John Napoli undergoes $2.3 million expansion

CARIBBEAN BUSINESS
By : JOSE L. CARMONA
Volume: 36 | No: 13
Page : 09
Issued : 04/03/2008


After nearly two years of construction work without shutting down its daily operations, local foodservice equipment and supplies provider John Napoli & Associates (JNA) expects to complete at the end of this summer a $2.3 million expansion of its Puerta de Tierra facilities where the company has been operating continuously for the past 48 years.

According to JNA Purchasing Agent & Compliance Coordinator Annie Napoli, the investment triples the showroom space from 4,000 square feet to 12,000 square feet which, along with the administrative office, brings the structure’s total to 19,000 square feet.

“The expansion consisted in the remodeling of the existing facilities and the addition of office space as well as ample room for an innovative demo kitchen, a new warehouse showroom facility to hold foodservice workshops and gastronomic events,” Napoli told CARIBBEAN BUSINESS.

Napoli explained construction took longer than expected because daily business operations continued uninterrupted during the expansion work, which was further delayed by work that had to be done by the Puerto Rico Electric Power Authority (Prepa).

“Construction started in July 2006, but we never moved out or discontinued operations during construction, which made things a little more difficult. It has been business as usual here during construction,” added Napoli.

Super Coat General Contractors was in charge of construction, while remodeling and expansion was designed by local architect Juan Manuel Moscoso and construction financing provided by Westernbank.

With the new demo kitchen, Napoli said the company plans to bring suppliers from the mainland U.S. to do demonstrations of their new products in-house instead of having to send company personnel to the States.

“Although suppliers such as Turbo Chef, Scotsman and Libbey have previously done demonstrations in our old facility, the new demo kitchen will provide ample and comfortable new facilities to hold these. The new area is multifunctional because it can also be used as a large conference room,” commented Napoli.

The company, added Napoli, also plans to bring renowned chefs to do kitchen demonstrations and to hold gastronomic events in the new facilities using the latest equipment from suppliers.

Although the company specializes in foodservice equipment, Napoli said it also provides wares to institutional clients in the pharmaceutical and hospital industries.

“There’s more than meets the eye to the expansion because it’s not just about kitchen equipment; we can bring institutional clients from other industries and hold seminars for them not just about the equipment but also about their use and cleaning. These are very important issues for pharmaceutical and hospital facilities that need to pass rigorous sanitary inspections,” noted Napoli.