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…

The groundhog might be promising six more weeks of winter, but dealers planning to attend next month’s FEDA Annual Convention know they’ll enjoy a respite in the sun from this endless winter. But time is running out to register and reserve a room. The convention is slated for March 26-30 at the Renaissance Esmeralda Resort…

There are changes afoot at Manufacturers’ Agents Association for the Foodservice Industry. Last month, MAFSI elected Joe Ferri, CPMR, CFSP, as its 58th president. Ferri, a 32-year industry veteran, is COO of Pecinka Ferri Associates, Little Falls, N.J. Ferri’s new post was announced during the association’s 47th Business Development Conference and Sales Management Forum. Also…

Johannes (Jan) Vergouwen has joined Premium Supply Co., Deer Park, N.Y., as COO. Vergouwen brings more than 25 years of executive, management, operational and corporate finance experience to the company. He joins Premium from N. Wasserstrom & Sons, where he handled facility expansion and infrastructure and staffing improvements while considerably growing revenue. Paramount Restaurant Supply,…

Quite a bit of news coming out of the first-ever shareholders meeting held by Supply & Equipment Foodservice Alliance. The network of E&S dealers and vendor partners met Jan. 22 in San Antonio, marking the first major milestone for SEFA since it announced its long-term ownership transition strategy last April. “We are delighted to have…

We just finished our seventh biennial Multiunit Foodservice Equipment Symposium, held in Austin, Texas, over the weekend. More than 150 attendees, including 68 chain and multiunit operators, leading manufacturer and dealer suppliers, spent three days together discussing the changing operator environment, technical and process topics. It was the largest MUFES we’ve staged since 2008—a sign…

Excell Marketing & Procurement Group’s foodservice equipment dealer network has added Matthew Arthur to its team as director of vendor relations. Arthur comes to Excell with more than 22 years of experience in the E&S industry; his career encompasses both wholesale and retail procurement and distribution. At Denver-based Excell, he’ll serve as the primary relationship…

Beverage-Air, founded in 1944 by John Buffington in Punxsutawney, Pa., is celebrating its 70th anniversary this year. The refrigeration maker then was known as The Punxsutawney Co. It carried the trade name “Beverage-Air” and introduced the industry’s first horizontal, forced-air cooler. In 1950, the firm expanded its product line beyond deep-well models to include shallow…

Longtime manufacturer’s rep John Bridgins died suddenly on Jan. 19. He was 62. Bridgins was president and CEO of J.H. Bridgins & Associates, the firm founded by his father, Jim. He spent his entire career there, first in the company’s original Philadelphia office, before establishing their Alexandria, Va., branch. An active and longtime member of…

We’re nearing the end of January, and it’s cold and snowy across three-quarters of the U.S. But there are a few warm places in the lower 48, and one of them is hosting an event just for dealers. The Foodservice Equipment Distributors Association’s Annual Convention is set for March 26-30 at the Renaissance Esmeralda Resort…