May 24, 2010 11:01 AM

Blue Gem Enterprise (BGEM) has moved into a new state-of-the-art distribution center in central Dade County Florida. The new facility will warehouse and distribute both refrigerated and dry products and become the operations center for Blue Gem.

“We have plenty of room for expansion with this move,” said Bob Friedopfer, head of Sales & Expansion. The new operations center is situated on 33 acres with more than 200,000 square feet of refrigerated and dry warehouse space. The facility will be able to store a number of cold chain products including milk, juice, eggs, and produce. Route trucks and tractor trailers will load refrigerated products in a temperature-controlled environment. The facility is a major distribution hub for more than 30 islands in the Caribbean.

“This facility opens up Blue Gem’s expansion beyond Florida into major retailers in the Caribbean. We are building out a product showroom and operations center at the facility,” said Friedopfer.

Blue Gem has begun distribution of American Dairy Fresh milk, American Groove Fresh orange juice, and American Farm Fresh eggs to accounts throughout Florida. “Landing this full line of dairy and juice products gets us immediate distribution into the cold boxes of thousands of stores throughout Florida,” said Friedopfer.

The company has hired industry veteran Ben Shapiro as its new operations manager. He will manage logistics including warehouse, transportation, and inventory for Blue Gem’s statewide and new Caribbean operations.