For 20 years, Golden Harvest Foods was a community staple, serving many families as they built their lives together. In early 2018, however, a fire closed Golden Harvest foods. Shua sadly recalled they were closed for “one year, one month and three weeks” before they could reopen in March 2019.

While the fire was devastating, it gave Shua the opportunity to remodel and outfit Golden Harvest with completely new equipment. He knew the Golden Harvest team would be weighing and wrapping meat and produce as well as weighing prepared food at their deli counter. The new equipment needed to help them boost efficiency in product packaging, making automatic wrappers a necessity. When it was time to choose new equipment, Shua said “we went with the most up-to-date technology and equipment we could find so we could prepare for the next generation.”

He wanted equipment that would be easy for all of his employees to use and products that would stand the test of time as they prepared to welcome their third generation of customers. Customers they knew as children are now bringing their own children into Golden Harvest. Shua is starting to see the grandchildren of his customers, and with the right equipment, his store is set to last their lifetime as well. The scales Golden Harvest had been using before the fire were from a manufacturer who wasn’t locally based and Shua wanted to work with a company closer to Saint Paul, which is why he chose Rice Lake Retail Solutions.

Shua knew Golden Harvest also needed to work with a supplier who could offer local service if something went wrong with their equipment. Working with DM&P Equipment & Supplies, Inc. gave them exactly the support they needed. Anne and Domingo Contreras opened DM&P in 2004 after having worked with a similar retail equipment company for over 30 years. Their son, Domingo Jr., joined them in 2015 to help provide local sales and service to the Saint Paul area for butcher shops, delis and many ethnic food stores.

Working with Domingo Jr., Shua carefully considered the options for Golden Harvest before making his decision. For the Golden Harvest meat packaging room, Shua chose an Ishida WM-Ai automatic wrapper and two IP-Ai-P labelers with remote scale bases. This equipment allowed them to boost efficiency while still having the capability to hand-wrap larger or oddly shaped cuts of meat. Shua also wanted to streamline the produce processing room, adding both a WM-Nano automatic wrapper and a hand-wrapping station to handle all of their produce. A Uni-7 price computing scale with a label printer was installed at the deli counter to help serve up delicious items such as eggrolls, chicken and Lao sausage. Th Uni-7 has a bright, customer-facing display with weight and price information in addition to dual-range weighing technology. This feature provides more precise container tare weights for deli products, creating more accurate pricing.

When discussing his choice of equipment, Shua said “Efficiency is very important, cost is something we’re concerned with. Using auto or semi-auto equipment saves work and saves time. The younger employees are able to do things more efficiently and understand the technology.” One of the biggest time-saving benefits has been programming preset PLUs and SKUs, allowing them to quickly weigh, wrap and label their products with the push of a button.

Of the automatic wrappers specifically, Shua said the WM-Ai is fast, easy to use, and essentially hassle-free. The WM-Nano is also fast and both units wrap products consistently, saving time and giving the items secure, appealing packaging. They have appreciated not only the speed of the equipment, Shua added, but also how accurate, durable and easy to clean and use all of the Rice Lake retail equipment is.

Domingo Jr. helped those at Golden Harvest ensure the software they needed was integrated with the scales, making operation simple for everyone currently working there, or who might work there in the future. Shua says Domingo has been very reliable. He worked closely with the staff to ensure everyone was trained on how to properly use the equipment and is always willing to answer questions if they arise.

“We believe in the interpersonal relationship we have with our customers,” Shua said when he talked about the future of Golden Harvest. He is building long-term relationships with his customers and chose retail equipment to support these relationships. Shua is also open to potential customers of DM&P and Rice Lake Retail Solutions visiting Golden Harvest to see the equipment in use.

With reliable, technologically advanced equipment from Rice Lake Retail Solutions and local support from DM&P, Golden Harvest will be around to provide traditional Hmong groceries and community connection for many generations.