The 50 economic forecasting groups polled monthly by Blue Chip Economic Indicators remain upbeat, in spite of two months of cuts in the consensus forecasts for 2015 in the March and early April surveys; the latter was released last week. The forecasters expect little slowdown in 2016 and then only slight declines over the next…

The ongoing discussion over the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s proposed ban on certain refrigerants and how the rule would hurt small businesses, manufacturers and restaurants has spurred resistance not only in the affected industries but also on the House subcommittee reviewing the proposal. The agency has proposed to prohibit several substances commonly used in commercial…

The April 1 announcement by California Governor Jerry Brown was no April Fool’s joke. Two weeks ago, he ordered mandatory water-use reductions for the first time in the state’s history, saying the state’s four-year drought had reached near-crisis proportions after a winter of record-low snowfalls. California has about one year of water stored.  The executive…

It’s been a very busy couple of weeks for me. I attended the first half of FEDA’s annual convention in Phoenix in late March, then headed to Shanghai, China, where I once again helped with the show’s Foodservice in the 21st Century Forum program. I just got back home on Saturday. Meanwhile, Chris Palmer has…

Tough winter weather dragged down restaurant sales and traffic in February, but both indicators tracking capital spending rose strongly in the latest Restaurant Performance Index from the National Restaurant Association. The overall RPI slipped only 0.1 point to 102.6, the 24th consecutive month the index has been in expansion territory. For all components of the…

Foodservice Equipment Reports’ annual President’s Preview E&S Market Forecast meeting will be held July 28 at the Westin O’Hare in Rosemont, Ill. This day-long overview of trends and data, including FER‘s annual hard-number forecasts of E&S market growth, costs $995 for attendees registering before July 3 and $1,095 afterwards. The Westin O’Hare offers attendees wishing…

Rachel Keith has joined Victory Refrigeration as the company’s new Sales Manager. Keith brings more than 15 years’ industry experience to the post, including various posts with a manufacturers’ rep firm and most recently in sales management at Kairack, a division of ITW FEG. She will report directly to Alex Tappé, Victory’s director of sales.…

Stoelting Foodservice, the Kiel, Wis., maker of frozen dessert equipment, has appointed Greg Stak, CFSP, to lead the company’s foodservice sales operations. Stak spent the past eight years as regional sales manager for The Vollrath Co.’s eastern region; Vollrath acquired Stoelting in 2012. In his 25-year foodservice career, Stak has served as V.P.-national accounts for Cooper Atkins,…

The April 3 deadline has passed to complete and return the survey forms for Foodservice Equipment Reports’ annual Top Dealers listing. But the magazine is offering dealers a few more days to fill in and return these important forms. The survey data on sales volumes and service offerings will be published in FER’s June issue.…