The 2010 North American Foodservice Equipment Manufacturers Show wrapped up Saturday with the announcement of the 2011 NAFEM President's Award, given to The Edlund Company's president Peter Nordell.
The award was handed out Feb. 11 at the Orange County Convention Center in Orlando, Fla., and recognizes a non-elected NAFEM volunteer who has donated their time and expertise for the betterment of the association.
Nordell's contributions to NAFEM include several committee and ad hoc assignments. He also served on the board of directors from 1997-2004.
The show was held Feb. 10-12 and featured products from more than 500 exhibitors.
"I think this was the best show in 12 years," said Integrated Control Corp. president Roberta Salerno.
Other exhibitors seemed equally as optimistic about the number and quality of attendees.
Jason Moles, a spokesman from Henny Penny, said he believed attendance was up because of the slight economic rebound. Henny Penny was showcasing its line of Evolution Elite fryers, which won the National Restaurant Association's Kitchen Innovations Award in 2010.
In addition to exhibitors such as Henny Penny and Integrated Control Corp., companies such as Melitta showcased new and existing lines of foodservice equipment. Melitta's C5 espresso machine is currently used in half of the McDonald's McCafe locations. The company used the NAFEM Show to preview its bar-cube espresso machine and its C35.
The C35 is the company's first touchscreen espresso machine. It can store up to three pages of drink orders and has the ability to produce 150 cups of espresso-based beverages in an hour. It also has the ability to produce iced beverages and is 13.8-inches wide.
"The counter space in restaurants is just overhwhelmed," said Mitch Eastman, director of dealer development at Melitta SystemService USA. "A lot of coffee stores have iced tea, blenders, soda dispensers ... it just gets nuts."
Other products on the floor included Middleby's infrared conveyor oven. The conveyor heating element is is self cleaning and cooks products in six to eight minutes, depending on the type of protein used and its weight.
Click here to view videos from the NAFEM show floor. Products highlighted include Kitchen Brains software, Wood Stone's energy-saving initiative and Henny Penny's Evolution Elite.
