CESA reveals initiatives to meet industry challenges
The Catering Equipment Suppliers Association (CESA) has just released finalised details of the agreements made at its summit, which was held at Hotelympia in February.
At the summit, some of the world's major catering equipment trade associations and foodservice consultants got together to debate and agree a series of initiatives to help meet the growing challenges facing the industry.
Steve Loughton, CESA council member and president of the European Federation of Catering Equipment Manufacturers (EFCEM), explained: "Catering equipment manufacturers are increasingly selling their products around the world, which is a win-win: foodservice operators get access to the very best products at competitive prices, while manufacturers are able to access more markets.
The summit's main agreements include:
The North American Association of Food Equipment Manufacturers (NAFEM) will lead an initiative to compile global research and statistics that will determine the size and shape of the catering equipment markets in regions around the world.
EFCEM will create a joint working group dealing with industry standards. The first area of consideration is energy standards. It will look into what standards currently exist; what the similarities and differences between the various standards are; and, once the differences are determined, what standards can be harmonised.
CESA and EFCEM have been preparing a White Paper on the Circular Economy Principles (CEP). The summit discussed the draft document and agreed to support its aims and conclusions, which will cover the economy, environment, and social elements.
The global standardisation of Building Information Modelling (BIM) was discussed. It was agreed that CESA would lead a taskforce, including consultants and manufacturers, education providers, and content modellers, to develop the scope and parameters of this initiative.
Education and training remain key areas of discussion. The summit discussed how the Food Service Consultants Society (FCSI) and Certified Food Service Professional (CFSP) programmes might interact.
The National Association of Food Equipment Suppliers is leading the development of a Global Foodservice Equipment Supplier website.
The next Global Foodservice Equipment Summit will take place in the autumn in North America.
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