Article
Five cool things at the NAFEM, FS/TEC shows
Equipment, technology manufacturers' new products pique attendees' interest.
February 5, 2009
The co-located NAFEM Show and FS/TEC Expo opened yesterday to smaller crowds than in previous years, several exhibitors said. Still, a number of booths were seeing plenty of foot traffic thanks to new, innovative product debuts.
XPIENT Solutions was drawing plenty of FS/TEC attendees interested in checking out the debut of its kiosk management point-of-sale system.
XPIENT's kiosk is designed to not only provide the benefits of self-service to restaurant operators but also offer a customer service element, said Tracy Gallimore, vice president of account management for XPIENT.
Gallimore said XPIENT wanted to offer a solution to operators who were concerned about the cash management aspect of self-service kiosks so it modeled the solution after supermarket self-service checkout lanes that are managed by a cashier attendant.
"It solves the expense of doing cash handling," he said.
A cashier mans the XPIENT kiosk manager POS terminal to oversee the self-service terminals and provide help as needed. Customers paying by credit card pay at the self-service terminal, but only those paying with cash print out a receipt and take it and their payment to the cashier.
Drive-thru timing free from loops
Also at the FS/TEC Expo, HyperActive Technologies was touting the benefits of its drive-thru lane timing solution, HyperTrack. Unlike conventional drive-thru timing systems that use underground loop detectors, HyperTrack employs a number of strategically placed cameras.
One benefit of the HyperTrack solution is its broader view of the drive-thru, said Jack Aspenson, vice president of sales for HyperActive Technologies. Lane timing starts just before the vehicles stops at the menu board and can even time cars that pullover to wait.
"It's the only solution that tracks customers before the menu board," Aspenson said.
HyperTrack also interacts with the store's POS system to provide a number of fraud-prevention and above-store reporting solutions. For example, any pass through the drive-thru window not connected to a POS transaction creates a suspicious activity alert.
More importantly, because of the POS interface, the HyperTrack provides operators with information on which menu or promotional items reduce throughput in the drive-thru.
"That's data nobody's had access to (before)," he said.
Wood Stone ovens tout flexibility
Wood Stone Corp.'s booth may be located in the far corner of The NAFEM Show floor, but the crowd around its display of ovens created plenty of buzz.
Many attendees were checking out the company's new enclosed Charcoal Broiler Oven, a new grill inspired by a popular oven used inSpain
"Because it's closed, operators don't have the challenge of capturing grease and smoke vapors off of it," said Kurt Eickmeyer, vice president of sales and marketing for Wood Stone.
A Drum Roll for consistent breading, please
The NAFEM Show this year debuted the new product gallery What's Hot! What's Cool!, featuring the latest in manufacturing technology. One of the new products featured is Ayr King Corp.'s Drum Roll, which is undergoing field tests now in several chicken quick-service restaurants, said Donald King, president of Ayr King.
The barrel-like device uses tumbling action to consistently coat chicken with breading in a matter of a few minutes, replacing hand breading. Hand-breading is not only more labor intensive but leads to inconsistent product across a large chain, King said. The Drum Roll's tumbling unit picks up the chicken, and as the pieces fall back into the breading, it mimics the slight pounding method of effective hand breading.Innovation a sign of success
Attendee Joe Strathman, a manufacturer's representative with E. Ruff & Associates Inc., was impressed with the innovative products pavilion and Maximicer's Maximicer for ice machines. The Maximicer cools water before it reaches the ice machine, reducing energy by 15 percent to 20 percent, according to the product display.
Strathman said he asked show organizers last year to offer a gallery for new products to showcase the latest offerings and was pleased they followed on the suggestion.
"All the new products and new concepts are in one place, and they have a nice story about each one so you can understand what they do," he said. "Then you can see the booth number and go see the manufacturer."
Strathman said the proliferation of new products and technology was also proof that the industry is thriving despite the economic recession.
"They wouldn't have all this innovation if something good wasn't going on," he said.
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