Todd Phillips has succeeded Dave Mosteller as vice president and general manager of Frymaster. Mosteller, a 25-year veteran of Manitowoc Foodservice, has retired.Phillips has been with Frymaster for six years in various leadership positions, including director of finance and special projects from 2004-09. Prior to joining the maker of fryers, frying systems, rethermalizers and pasta…

Peerless Food Equipment has appointed Richard Taylor as its new director of sales. Taylor will direct the outside and inside sales teams while strengthening global agent channels. All product line sales for the Sidney, Ohio, company, including Fedco, Peerless, Peters and SuperGrain, will report to him. The Peerless Group is an ITW company. Taylor joins…

In an agreement that kicked in May 1, Bauscher USA and WMF Americas have formed an alliance in sales and marketing and customer service for the U.S. market. The collaboration brings together four brands of porcelain, cutlery, tableware and buffetware in an alliance focusing on hotel, casino, restaurant, private club and healthcare clients. Programs with…

Come Nov. 1, Gretchen Couraud, CAE, CFRE, will be the new executive director of The National Association of College & University Food Services. Couraud will be the third executive director in NACUFS’ 54-year history and will be its first female chief staff executive. She will succeed Joseph Spina, CAE, Ph.D., who is retiring after 22…

The rate of growth in sales of foodservice equipment, supplies and furnishings slowed slightly to 3.6% in the second quarter 2012, according the MAFSI Barometer maintained by the Manufacturers’ Agents Association for the Foodservice Industry. The gain, a reflection of sales of reps’ like lines this year vs. the same quarter last year, was the…

The 100 largest U.S. foodservice equipment and supplies manufacturers saw their sales grow 6.4% last year, up from a 3.9% gain in ’10, as the U.S. E&S market bounced back from the Great Foodservice Recession. Combined sales of the 100 companies for ’11 totaled $12.466 billion vs. $11.712 billion in ’10 and almost reached the…

Restaurant traffic growth slowed this spring, according to the latest data from The NPD Group’s CREST studies. Overall visits grew 1% in the March through May period, slowing somewhat from the surge in traffic seen during the mild winter. The average check rose 2% during the quarter, less than menu-price inflation but the strongest sales…

Local government bodies and school districts are facing serious fiscal challenges as local property tax receipts fell in both nominal and real terms during the first quarter of 2012, according to data collected by the Rockefeller Institute of Government in Albany, N.Y. Much of the drop in receipts is a result of lower property assessments…

Both wholesale food prices and menu prices rose again in July according to data from the Producer and Consumer Price Indexes maintained by the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Overall wholesale food prices, as computed by the National Restaurant Association, rose 0.1% while menu prices were up 0.2% for the fourth time in the past five…

The outlooks for growth of real gross domestic product the rest of this year and next fell again in the latest survey of 50 major economic forecasting groups published by Blue Chip Economic Indicators in early August. The forecast for growth on income and consumer spending next year also fell. The 2012 real GDP forecast…