July 26, 2016 Cleaning Up the Competition

Volume 5 | Issue 6

The foodservice equipment industry is predicting rising sales in 2002 with commercial and non-commercial operators planning new units.

The foodservice equipment industry should see increased sales in 2002 According to a recent Foodservice Equipment & Supplies Magazine survey. While commercial and non-commercial operators expect a rise in expenditures associated with foodservice equipment and supplies, many of the biggest commercial and noncommercial operators plan to open dozens of new domestic units. Few, if any, expect to close domestic outlets.

Jackson MSC of Barbourville, Ken., one of the leaders in the warewashing industry, continues to play an important role in supplying high-performance warewashing machines to commercial and noncommercial operators alike. Since the early 1920s, Jackson has built its reputation by taking performance and innovation to a whole new level and delivering the next generation in warewashing equipment.

“Today we supply our products to restaurants, restaurant chains, and quick-service restaurants,“ says Chris Karssiens, president of Jackson. End-users also include hotels and other establishments such as jails, convention centers, schools and hospitals.

In the United States Jackson distributes its products through hundreds of independent food-service equipment dealers. The company also counts on 22 representative manufacturing groups that provide selling and marketing services on behalf of the company. Overseas Jackson distributes its products primarily through Enodis, the company’s parent. Enodis happens to be the largest food service equipment manufacturer in the world. This status enables Jackson to tap into a number of Enodis-owned distribution centers around the globe.

The product line
The Jackson warewasher product line includes door-type dishwashers, the Vision series conveyors, the Gas Pack series with patented gas modulation technology, Glass-washers and the Undercounter series. The company’s machines are recognized in the industry as the most energy-efficient warewashers and the most cost-effective equipment available. Jackson warewashers also come with more standard features and benefits than the competition.

The company’s Flight Type model has the highest capacity of all the warewashers it manufactures. With the three-tank option, the machine can process approximately 22,000 dishes per hour. “The Flight Type model is different from most warewashers on the market in that is doesn’t use a system of tray and racks to pull dishes through the machine; instead, the Flight Type warewasher uses a belt system that pulls dishes individually through the machine, which saves on space,” explains Karssiens.

New initiatives
With its product line, Jackson also has been at the forefront of technological developments in the warewasher controls area. Jackson has begun incorporating electronic controls into many of its warewashers, which simplifies the wiring within the control box of the dishwasher and allows for faster and more accurate diagnostic capabilities. Customers benefit from these new advances because they make it easier to adjust and service their Jackson warewashers. “Our efforts on the electronic controls front is part of a company-wide push to improve the reliability and ruggedness of our warewashers,” notes Karssiens. “Our R&D and engineering time has also been focused on making our dishwashers a lot more customer-friendly.”

Traditionally, Jackson’s pool of potential customers considers trade shows and exhibitions as the primary source of information on foodservice equipment. As such the company has been exceedingly active on the trade show circuit. In May 2002 the company exhibited at the National Restaurant Association’s trade show in Chicago.

From a manufacturing perspective, Jackson is trying to “seek out and destroy” as Karssiens put it, the causes of its warranty costs. The company is reviewing every single one of its warewasher designs on an ongoing basis to find where it can make improvements. Jackson also is striving for more commonality of parts and designs in order to both simplify its manufacturing process and provide more service-friendly equipment. For Jackson, commonality between machine designs means the service company can repair equipment more easily, while also allowing savings on warranty costs.

The company’s long-term aim is to have its sales representatives provide total warewashing solutions to its customers. “At the moment the company doesn’t provide conveyor system dryers; however, we want to partner up with other manufacturers of these particular items in order to offer them to our customers,” says Karssiens.

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