The international food and hospitality scene never cools down, and the Asia Pacific region is hot. This is show season, and things are really heating up, with one of Asia’s premier biennial events drawing near.Food&HotelAsia2016, or FHA2016, April 12-15 at the Singapore Expo, will bring more than 300 first-time exhibitors to the region’s most established…

Component Hardware Group has purchased Specialty Food Service Hardware and its related sister company, Vision Parts & Accessories. The Markham, Ontario-based companies supply components and parts to the foodservice and plumbing markets throughout Canada. Both will remain in their Ontario headquarters and continue to service their current customers while providing expanded coverage for Component Hardware…

Two dozen individuals have received scholarships from FEDA’s Education Foundation for the 2016 University of Innovative Distribution program, March 6-9 in Indianapolis. This year’s recipients are: Casey Hamre and Ronald Santos, Ace Mart Restaurant Supply; Russ Pederson, Alcom; Jeffrey Pugh, Bargreen-Ellingson; Cecily Adams and Brian Knoll, Best Restaurant Equipment & Design; Colin Darcy, C&T Design…

Imperial Brown, the walk-in cooler/freezer manufacturer, has named Justin Sandall as its president. He succeeds Rick Schermerhorn, who will retire this year after nine years as president. Sandall has served as executive v.p., CFO and COO of the Portland, Ore., company. He will retain COO responsibilities. Imperial Mfg., established in 1970, acquired the 100-year-old W.A.…

Vulcan has promoted Joe Maresca to Director of Sales-East. Maresca, a 28-year industry veteran (more than half of them at Vulcan), will oversee East Coast dealer sales, familiar territory from his tenure as a Vulcan eastern regional sales manager; he also has been v.p.-national accounts and business manager for the Range unit. David Sealfon has…

Unified Brands has added Walter Trapp as Product Line Specialist for its cooking line. He will manage those products, primarily the Groen brand, while supporting the company’s distribution network. Trapp, who brings a background in foodservice management to the post, also will lead efforts in strategic pricing initiatives, and manage training and tradeshow involvement for…

Carpigiani has tapped Central Marketing Associates as its new rep group for Iowa, Kansas, Missouri and Nebraska. CMA, based in Shawnee Mission, Kans., represents 14 other major equipment brands, including Beverage-Air and Edlund, Carpigiani’s sister companies in Ali Group. Carpigiani is based in Winston-Salem, N.C.

As we often do at the beginning of a new year, we’ve pulled together a reminder of all the sales, acquisitions and mergers from the previous year for our opening FER Dealer Report. And we noticed a curious fact: Lots of deals in the equipment and supplies manufacturing and service and parts segments, but very…

Wolters-Althoff Investments, LLC closed on January 1 its previously announced acquisition of and Gill Ashton Publishing, LLC. WAI, based in Chicago, is the private equity and venture capital arm of the Wolters Family Office headed by former owner and founder of CookTek, Bob Wolters. Evanston, Ill.-based GAP owns Foodservice Equipment Reports and other foodservice equipment-…

The San Joaquin Valley Air Pollution Control District is considering whether to regulate restaurants that use wood-fire cooking techniques. Although charbroiler emissions contribute only a tiny portion to the Valley’s bad air, the district is looking into requiring restaurants to install equipment to clean up smoke emissions and filter particles. The air district, which must…