Pro Food Systems has been driving in the fast lane several years now, expanding rapidly and continuously being ranked by INC. Magazine as one of the Fastest Growing Privately-Held Companies in the USA. The biggest driver of this growth is their top hot food program, Champs Chicken. With the number of stores rapidly increasing across the country, Pro Food Systems (PFS) had to quickly expand in many areas including personnel. In November 2010, Carla Dowden was hired part-time to help with HR. Within 30 days, she was offered full-time employment, and now is heading a full HR department as Vice President of Human Resources.
“Carla has been instrumental in the growth of this company by hiring numerous team members all across the country and helping to shape the culture of PFS,” said CEO Shawn Burcham. “Our team and culture here at PFS is what really makes us stand out from other companies. Not only do we have top quality products, but we have a stellar team behind them. We go the extra mile to truly invest in the right team members by providing them with the resources needed to succeed personally and professionally. We have a very extensive hiring process to ensure that we bring on the right people and Carla has really done an amazing job here.”
PFS now has a total of 93 employees working across the country. This number will keep climbing as the Champs Chicken program, the Cooper’s Express program, and other PFSbrands and product sales continue to grow. A key contributor to the success of the PFSbrands is that each store receives individual and ongoing support. PFS has team members in each region that work hand-in-hand with stores to ensure that their hot food program is successful and profitable. Champs Chicken franchisees also earn marketing development funds through PFS while receiving advertising support from the 10-person marketing team at the PFS headquarters.
“PFS is truly in a great position right now and we expect 2015 to be a record growth year for us. With Carla a part of our Senior Leadership team and leading our HR department, we plan to move full speed ahead,” said Burcham.