Thank You to Our Direct Connection Sponsors! |
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Hobart AM16 Family of Dishmachines |
The Hobart AM16 family of door type dishmachine is packed with new exclusive features that will save the operator time, utilities and help to optimize their dishroom.
Automatic soil removal systematically redirects food soil from the wash tank into an external scrap basket. The ASR actively monitors the soil load and will adjust power accordingly. Compared to competitive alternatives, ASR technology reduces pre-scrapping time by 20% and wash tank refreshes by 50%, by keeping the wash tank water cleaner and for longer periods of time. Drain water energy recovery uses heat exchanger technology, a uniquely developed resource savings solution, that provides 20% energy savings and up to 90% water savings versus competitive machines.
Hobart is the first to develop an app specifically designed for a dish machine. The SmartConnect app enables diagnostic engagement and tracking including temperature logging; resource usage and costs; email alerts about errors and troubleshooting tools.
Please contact your local Hobart representative for more details.
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IN THIS ISSUE
FCSI On Tap
BizEssentials Webinars
Conference 2022
Chapter News
Membership News
Industry News
Quick Links
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In my last DirectConnection introduction, I wrote about how excited I was that we were all going to finally gather together to attend the FCSI Symposium and NAFEM show in Orlando in August. As luck would have it, the universe had other plans in mind. This roller coaster of excitement and then let down has been an ongoing theme over the past almost two years now. However, I remain very optimistic that very soon we will have this opportunity to reconnect. Keeping that in mind, we now look towards the spring and the FCSI Conference in Montreal. I have had the opportunity to visit Montreal a few times in the past and I can truthfully say that it is one of my favorite destinations. The city is rich in culture and history and I am confident that the FCSI Conference will be a huge hit. I encourage all members to start making plans to attend this event in the spring. Make sure your passports are up to date!
Over the last couple of weeks, an email has been going out to members regarding an extension of the current board terms by one year. This idea was brought to FCSI Staff and the board by a few different members. All board members agreed to serve an additional year on their term if the general membership found this acceptable. As mentioned in that e-mail, this is not a permanent bylaw change -- it's simply a one-time exception. Many of you have served on various boards and committees and realize that there is an entire experience that goes along with volunteering. Unfortunately, the current board has been unable to experience many of the aspects of that service. The last face-to-face board meeting for the TAD board took place in November of 2019. I am humbled and grateful that the general membership has voted and an overwhelming majority has agreed to the extension. The board will be meeting for the first time in-person on November 1 to 3. All TAD business since late 2019 has been conducted via Zoom. We are all very excited to be meeting for the first time and look forward to continuing our work for the rest of this year and throughout 2022.
Lastly, I wanted to offer a public service announcement about our Education Provider Program. Our Allied members have created some great new pieces of equipment over the past two years during this COVID shutdowns. While we have had a chance to do virtual meetings with them, I strongly encourage you to get out again and do the factory education opportunities to learn about all of the new offerings. I recently attended an event where the organizers invited 80 consultants and over half of them didn’t respond and they struggled to get five consultants to attend. The networking was fantastic and the new equipment they showed us was amazing. We won’t have an opportunity to see most of this equipment until February 2023 at the next NAFEM Show so take advantage of these free programs. It’s also a great way to get those CEU’s finished before the end of 2021.
--Eric Norman, FCSI
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Help Wanted? I'm Available! |
Let us help you get connected!
Here at FCSI The Americas headquarters we have recently had a few firms reach out asking if we know of any members who are looking for some project work. Project work -- writing reports, simple/complex design, and REVIT design seem to be the most common inquiries.
I realize that consultants may be hesitant to admit when things are slow, but your association is here to help! If you have some extra time and are open to doing project work for other firms, please reach out to me and let me know what kind of project work you are interested in. I promise to keep everything confidential and welcome the opportunity to do a little matchmaking between firms when wants/needs match up with experience and time available. Associations are built for times like these so email me at wade@fcsi.org. Together we are stronger.
--Wade Koehler, CAE
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Season Two of On Tap
presented by FCSI The Americas
The party continues through the wide world of foodservice consulting! We're meeting more FCSI members and learning what makes them and the industry tick.
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Do you want to join
the On Tap party?
You've seen the show, now it's your turn to join the fun! We learn so much about foodservice consulting and our members from each episode of On Tap. You can become part of the growing number of special guests, and share your insights with fellow FCSI members and potential clients!
