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In a deal which shows the wide arc and manufacturing diversity of the foodservice equipment industry, Henny Penny—which produces thousands of pieces of foodservice equipment for a handful of global foodservice chains—is acquiring the more specialized Wood Stone Corp., which makes a handful of equipment for thousands of restaurants. The transaction, announced Dec. 16, unites…

Mike Whiteley has goals and a vision. The Hatco executive, a good friend of many of us, was installed as president of the North American Association of Food Equipment Manufacturers over the weekend in New Orleans during the group’s Management Workshop and Annual Meeting. He takes over from Tom Campion of Franke who, among other…

I spent the weekend working on a presentation our Editor-in-Chief Beth Lorenzini and I will present in Shanghai next week. It details and analyzes how big U.S. chain and institutional buyers evaluate, spec and buy E&S products and how they select suppliers. It’s based on exclusive new research we’ve done over the past year. We…

Don’t forget to stop by our Booth No. 5244 at the National Restaurant Association’s Restaurant, Hotel-Motel Show, May 17-20 in Chicago. We’ll be there to answer questions, get story tips and get your take on the pulse and activity of the exhibit floor.

Now that the FER Top Dealer Report is finished, and the NRA Show has come and gone, it’s time for me and my forecasting partner, John Muldowney, a marketing executive at The Boelter Cos., to begin work on our annual foodservice equipment and supplies market forecast. We present all the details at our annual President’s…

When our forecasting partner John Muldowney and I talked over this year’s equipment and supplies market forecast, we could really only come up with one or two negative trends. Forecasts for all of the macroeconomic indicators that impact foodservice—employment trends, disposable income, personal consumption spending, consumer confidence, food and energy prices—look to improve for the…

The Vollrath Company is celebrating the 140th anniversary of its founding. In 1874, Jacob J. Vollrath established the Sheboygan Cast Steel Co. in Sheboygan, Wis., to produce items including railroad frogs (a common crossing rail), cooking ranges and agricultural implements. Two years later, his eldest son, Andrew, returned from Germany where he’d studied the art…