 90-day advance notice — resulting no returns for months .
Facing all the challenges , Alexandra soldiers on . “ Our skin got thicker ,” she said . With an undergraduate degree in psychology and a master ’ s in business administration , Alexandra is prepared . She is ready to shepherd the family business into the future . “ We hope to expand and grow and offer more products .”
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