An Opportunity to Shine

In early June, the Crothall corporate staff was honored to host some distinguished guests at our offices just outside Philadelphia. Compass Group Chief Executive Richard Cousins, along with Group Managing Director, USA, Canada & Latin America, Gary Green, and several other senior executives from the Group Head Office were visiting as part of an ongoing program of reviews with the Group's major businesses, to meet personally with our senior management team and get an up close look at what has made Crothall so successful.

Compass Group is a world leader in foodservice and support services, with operations in around 70 countries around the world and annual revenues of around $21 billion (around In early June, £11 billion) for the year ending September 30th 2006.

Since Compass acquired our company in 2001, Crothall has gone from being a privately owned family business to an $800 million company and the fastest growing business in Compass Group's North American family of companies. So when the idea of a personal visit was discussed a few months ago, Crothall CEO Bobby Kutteh was understandably enthusiastic to showcase our services, strategy, and successes.

Given that Compass wants to further develop the support services market globally, this was a fantastic opportunity for the senior Compass Group team to understand more about the experience and expertise we have as one of the most developed support services businesses in the Group, and how our best practices can benefit other Compass businesses around the world as they build their own capability. The visiting team heard first hand from Crothall's senior managers how our dedication to process excellence through specialization in each of the services we provide delivers great results, and what they do every day to contribute to Crothall's goals. In addition, our visitors were given a tour of the prestigious Hahnemann University Hospital, a Crothall client in Philadelphia. They came away thoroughly impressed, and our team at Hahnemann did a terrific job of demonstrating our quality programs, with the passion they have for the business really shining through.

The positive impressions made upon the Compass team are a reflection of the tremendous work being done by Crothall employees throughout the country every day. Our company is nothing without our people, our biggest strength. We are proud of our accomplishments, and each of our employees should be proud of the contribution he or she makes to continuing this success.