A Crown reach truck

The largest US food service distributor, SYSCO Corp, has recognised Crown Equipment Corp as a top 2006 operations supplier.

Crown was one of six suppliers honoured.

Gary Cullen, SYSCO Corp vice president of distribution services, praises Crown for its "industry expertise" and "attention to detail".

SYSCO operations staff selected suppliers and graded them on their cost-effectiveness and efficiency.

The criteria included suppliers' ability to be flexible, innovative, accurate and "good team players". The suppliers were also required to display "a high degree of professional ethics and integrity, provide quality products and services, and be good communicators".

"We work closely with SYSCO to understand their business needs," says Crown director of corporate accounts, Jim Smeltzly.

Crown did not disclose the size of its forklift fleet.

SYSCO Corp, headquartered in Houston, Texas, has operations in 170 locations throughout North America and its 47,500 employees serve about 390,000 customers.