Restaurant Equipment Distributors of Canada, the second largest commercial foodservice equipment and smallwares buying group in that country, and the U.S.-based PRIDE Marketing and Procurement have entered into a strategic alliance that will see them exploring synergies and providing procurement programs and resources that benefit shareholders of both groups.R.E.D., headquartered in Newmarket, Ontario, has 32…

Restaurant operators can’t seem to figure whether they are happy or sad these days. After a strong full-point gain in the National Restaurant Association’s Restaurant Performance Index in August, the index fell back 0.9 point in September as seven of the index’s eight components moved lower. Both capital-spending indicators fell sharply. The reading is surprising,…

Scotsman Ice Systems has added Vince Dattolo as its new southeastern regional sales manager. Dattolo, based in Charlotte, N.C., will be responsible for managing sales through distribution, key chain and direct accounts in Alabama, Florida, Georgia and the Carolinas. He joins the Vernon Hills, Ill., firm from Middleby Corp. after a 30-year career working in…

Come Jan. 1, Preferred Marketing Group will acquire the foodservice equipment and supplies division from Marketsmart Inc. and add Manitowoc Foodservice to the lines it represents. “We have been working on this acquisition for a long time. PMG is ideally positioned to unify its marketing and sales package by adding the Manitowoc lines to our…

The clocks have been turned forward and it’s time to look ahead at where the E&S industry is heading in 2015. Coming up next week: The Manufacturers’ Agents Association for the Foodservice Industry will release its 2015 Market Forecast Report on Friday, Nov. 14. The 2015 report, featuring input from more than 58% of all…

Browne Foodservice has appointed Jim Girolamo as its new director of sales foodservice-U.S. Girolamo has been with the smallwares supplier for the past three years with responsibilities in chain account sales and most recently as the company’s eastern regional manager. Company President Michael Browne noted, “Jim Girolamo has effectively worked with many of the key…

The Channel Partners Group has created a new buying group aimed at the purchase and distribution of smallwares and other accessories. CPG made the announcement at its annual Dealer Exchange Conference. The new entity was explained by CPG Pres. David Stafford Sr. "CPG was established to support and drive heavy equipment sales working closely with…

Edward Don & Co. has deepened its coverage of the West Coast with the expansion of its Mira Loma, Calif., distribution facility. The addition, completed in August, doubles Don’s warehouse capacity there. The project increases Don’s California warehouse space to 210,000 sq. ft.; the dealer now has total warehouse space of more than 1.15 million…

Tom Ziolkowski has been promoted by Kalamazoo, Mich.-based Stafford-Smith Inc. to v.p.-national accounts. He had been regional manager of the firm’s Lansing, Mich., office; Ziolkowski will continue to work out of that office. Stafford-Smith is the country’s tenth largest E&S dealer, with 2013 volume of $110 million. Pres. David Stafford told FER, “As of late,…

Sam Tell Companies has added Brian Doyle to its team as director-contract sales. Doyle will focus on further developing the Farmingdale, N.Y., dealer’s growing portfolio of regional and national accounts. He joins Sam Tell after 18 years at Baring Industries and BRC Commercial Kitchens Corp., where he was instrumental in acquiring numerous large corporate accounts.…