For the 14th consecutive year, ITW Food Equipment Group is proud to announce that it has once again earned the nation’s highest honor for energy efficiency. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and the U.S. Department of Energy announced last month that it has awarded ITW Food Equipment Group its ENERGY STAR® Partner of the Year — Sustained Excellence Award for 2021.
By maintaining a focus on energy savings and efficiency in the manufacturing of food equipment from its family of premium brands—Hobart, Traulsen, Vulcan, Wolf, Baxter and Stero – ITW Food Equipment Group has earned Partner of the Year—Sustained Excellence awards since 2010, as well as ENERGY STAR Partner of the Year awards in 2008 and 2009.
The Sustained Excellence award is the highest honor bestowed by the ENERGY STAR program. Winners are part of a distinguished group that has made a long-term commitment to fighting climate change and protecting public health through energy efficiency. They are among the nation’s leaders in driving value for the environment, the economy and the American people.
“Despite its many challenges, 2020 was a successful year for the development, introduction and sales of energy efficient, ENERGY STAR certified equipment from ITW Food Equipment Group brands,” said Todd Blair, Director of Marketing, ITW Food Equipment Group. “We know that partnering with ENERGY STAR and the EPA is especially important for our customers and those they serve every day. We have built our reputation on manufacturing high-performance commercial food equipment products that deliver superior energy and resource efficiency. We are committed to manufacturing more efficient commercial kitchen equipment for foodservice and food retail professionals, so they can feel confident they are using equipment that decreases impact on the environment as well as on their bottom line.”
With an expansive offering of more than 430 ENERGY STAR certified products, ITW Food Equipment Group is focused on the continued development of next-generation, energy-efficient equipment in 2021; the promotion of resource efficiency to its dealer network and customers; and continuous efficiency improvements at its manufacturing facilities.
In 2020, ITW Food Equipment Group brands introduced 48 new ENERGY STAR-certified models to market, a nearly 12 percent increase from 2019 with the majority of those new models priced in a more affordable tier. The award came as the result of key accomplishments from each of ITW Food Equipment Group’s brands in 2020 to produce energy efficient equipment and technology.
Traulsen increased its ENERGY STAR listing by 47 models as a result of the introduction of Centerline™ by Traulsen mid-tier offering, for a 125 percent increase in the number of eligible ENERGY STAR models available in 2020 compared to 2019. Vulcan published an updated ENERGY STAR toolkit for reps, containing up-to-date rebates by state in list and map form as well as a sell sheet with talking points.
Hobart Warewash launched a new ENERGY STAR certified Ventless Rack-Conveyor dish machine with an energy recovery system that lowers the amount of energy consumed by 30 percent per rack compared to competitive ventless machines. Hobart Warewash also grew its obsolete program, targeting older Hobart units for upgrade to new ENERGY STAR certified units by providing owners of legacy equipment with cost and energy savings figures.
In response to COVID-19, ITW Food Equipment Group pivoted to virtual ENERGY STAR training sessions, reaching more than 1,000 employees, sales professionals and dealer/
distributors.
An array of physical plant efficiency improvements at the company’s campus in Troy, Ohio, including lighting (fluorescent to LED), HVAC (ENERGY STAR system installation), new energy efficient windows and roofing insulation.
“ENERGY STAR award-winning partners are showing the world that delivering real climate solutions makes good business sense and promotes job growth,” said EPA Administrator Michael S. Regan. “Many of them have been doing it for years, inspiring all of us who are committed to tracking the climate crisis and leading the way to a clean energy economy.”
ITW is once again receiving the highest honor among ENERGY STAR Awards is the ENERGY STAR Partner of the Year—Sustained Excellence Award. The EPA presents the Sustained Excellence Award to partners who have already received ENERGY STAR Partner of the Year recognition for a minimum of two consecutive years and have gone above and beyond the criteria needed to qualify for recognition.
Since 1992, ENERGY STAR and its partners have helped American families and businesses avoid more than $450 billion in energy costs and achieve over 4 billion metric tons of greenhouse gas reductions. Award winners are selected from a network of thousands of ENERGY STAR partners.
ITW Food Equipment Group LLC, a subsidiary of Illinois Tool Works, is the brand behind the brands found in commercial kitchens, cafeterias, bakeries, delis and groceries around the world. An ENERGY STAR® Partner of the Year since 2008, ITW Food Equipment Group embodies a family of premium brands including Hobart, Traulsen, Baxter, Vulcan, Wolf, Berkel, Stero, Somat, Gaylord, Kairak and Peerless— covering nearly all your commercial food equipment needs, from food preparation and refrigeration to cooking, baking and ventilation to weighing and wrapping to dishwashing and waste disposal.
ENERGY STAR® is the government-backed symbol for energy efficiency, providing simple, credible and unbiased information that consumers and businesses rely on to make well-informed decisions. Thousands of industrial, commercial, utility, state and local organizations—including more than 40 percent of the Fortune 500®—rely on their partnership with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to deliver cost-saving energy efficiency solutions. Since 1992, ENERGY STAR and its partners helped American families and businesses avoid more than $450 billion in energy costs and achieve over 4 billion metric tons of greenhouse gas reductions.
