THE BEST IN CLASS 2015 AWARDS

2015 Best in Class Awards Overall

Published on Thursday, 01 October 2015

Written by The Editors Food Service Equipment and Supply Magazine

Our subscribing operators, dealers and consultants cast their votes for the best of the best among foodservice equipment and supplies manufacturers.

 The business environment for foodservice operators across all industry segments remains as complex as it ever has been.

Consumers continue to heed the value-conscious spending habits that took shape during the recession, labor pressures in the form of municipally mandated wage increases, competition from an improving job market, and the need to come to terms with the Affordable Care Act — these are just some of the pressures operators continue to face.

As a result, operators, consultants and dealers need to pick manufacturer partners that will meet a variety of performance targets, including product quality, product value, product design and aesthetics, service and support, sales representation, product inventory and availability, and product specs as they search for solutions to complex business requirements. In FE&S' annual Best in Class study, our subscribing foodservice operators, consultants and dealers evaluate the manufacturer community on these very attributes.

Individual results were combined with those from other participants from the category to create a composite score and identify those manufacturers that the readers of FE&S feel are the Best in Class for each product category.

While every foodservice equipment and supplies manufacturer contributes to the industry's success in their own way, these comprehensive results highlight those factories that establish the benchmark for understanding and meeting the needs of the entire distribution channel.

Here we proudly present the winners from our 2015 study.

• Best in Class Overall (below)
• Dealers
• Operators
• Consultants

 

Heavy Equipment	Category Winner
Blast Chillers	Traulsen
Braising Pans/Tilting Skillets	Cleveland
Charbroilers	Vulcan
Chef Counters - Prefabricated	Randell
Combi Ovens	Alto-Shaam
Convection Ovens	Blodgett
Conveyor Ovens	Lincoln
Cook and Hold Ovens	Alto-Shaam
Custom Stainless Steel Fabrication	Advance Tabco
Deck Ovens	Blodgett
Dishwashers/Warewashers	Hobart
Floor Mixers	Hobart
Free Standing Floor Fryers	Frymaster
Ice Makers	Manitowoc Ice
Mobile Hot Food Holding Equipment	Hatco
Ranges, Gas and Electric	Vulcan
Refrigerated Prep Tables	True Manufacturing
Steam-Jacketed Kettles	Cleveland
Steamers	Cleveland
Upright Reach-In Refrigeration	True Manufacturing
Ventilation Systems	CaptiveAire
Walk-In Refrigeration	Thermo-Kool
Light Equipment	Category Winner
Beverage Blenders	Vitamix
Coffee Brewers	Bunn-O-Matic
Conveyor Toasters	Hatco
Countertop Griddles	Vulcan
Disposers	Salvajor
Electric Food Processors	Robot Coupe
Electric Slicers	Hobart
Heat Lamps	Hatco
High-Speed Ovens	TurboChef
Induction Cooktops	Vollrath
Manual Food Choppers	Vollrath
Microwave Ovens	Amana
Parts and Accessories	Franklin Machine Products (FMP)
Scales	Edlund Company
Shelving	Metro
Sinks, Prefabricated	Advance Tabco
Underbar Fabrication	Perlick
Underbar Refrigeration	True Manufacturing
Worktables, Prefabricated	Advance Tabco
Smallwares	Category Winner
Cookware	Vollrath
Cutlery	Dexter-Russell
Food Storage Containers	Cambro
Tabletop and Buffet Serving Accessories	Vollrath
Thermometers/Sensors	Taylor