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FROM THE FIELD
March 2008
Saving Money Through Innovation
Have you sat down lately to make a list of how you can actually save money in your operations these days? It's a short list.
Food costs, according to the Department of Agriculture, are rising at the highest pace in 17 years. Bad weather was a factor in some rising prices. Corn ethanol was a factor. Fuel costs raised farm operating expenses. Then grains got more expensive, either because of increased demand (corn) or reduced production (wheat, soybeans). Everything that eats grain got more expensive. The ripple effects went all the way through beef, all dairy, and everything made with grains and dairy, including pastas and baked goods. The list goes on and on.
Meanwhile, the usual suspects—minimum wage, healthcare, energy, water—have also been on the rise. And while the cost of stainless, steel, copper and some other materials used in equipment and supplies is moderating a bit, manufacturers are playing catch-up and so prices for E&S are still rising.
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"Smart choices in equipment and supplies might be your best shot at reducing your operating expenses."
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None of which you can control. So what do you do? You control what you can. And one thing you can control is operating expense.
Which is where this issue comes in. Smart choices in new equipment and supplies will be your best shot—maybe your only shot—at controlling operating costs, from building design and materials to HVAC, warewashing, lighting, cooking, refrigeration and everything in between. Improvements in energy and water efficiency will be your best chances to cut operating expense dollars and drop 'em straight to the bottom line.
A lot's been happening in the equipment business lately, and most of it, fortunately and not surprisingly, has been aimed dead-center at cutting energy and water usage. You can see it in the headlines everywhere, including here at FER. And you can see it in the manufacturers' own marketing statements. Several have declared energy efficiency to be the tip of their marketing spears in recent years. The EPA's Energy Star program has emerged as a significant influence. It's now renewing and raising standards and expanding into additional categories as well as coordinating with EPA's WaterSense water-efficiency program. All across the board, manufacturers are making new efforts every year to wring more out of every Btu, kWh and gallon of water and yes, every quart of cooking oil.
So check out the stories in this issue about the honorees at the National Restaurant Association's Kitchen Innovations program and Foodservice Consultants Society Int'l.'s Innovation Showcase, as well as our own editors' picks for additional notables.
Utility efficiency is the common theme in most of the honored products. You'll read about a new-last-year gas fryer that hit the market with the highest-ever energy efficiency for its category. You'll find a warewasher that captures waste-air heat to preheat incoming water, as well as a rethermalizer and fryer that use specialized baffle/burner systems to significantly hike efficiency. Then there's a new ice machine that adjusts purge water volume based on mineral residue, allowing lesser purges when possible and saving water. The parade of energy and water savers goes on.
Then there are the others, saving space, saving time, saving labor, all of which impact your productivity and operating costs. An ice-transport system drastically reduces ice-handling costs. Another system uses salt, water and electricity to create a food washing and sanitizing system for a fraction of conventional chemical costs.
In all, more than 54 products earned kudos from highly qualified judges at the NRA and FCSI competitions, not counting the 13 additional Editors' Picks that we thought were worth a second look. There's plenty here to look at. If you can't find something to cut your costs, you're not trying.
Brian Ward
Chief Editor
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