iGPS Announces Agreement with Kettle Brand® Chips

Leading producer of premium potato chips has begun shipping its products throughout the U.S. on iGPS' all-plastic pallets with embedded RFID tags

News provided by

Intelligent Global Pooling Systems

Jan 04, 2011, 11:28 ET

ORLANDO, Fla., Jan. 4, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- Intelligent Global Pooling Systems (iGPS Company, LLC) announced today that Kettle Brand® Chips will begin shipping its products throughout the U.S. on iGPS' all-plastic pallets with embedded RFID tags, commencing immediately. Founded in 1978, Kettle Brand® Chips pioneered the kettle-cooked style with its all natural hand-cooked potato chips. Growing at a record pace, the company offers a wide variety of all natural snack foods including Kettle Brand® Potato Chips, Kettle Brand® Baked Potato Chips, Kettle Brand® Krinkle Cut™ Potato Chips, Kettle Brand® Organic Potato Chips, Kettle Brand® Tias! snacking tortilla chips, Kettle Brand® Roaster-Fresh Nut Butters, and Kettle Brand® Handcrafted Nuts.

"Our decision to switch to iGPS was based on our desire to upgrade the quality of pallet carrying our products and to utilize a more environmentally sustainable solution than wood," said Joe Iagulli, Vice President of Supply Chain for Kettle Brand. "iGPS' solution fulfills both of our objectives, and we know that our retail partners will appreciate this value enhancement to our supply chain."

"Kettle Brand Chips is a truly great brand with outstanding products and a unique identity," said Bob Moore, Chairman and CEO of iGPS. "We are delighted to welcome them to the iGPS family."

In just four years of operation, iGPS has revolutionized the way goods are being shipped throughout the North American supply chain. Its lightweight, 100 percent recyclable all-plastic pallet is rapidly replacing wood as the platform of choice among the world's most innovative companies.

Switching from wood pallets to lighter-weight iGPS plastic pallets yields game-changing operational savings. Studies performed by iGPS customers consistently show bottom-line savings of up to $2 per pallet load, thanks to lower transport costs, dramatically reduced production downtime, larger loads per pallet, reduced product damage and fewer rejected loads.

Aside from providing proven operational savings, iGPS is setting a new standard in pallet hygiene, as its pallets are easily cleaned, do not absorb fluids that can cross-contaminate food and never require treatment with toxic pesticides or fungicides. In fact, iGPS' pallet is the world's only rental pallet to receive Food Equipment Certification from NSF International, the foremost testing and certification authority with respect to food-related equipment.

About iGPS

iGPS operates the world's first pallet rental service providing shippers and receivers with lightweight, 100 percent recyclable all-plastic pallets with embedded RFID tags. Its highly engineered platform—the world's most advanced shipping pallet—is rapidly replacing wood as the platform of choice among the world's most innovative companies. Businesses that switch from wood pallets to iGPS realize game-changing savings—as much as $2 per unitized load—thanks to lower transport costs, reduced production downtime, reduced product damage and fewer rejected loads. iGPS' pallet is also a major advance in supply chain hygiene—a platform that is easily cleaned, will not absorb fluids that can lead to contamination and never requires treatment with toxic pesticides and fungicides. An independent life cycle analysis has documented that iGPS' solution is dramatically better for the environment than both one-way and multiuse wood pallets. Launched in March 2006, the company has created nearly 2,000 new green jobs in the U.S. and is led by pallet and supply chain veterans with decades of experience. iGPS (www.igps.net) is headquartered in Orlando, FL and operates its state-of-the-art National Sales and Innovation Center in Northwest Arkansas.

About Kettle Brand®

Kettle Brand is one of the leaders in the premium potato chip category and is growing at a strong pace according to SPINS and ACNielsen. With manufacturing sites in Salem, Oregon, Beloit, Wisconsin and Norwich, United Kingdom, Kettle Brand is distributed throughout North America, Japan, Guam and Western Europe. Kettle Brand products include more than 20 flavors and four varieties of potato chips as well as snacking tortilla chips, nut butters and trail mixes. Kettle Brand is a division of Diamond Foods based in San Francisco. Diamond Foods is an innovative packaged food company focused on building, acquiring and energizing brands including Kettle Brand® Potato Chips, Emerald® snack nuts, Pop Secret® popcorn, and Diamond of California® culinary and snack nuts. The Company's products are distributed in a wide range of stores where snacks and culinary nuts are sold.