Some folks can spend entire lifetimes trying to find a career that suits them. Others are influenced by a random experience. Such is the case with Bill Risener, field technical service manager for ATECH, a Nashville-based service agent. 

After a brief respite for the holidays, acquisition activity has kicked back into gear among service agents and parts distributors in the form of two new deals. Smart Care Equipment Solutions has acquired Superior Service of Anaheim, Calif., and Parts Town’s parent company, PT Holdings, has acquired European parts distributor REPA Group.

Tech24 has acquired RMS Mechanical Services. This represents Tech24’s seventh acquisition.

Parts Town’s parent company, PT Holdings, has made another acquisition, this time purchasing Duffy’s AIS.

Electric Motor Repair Company, promoted Rick Rush to operations manager of the service agent’s DCMV branch based in Beltsville, Md.

Consolidation among service agents continued at a brisk pace with Tech24’s acquisition of Commercial Kitchens. 

Most people in the foodservice industry think of equipment repairs as “service calls.” While that’s not wrong, it is limiting. The companies that maintain and repair equipment are not just businesses to call, but firms to build relationships with.

Service agent Tech-24 acquired Yukon Refrigeration. Financial terms were not disclosed.

In a move that portends growth on a national scale, commercial kitchen ventilation manufacturer Halton has acquired Nelbud Service Group, a company that specializes in fire protection, kitchen exhaust cleaning, grease trap services, and hood system repair.

Electric Motor Repair Company (EMR) promoted Jamison Johnson to operations manager of the Maryland-based service agent’s Baltimore headquarters.

PT Holdings, the parent company of foodservice equipment parts distributor Parts Town, has acquired General Parts, a Bloomington, Minn.-based service agent, from Encore One. Financial aspects of the deal were not disclosed.

Following through on its efforts to build a national network of service technicians, Smart Care Equipment Solutions acquired three companies: TBS Southeast, Jaguar Coffee Company and Facility Maintenance Specialist.

Kent Estep, Field Supervisor, CES, Mesquite, Texas

Smart Care promoted Gyner Ozgul to chief operating officer and Christopher Buschmann to chief information officer for the Minnesota-based commercial kitchen equipment service agency.

Neven Stanisic, a technician with KD Service, a Colorado-based service agent, passed away on March 22. He was one of 10 victims in the mass shooting at King Soopers in Boulder, Colo.

By taking care of equipment and working closely with service agencies, operators can reduce their repair costs and help keep staffers safe.

Foodservice Equipment & Supplies named the recipients of its 2021 Top Achiever Awards. These individual awards recognize professionals from five industry segments for their abilities to not only run market-leading companies but also raise the level of professionalism for the industry overall.

The COVID-19 pandemic has put plenty of restaurant operators in a financial bind. Even if they’re open with limited dine-in capacity, the economic impact of COVID-19 has cut the dining dollar for many consumers.

Open air merchandisers provide operators with an easy way to encourage add-on sales at the register and take a small bit of workload off their employees. Here are a few ways restaurants can keep these units working well and looking good.

Field Service Technician, Commercial Parts and Service

From installation problems to warranty equipment misuse and abuse, here's what service agents want you to know about the issues that make work tougher for everyone.

Diversified Foodservice Supply LLC reorganized its portfolio of businesses to form two primary operating units. TundraFMP will serve restaurant operators, and AllPoints will support service agents, dealers and parts resellers.

Essentially every professional kitchen has a hood. They’re necessary for fire prevention and to keep workspaces safe and comfortable for employees. Operators can’t operate without a hood, so they should take some steps to keep theirs in working order.

Even with some states tightening restrictions in the face of a second pandemic peak, lockdowns across the country are largely lighter compared to earlier in the year.

Even COVID-19 can’t slow forever the foodservice industry’s insatiable appetite to grow and evolve. Take, for example, Texas-based Refrigerated Specialist Inc.

While some restaurants and foodservice operators shifted to an exclusively off-premises model due to state and local closures to stop the spread of COVID-19, others chose to temporarily shutter their businesses entirely.

Bojangles’ hired chef Marshall Scarborough to serve as the chain’s vice president of menu and culinary innovation. Scarborough comes to Bojangles' from Wendy’s, where he led a team of chefs and food scientists in designing new menu items.

As part of its effort to build a national network of service technicians, Smart Care Equipment Solutions has acquired Mid-South Maintenance, a provider of commercial kitchen equipment repair and maintenance services to the commercial foodservice industry. Terms of the transaction were not disclosed.