ENODIS INVESTMENT DRIVES GROWTH IN ASIA PACIFIC MARKET

NEW PORT RICHEY, Fla.—Continuing to build regional support for Asia Pacific customers, Enodis will open a new culinary demonstration kitchen, training facility and equipment showroom in Shanghai, China, in January 2007.

Opening of the 10,000 square foot facility is part of continuing infrastructure and customer support growth for Enodis in China and the remainder of the Asia Pacific region, and follows major customer successes and substantial sales increases in the region.

“The Enodis strategy in Asia Pacific and other emerging regions is to support our global customers with equipment, expert service and other support as they grow their presence,” said Dave McCulloch, Enodis CEO.  “Growing global restaurant and lodging chains select Enodis brands based on our strong global presence, our proven track record for regional support, and our ability to tailor our equipment and solutions to fit their local operating requirements.”

Recent successes in the Asia Pacific region demonstrate that the broad Enodis portfolio of high quality, best-in-class restaurant equipment brands and regional support is winning customers, including:

·         Top 20 Global Chains, which continue their unit expansion in China, India and the remainder of Asia Pacific.  Enodis supplies Frymaster fryers, Ice O-Matic and Scotsman ice machines, Garland griddles, Lincoln conveyor ovens and other cooking, warming, holding, and refrigeration equipment to the world’s leading sandwich, chicken and pizza chains throughout the Asia Pacific region.

·         Emerging Regional Chains, such as a Malaysian-based chicken chain with approximately 120-stores, currently expanding in Malaysia and the Middle East.  Enodis is supplying Frymaster fryers and Scotsman ice machines to the concept.

·         Global Hotels and High-End Lodging, including the Sheraton Shanghai, the 5-star Liting Hotel and the 4-Star Marco Polo Hotel in Beijing, and Shangri-la hotels in Beijing and Guangzhou.   The hotel projects include equipment from Convotherm, Cleveland, Frymaster, Garland, Ice O-Matic and Scotsman. According to the China National Tourism Administration, rapid growth continues in this segment which currently includes 281 five-star hotels and 1146 four-star hotels.

·         Meeting, Convention and Special Event complexes, including Beijing’s “Great Hall of the People,” utilized by the Chinese government for state visits.

·         Service and Distribution Network Partners.  Throughout Asia Pacific, Enodis and its brands continue to provide service training and parts support to its service and distribution partners as they open new locations and deploy additional expert personnel in new regions.

Building for the future, Enodis is working aggressively with major chains in their Asia Pacific facilities, their other food labs around the world, and at the Enodis Education and Technology Center to explore new menu items, adapt their menus to local markets, and develop high-performance equipment to meet changing food preparation and cooking processes.

“Enodis is actively supporting the work of the McDonald’s Food Studio, based in Hong Kong.  Here we work collaboratively with the McDonald’s team in developing potential new menu items, which may involve using our current equipment or developing new solutions for the future,” said McCulloch.   “We are focusing with them on new equipment concepts that can provide faster speed of service to the customer, better food quality, greater menu flexibility and easier operation and cleaning.”

Enodis is a key kitchen equipment supplier to McDonald’s and provides equipment and support in all 119 countries in which McDonald’s does business.  In China, Enodis currently manufacture certain products in its Shanghai manufacturing facility for McDonald’s.  Like other global chains, McDonald’s supports the concept of local manufacturing for local markets, and Enodis is working with them to make this happen.

To support customer growth with local expertise, Group Managing Director Chris Karssiens continues to build   the Asia Pacific team and the Enodis presence in the region.   In 2006, Enodis grew sales in the region by approximately 12 percent, and anticipates higher growth with new resources and infrastructure in place.

New Enodis team members are now in place in Commercial Operations, Finance, Marketing, Operations and Supply Chain Management, providing increased capabilities, expertise and response to regional customers.   Supply chain improvement results have been almost instantaneous, with major supply costs savings achieved by use of additional regional suppliers.

Expanding marketing presence in the region to support more sales growth, Enodis recently had major presences at the Beijing Hotelex Trade Show and the Guangzhou International Hotels Exposition.  Displaying and demonstrating its full line of high-performance equipment, Enodis also showcased its Convotherm Combi-Ovens in chef’s demonstration focused on chefs at five-star hotels.

Enodis anticipates further facility, personnel and infrastructure growth in the region as food equipment market in Asia Pacific is expected to continue its fast growth.  According to Technomic, the restaurant market grew at more than 20 percent annually over the past several years, and double-digit growth is expected in coming years.  Similar growth is expected throughout Asia Pacific based on changing consumer demographics and increased demands for convenience.  Most Top 20 global chains have announced or initiated major unit and sales growth plans for the region.

In the hotel and lodging markets, UK-based InterContinental Hotel Group, China’s Shangri-La Hotels, French-based Accor Hotels and US-based lodging chains including Hyatt, Marriott and Starwood have all announced major expansion plans throughout Asia Pacific.

Enodis plc (www.enodis.com) is a worldwide company focused on the design, manufacture, and supply of food equipment.  Through its two operating groups, Global Food Service Equipment and Food Retail Equipment, it has 27 factories in 8 countries and a large portfolio of premium brands, including Delfield, Scotsman, Frymaster, Lincoln, Cleveland, Garland, US Range, ICE-O-Matic, Jackson, Merco Savory, Dean, Varimixer, and Merrychef in foodservice, and Kysor/Warren and Kysor Panel Systems in food retail equipment. 

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