Good Things In Store

It’s been a busy month at Foodservice Equipment Reports. This year’s Smallwares & Tabletop Competition took place a little over a month ago and our editors have found some amazing new products to introduce to you in this issue. I want to thank our esteemed team of judges Anne McCabe, Boelter Cos.; Chef Michael Garbin, CEC, Union League Club of Chicago; Alyx Douglas, Curiology; Walter Bates, Wasserstrom Co.; and Shannon Tallon, Edward Don & Co., for all their hard work and the great consideration they gave to the judging process. A special thanks goes out to Boelter for use of its stunning new Chicago event center. The repartee between judges was lively and while they learned from each other, we learned from them. Check out this year’s coverage starting on pg. 58.

Our editorial team has been hard at work on other special projects as well. One of our custom publishing projects comes from our work with FCSI-The Americas Division on its annual Project Showcase publication. This year’s high-end issue has an amazing group of projects and will be available for you to check out on our website soon. I want to thank Executive Director Wade Koehler, as well as the board and membership of FCSI for another terrific collaboration.

No year would be complete without our annual Worldwide Buyers Guide, coming to you next month. This year-round resource is unlike any other buyers guide in our industry, compiled by hand from exhibitor guides from more than 30 shows around the world and many other sources. Updated year after year, over the course of 19 years, FER’s guide lists more than 5,000 companies worldwide, with 31,000+ equipment listings in some 730 product categories. It includes just about everyone who makes foodservice equipment and supplies anywhere, an especially important resource considering the global expansion of so many multiunit chains. The handy abridged “highlights” version (with the full manufacturers’ listings) will arrive in November, and the complete, searchable database is available at fermag.com.

Finally, I wanted to let you know about some significant new product introductions currently underway. From content-sharing opportunities, custom publishing expertise and new ways to help you to be discovered on the web and through social media, we have new products and services to help you get there. Please give Rich, Emma or Chuck a call for more information.