Participation is fun and you'll get a professionally produced video (no cost to you) that you can share with potential clients so they can get to know you better, too!
Let Wade know you'd like to participate
by November 12!
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Mergers, Acquisitions, and Succession Planning
THURSDAY, November 11 @ 3pm ET
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This month's BizEssentials webinar will address a topic all small business owners should understand. Our speaker will be Gene Marks, owner of the Marks Group PC consulting firm. The Marks Group provides technology and consulting services to small- and medium-sized businesses.
Gene is a past columnist for both The New York Times and The Washington Post and now writes regularly for The Hill, The Philadelphia Inquirer, Forbes, Inc. Magazine, Entrepreneur Magazine and The Guardian. He regularly appears on Fox Business, MSNBC, as well as SiriusXM's Wharton Business Channel, where he talks about the financial, economic and technology issues that affect business leaders today.
Through his presentations, Gene helps business owners, executives and managers understand the political, economic and technological trends that will affect their companies and—most importantly—the actions they can take to continue to grow and profit.
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FCSI TA Conference Montreal
April 21-23, 2022
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Get Your Passports Ready! |
We're looking forward to the 2022 Conference in Montreal, Quebec!
Make sure you're ready to travel next April so you can join us in Montreal for the FCSI The Americas biennial conference! Check your passports, and apply for or update them now to be ready for April. As of now, Canada is only allowing vaccinated visitors to enter the country.
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ASSOCIATE
Mehboob Bangash, MB Architects
Lisa Paige-Pretorius, Cini-Little International
Patrick Jones, AMD Foodservice Design
Linda Callahan, Next Step Design
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Upgrade to FCSI Professional Membership |
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Track Your 2021 CEUs Now and Avoid the Year-End Scramble! |
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CEU Opportunities Available on the FCSI Calendar |
We're finally getting back to in-person events, but there are still plenty of online opportunities to earn your CEUs. New sessions are updated weekly. Check out the upcoming events!
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NAFEM Study of Supply Chain Pressures |
A coalition of four major manufacturing associations – the Association of Home Appliance Manufacturers (AHAM), the Air-Conditioning, Heating, and Refrigeration Institute (AHRI), the North American Association of Food Equipment Manufacturers (NAFEM) and the National Electrical Manufacturers Association (NEMA) – are urging immediate action by the Biden administration to address supply chain challenges outlined in a newly released white paper.
The paper follows a series of meetings among coalition members and Capitol Hill and administration staff centered around issues important to the coalition’s member companies, such as the Section 301 China tariffs, Section 232 steel and aluminum tariffs, supply chain concerns, labor shortages, increased costs for shipping containers and increased shipping times, and semiconductor shortages. The paper explains how supply chain disruptions, which are compounded by trade distortions and the COVID-19 pandemic, are hurting the competitiveness of U.S. manufacturers and stalling the U.S. economic recovery. Combined with increased demand for appliances and equipment, supply chain bottlenecks have negative consequences, including increased costs, lost sales, delayed deliveries of critical products to consumers in the face of supply chain backlogs, and even shutting down manufacturing plants.
The paper acknowledges that many supply chain issues will require long-term solutions, but the coalition also requested immediate relief from policymakers through tariff removal and fair allocation of semiconductors to all industries. Quick implementation of these and other policy solutions outlined in the paper may help prevent a continued worsening of the availability of manufactured products in the U.S., while increasing productivity and stemming product cost inflation.
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Abastur hosted a successful three-day conference and networking program in September. The event for hospitality industry professionals was co-located with the ABASTUR exhibition floor
FCSI The Americas members Omar Pereney, Alejandra Molinar, Carlos Tello, and Hamid Banna participated as speakers in this year's conference. Xavier Sorondo conducted a keynote session for experts during the Hospitality Summit which ran concurrently with Abastur.
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Compass Consulting Industry Report |
A highlight from this month's report is news that same store sales and traffic softened during August. That trajectory, however, was still over last year. According to Compass, "These indicators, as well as a softening in consumer spending, could be signs of a business slow down." They caution that August is the second slowest month for the restaurant industry, so no conclusions can be drawn just yet. View the entire report.
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Want to share your stories, projects, or insight? |
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Headquarters is always happy to feature articles from Consultant Members in the Direct Connection. We encourage Consultants to take some time and share experiences with the membership. No idea or topic is too silly!
If you would like to have an article featured in the Direct Connection, submit it to Amy by the 23rd of each month.
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