Gary Simpson has been promoted by ITW FEG to v.p.-dealer sales. He now has responsibilities for North American dealer sales for Hobart, Traulsen and Baxter, and reports to Group Pres. Lei Schlitz. Simpson joined Hobart in 1994 as a territory sales trainee. He moved up the ladder and most recently served as regional sales director.…

Tom Greenwald, of Top O’ The Table/Zink Foodservice Group, in Columbus, Ohio, died unexpectedly on Nov. 8, while cheering on his favorite football team, Notre Dame. He was 68. The Cleveland native and U.S. Navy veteran got his start in the foodservice supply industry in 1971 with E.A. Hinrichs & Co., as a dealer sales…

Jan and I went to Paris in mid-November for Equip’Hotel, a big foodservice show we’ve been involved with since the early 1990s. Folks sometimes ask why we spend so much time and energy covering the global market for foodservice equipment and supplies. In simplest terms, it’s because it’s where the growth is and where the…

Franke Foodservice Systems has named Terry Hoelle, CFSP, as its new v.p-sales and marketing. Hoelle, a 20-year industry veteran, will focus on extending the Smyrna, Tenn.-based firm’s portfolio of specialized foodservice and beverage equipment, energy management systems, frozen product dispensers, beverage kegs and washroom fixtures, all currently marketed through MAFSI reps and dealers. “We are…

Five exhibitors received Editors’ Choice Awards during opening ceremonies of the 99th annual International Hotel, Motel + Restaurant Show, Nov. 9-11 at New York’s Jacob K. Javits Convention Center. Editors from leading hospitality trade publications reviewed more than 120 submissions and selected five winners based on innovative product design, application to a particular industry need,…

Champion Industries has appointed Chris Richelieu as the western regional manager for Champion and Bi-Line Conveyor Systems. Richelieu, based in Boise, Idaho, brings more than a quarter century of warewashing experience to the post. Tom Gatschet has been hired as product specialist for these same lines.

Acosta Sales & Marketing, the Jacksonville, Fla.-based outsourcer of sales, marketing and retail merchandising services, has acquired Howard and Associates. Acosta will integrate the Carrollton, Texas, manufacturer’s rep firm with its foodservice division, expanding Acosta Cornerstone’s non-foods coverage in the Texas and Oklahoma sales region. Acosta Foodservice provides integrated sales and marketing solutions for major…

SEFA, the South Barrington, Ill., buying group, has announced five more members have achieved top status in the SEFAPro program. They join four of their SEFA colleagues in attaining Level 7 status in the program aimed at developing industry leaders and top-level sales professionals in product knowledge, selling/business knowledge and safety and operations. The five…

Like many in the foodservice equipment business, I probably owe my job to Vinnie Guarriello. When I became chief editor at Foodservice Equipment Specialist in 1982, Vinnie was a towering figure in the industry. Head of sales for Blodgett and Pitco (Blodgett had recently purchased Pitco), key member of the so-called foodservice rat pack, and…

David Herring has been named president of Unified Brands. The appointment, effective Nov. 17, was made by Bill Johnson, president/CEO of UB’s parent company, Dover Corp., to whom Herring will directly report. Herring joins the company from Avery Dennison Corp., where he spent 14 years, most recently as v.p./g.m. for the general retail and industrial…