Middleby Taps Dorothy Cudia To Oversee Automation Solutions

Dorothy Cudia has been named Vice President-Middleby Automated Solutions, leading the Middleby’s Corp.’s automation and robotics solutions teams.

“The deep technical and engineering background in foodservice Dorothy brings to Middleby is a tremendous asset,” says David Brewer, COO-Middleby Commercial Foodservice. “Dorothy’s position defines a new role in our industry, and she is an integral part of differentiating Middleby and taking our customers to the next level of innovation and automated kitchens.”

 “Much of my job will be bringing solutions that exist in other industries and making it commercially viable in foodservice,” says Cudia. “A great example is the robot that we debuted in our booth at the National Restaurant Show.  The lines were five deep to see a robot simulating making French fries.  We all know robots can do a lot more but in our industry the headwinds around cost, service, limited footprint and variety of tasks have made it difficult to deliver commercially viable solutions.  The interest and desire from our customers is fantastic and Middleby will provide a variety of options to automate their kitchens.”

Cudia, who has held senior-level positions with Nabisco Brands in automation and process control and McDonald’s Corp. in engineering and capital equipment, joins Elgin, Ill,-based Middleby from Darden Restaurants, where she led innovation efforts in food, energy and capital equipment across the company’s supply chain.