United Premium Foods (UPF), a Woodbridge, N.J.-based private investment group, purchased the Amboy Group, a Woodbridge, N.J.-based provider of quality meat and food products, out of bankruptcy. The acquisition also includes Amboy Woodbridge Realty, UPF’s cold storage business.

“The acquisitions include a state-of-the-art meat processing and cold storage facility, as well as an extremely strong and loyal customer base,” says Jim Kwon, chairman and acting CEO, UPF. “We are confident that with additional working capital, supplemental management and a new operating team, we can improve operating efficiencies while growing the company’s market share and reach. This investment is affirmation of our belief in the strong fundamentals of the business and our confidence in the upside potential of this company.”

As part of the acquisition, William Colbert will join UPF as an integral part of the management team.

“Mr. Colbert has been a tremendous asset to Amboy Group, and we look forward to working with him, as he brings his strong sales and food processing expertise to United Premium Foods,” Kwon adds.

“With the acquisition, United Premium Foods will continue to produce more than 100 proprietary products, including the Tommy Moloney’s brand, the leading provider of traditional Irish meat products in the U.S., as well as maintain a full-service, private label meat processing business,” Colbert says. “We will continue our focus on delivering high-quality fresh and frozen meat products to our customers while delivering greater cost controls and making high-value investments to expand our product lines and market share.”

Amboy Group’s 110,000-square-foot facility is USDA, FDA and SQF 2000 Level 2-certified, and includes a fully automated temperature-controlled space that uses advanced, computer-controlled automated storage and retrieval systems and EMS storage technologies. It’s also said to be one of the largest processing/cold storage facilities in the Northeast with 1 million cubic feet of cold storage capacity. The facility utilizes multiple ovens to cook and low-pressure steam various products, ranging from fresh sausage lines to burgers and chicken patties. The plant is also capable of high-speed deli slicing, injecting, brining and tumbling, as well as packaging.