October will see events focusing on combi cooking and boosting profits through energy efficiency, but a food safety seminar is up first on the educational agenda at here.

Mistakes? Have you (or your salespeople) made a few? An upcoming FEDA teleconference will explore the mistakes salespeople make when raising prices with customers. The Sept. 28 teleconference, moderated by sales expert Joe Ellers, focuses on how the inevitability of price increases collides with competition, customer loyalty and sales team reluctance. The teleconference will educate…

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While there is concern the current economic slowdown will undermine the general economy and with it the foodservice equipment and supplies market, there is no question a strong E&S recovery was underway during the first half of 2011. Seven large public equipment and supplies manufacturers saw blended revenues grow 8.5% in the second quarter this…

The spate of negative economic news, combined with political paralysis in the U.S. and Europe, has foodservice operators and suppliers alike wondering about the future. Several measures of operator confidence turned sharply lower in August. The National Restaurant Association’s Restaurant Performance Index fell into contraction territory for only the second month this year. Expectations for…

If there’s any happy effect of the recent economic uncertainty, it’s that prices for most commodities used widely in foodservice equipment and supplies have fallen during the past three months, as buyers and traders try to calculate the effect of falling demand. On the other hand, many E&S manufacturers note that prices for most materials…

When the year began, the 50 major economic forecasting groups polled monthly by Blue Chip Economic Indicators believed real U.S. gross domestic product would grow 3.1% this year and 3.2% in 2012. At the beginning of September, the consensus forecasts had fallen to just 1.6% for ’11 and 2.2% next year. Forecasts for real growth…

The National Restaurant Association’s Restaurant Performance Index fell back sharply in July, dipping to 99.7. This puts the index below the 100 point that signals expansion vs. contraction. The expectations and capital goods indicators took especially hard hits. The overall index fell 0.9 point. All eight components of the index were negative. The Current Situations…

Fall might be upon us, but there is still time this year to secure some important tax perks for purchasing or selling equipment. The

Details, details. California’s food-handler safety law, which was signed last September and mandated that the state’s nearly 1.4 million foodservice workers have food-safety training certification by July 1, hit a bump in the road this summer. The original law, Senate Bill 602, required anyone working with food in a restaurant or foodservice operation to have…