We received more bad news last week when we learned of the passing of Gordon Oates Jr. on Dec. 5 after a long illness. He was only 62, but he left a significant mark on me and on the foodservice equipment business.In a business with many multigenerational families, Gordon was in some ways royalty, though…

Great Lakes Hotel Supply has opened a state-of-the-art test kitchen and special-events venue in Southfield, Mich. The Great Lakes Culinary Center is described as a kitchen stadium, resource hub, entrepreneurial launching pad and community gathering place under one roof. The multi-use 6,000-sq.-ft. facility includes the key components foodservice industry professionals need to design, build, test…

Rapids Wholesale Equipment Co. has opened a new cash-and-carry retail store in St. Paul, Minn. Joe Schmitt, co-owner of the Marion, Iowa-based dealer, stated that Rapids has listened to its customers and plans to make its online selection of 6,000 items accessible in a brick-and-mortar storefront. Harold Parten, a veteran of retail and wholesale distribution,…

Time management can be an issue for sales professionals, and the Foodservice Equipment Distributors Association is making that issue the focus for its next webinar. FEDA’s first webinar in 2014 will focus on keeping salespeople proactive instead of reactive. The Feb. 12 webinar will provide specific help to get and maintain control of selling time.…

Last month, MEIKO Inc. received the Mercury Award from the International Travel Catering Association. The biennial awards honor the association’s strongest partners in the travel catering industry. Meiko received the prize in the Heavy Equipment category for its latest generation of M-iQ flight- and rack-type dishwashing machines, which are used in airports around the world.…

We’re in the middle of writing our operator and equipment and supplies forecast articles for Foodservice Equipment Reports’ annual January Forecast issue. As usual we asked the leading foodservice operator forecasting and research groups for their views. We edit them for the magazine but thought you might like to see their entire comments. We queried…

Paul Johnson, who spent nearly 30 years in the foodservice equipment industry, passed away suddenly on Dec. 2. He was 68. Johnson joined the E&S industry in 1985 and spent more than 20 years at ITW as a channel manager. In 2006, he joined Scotsman Ice Systems as a business development manager. For more than…

The foodservice equipment and supplies industry continued to chug along in the third quarter of 2014, according to the MAFSI Barometer, posting a 4.5% increase. The Barometer, which tracks manufacturers’ reps’ quarterly sales trends versus the year prior quarter, is maintained by the Manufacturers’ Agents Association for the Foodservice Industry. The gain compares with a…

The Honolulu offices of Bargreen Ellingson now are open for business. The company recently relocated its distribution center and branch in Aiea to a newly renovated, more efficient location in the capital city. The new centrally located building at 2234 Hoonee Place features more storage space in a smaller footprint thanks to utilization of narrow…

Stay tuned. It’s too late to apply, but the recipients of scholarships for next year’s University of Industrial Distribution will be announced Dec. 9. The Foodservice Equipment Distributors Association awards 10 scholarships to the four-day program, a concentrated educational curriculum focused on the unique needs of the industrial wholesale distribution industry. Next year’s UID Program…