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…

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…

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…