Steve Spittle, CFSP, president of North American Association of Food Equipment Manufacturers (NAFEM), and chief commercial officer for Middleby, discusses a wide range of topics, including the current industry operating environment, the state of the supply chain and The NAFEM Show 2025.

Steve SpittleIt’s been a busy fall. You’ve been busy attending annual meetings held by allied associations like CFESA and FEDA, buying group events and visiting with customers. What’s the mood like in the industry? 

There’s still a lot of underlying positivity in the industry. We are all aware of all the external factors out there, including higher interest rates and world conflicts. We as an industry continue to learn how to navigate these situations. Economies ebb and flow. Markets ebb and flow. People, though, still have to eat. For that reason, despite these headwinds, there’s still plenty of good things happening. Most people are still positive about 2025.

Operators are in a pretty dynamic operating period, given many of the factors you described previously. Has what they ask of your company changed or evolved?

As goofy as this may sound, what they are asking for has not changed that much. They all face similar challenges. For example, whether you are a local pizza shop or a national coffee chain, most operators still have issues with labor. They either can’t find enough labor, or it costs too much or both. There’s also lots of discussions happening around energy consumption. Some are trying to understand what the electrification of the commercial kitchen means for their operations and are looking for ways to shrink their carbon footprints. Despite those challenges, it still comes down to throughput. How can you get more through the kitchen? How can you get more through the drive-thru? How can you get more through carryout? Those issues were there before COVID, and those are the ones we are helping our operators address now.

What types of solutions do operators ask about? Is automation high on their list?

Automation takes a lot of forms. It can be an Internet of Things application. It can be self-filtering your fryer or auto cleaning your combi oven. We overlook those aspects of automation because they may not be as sexy as, say, robotics. But robotics is not right for everyone, at least right now. For some operators, accelerating throughput may be their priority. Turning back to labor for a second, operators are asking for anything that can help them train employees. There’s an art and science to working a griddle, but it’s hot and greasy. They want us to innovate and find ways to make that better too. Those are some of the big topics among operators lately.

How has the way you work with the supply chain evolved over the past couple of years?

I moved into my role of chief commercial officer at Middleby in 2021, right at the height of the supply chain crisis. Although my title was chief commercial officer, I moved quickly into having to explain to our customers daily what was going on with our supply chain. We are now on the back side of that crisis, which taught us as an industry to manage our supply chains differently. But there will always be supply chain issues as the recent port strikes reminded us. We also learned some valuable lessons about how many suppliers you have and where those suppliers are located. That shapes whether you are a strategic partner or a transactional supplier. And that cuts both ways, shaping what kind of supplier we are to our partners. We’ve gone through some exercises to shore up our supply chain. 

I would guess some of the lessons include learning how to communicate better and anticipate challenges better. 

I never, ever remember talking about supply chain challenges back in 2019. And after the past several years, I’d be fine not having to talk about them again. Things have gotten better, but there are still some challenges.

In reality, for a lot of us, life feels like it’s back to normal. But under the surface there are still some currents left from the pandemic.

Absolutely. Things still come up that can disrupt the manufacturing process. It doesn’t happen as often as it once did, but these incidents are out there.

What was your first introduction to NAFEM?

My first The NAFEM Show on the manufacturer side was 2011. At the time I was working with Paul Angrick, who was president of Middleby’s Pitco, MagiKitch’n, Anets and Perfect Fry lines. Paul also had served as NAFEM president from 2008 to 2009. Thanks to Paul, I met the NAFEM team, including Deirdre Flynn, Charlie Souhrada and Buffy Levy. Shortly after that I started working on NAFEM committees and making connections. That’s when my career in manufacturing really started to take off.

Everyone has their own special recollection of the show. What sticks out to you about The NAFEM Show?

When I first walk onto the show floor on the first day of the event, the size of what we do always hits me. We are not that big an industry, but the floor is huge and it’s full of lots of solutions. Even though I work for a big company, the vast majority of NAFEM member companies are smaller businesses. Most of them have less than $10 million in annual revenue. That always hits me when I walk the floor. 

There’s lots of places to see foodservice equipment and supplies these days. Many reps and dealers have showrooms. Manufacturers, like your company, have innovation centers. And there’s no shortage of industry events. In your opinion, what makes The NAFEM Show stand head and shoulders above these other options?

For the manufacturers, this is our show, and that’s one thing that makes it different. And the fact that there’s only equipment, smallwares and tabletop items on display, makes it special too. Going back to what operators may be concerned about, there’s no other show with the depth and breadth of solutions available like there is at The NAFEM Show. And this is a very social industry. People like to be together, which helps make it special too.

It seems at The NAFEM Show there’s as much action in the aisles as there is in the booths. Conversations happen everywhere.

We inherently like being around one another. It’s still a relationship-driven industry. Some shows ebb and flow, but this is one reason The NAFEM Show withstands the tests of time. It goes back to the fact that it is our show as manufacturers and we take great pride in this event. 

This is the first time The NAFEM Show will be in Atlanta since 2007. Are you excited about that?

I like that Atlanta is different. Atlanta has done a really good job of improving its trade show infrastructure. There’s plenty of great restaurants there too. The overall vibe should great. And to be able to have The NAFEM Party in a place like Mercedes-Benz Stadium will be very cool.

It’s been two years since the last The NAFEM Show. What’s new for 2025?

As an association, NAFEM spends a lot of time making sure the show stays relevant. We don’t ever want it to get stale. It’s always about the experience. “A bad show is worse than no show,” is what Rob Connelly of Henny Penny said when he was NAFEM president and the association was trying to determine whether to move forward with the event during the pandemic. And he’s right. That’s why we are always mindful of the importance of putting on a good show. For 2025, one thing that’s new is we will host the U.S. Culinary Open. Chef Nick Barrington of East Lake Golf Club in Atlanta came to us with an idea for a culinary Olympics on the show floor. We told him if he put the right content together, we would get this in front of the right people. And he took it from there. He has recruited a lineup of world class chefs who will compete. At least 70 chefs applied, and he narrowed it down to 12 participating finalists. It’s all about driving that operator to be there and for them to be able to see top-notch chefs using equipment and smallwares made by NAFEM member companies. That will be impactful. I give Chef Nick credit for not only having this idea but for being so relentless and pushing us to get better. 

“What’s Hot! What’s Cool!” will be back at The NAFEM Show too. How will it be different this time?

There’s been different iterations of it in the past, and we’ve found a way to add even more teeth to it. There will be up to 75 products featured. And each product has to be either new since the last show or the manufacturer has to have made a significant enhancement to an existing product, or a prototype. This approach keeps it fresh and it answers the operators’ request to see innovation. This creates great content for the operator, which is part of creating a great experience for them. 

The old way of thinking about trade shows focused solely on the number of people in the hall. We now know that’s a shortsighted outlook. So, what’s going to make it a good show for your company and for NAFEM?

It comes back to the age-old question: Would you rather have 100 people in your booth or five really impactful customers? It’s always about quality over quantity. It’s about having the right members of the supply chain and end users present. A couple of shows ago NAFEM started the Hosted Operator program. Any NAFEM member can nominate an operator to come to the show, and the association will help cover some of the costs associated with getting there. This is not about NAFEM paying to get people to the show. It’s about getting the right people to attend the show.

What excites you about 2025 in general?

I think, as we turn the calendar, hopefully we will be past some of the uncertainty that clouds the industry and those headwinds turn into tailwinds. Think of the past four or five years, there’s always been some form of disruption — COVID, supply chain, inflation. Those were all pretty big challenges. I think 2025 is the year to turn that around. n