When an award winning healthcare facility needed to respond quickly to the new protocols that COVID-19 has spawned, a local marketing agent for foodservice equipment, smallwares, china, flatware and furniture was poised to respond. New Jersey-based TD Marketing brought their expertise to the Garden State’s Robert Wood John Hospital system to create an implement a protective strategy.
“They had originally reached out to a leading Dealer to procure a few portable plexiglass partitions from English Manufacturing,” explained Frank Doyle, President, TD Marketing. “They were so impressed with the responsiveness, service and product quality, that they reached out to us again, but this time as design and solutions providers, for other areas throughout the Hospital.”
TD worked with the award winning equipment and supply dealer Singer/M. Tucker to design and install plexiglass protection throughout the hospital’s waiting rooms to separate patient that were going to enter the emergency room for treatment and cafeterias. In addition, TD coordinated the design of portable guards and hanging shields that drop from the ceiling. The English Manufacturing line feature flexibility unique to the industry.
“The line is built so it is fully adjustable both horizontally and vertically,” Doyle said. “English also has a really unique approach to the aesthetics of the line with hardware that is concealed for a great finished look. When it comes to sneeze guards, you don’t want to see the hardware with a sneeze guard, you want it to be invisible.
Frank Doyle saw a unique opportunity with English Manufacturing. “The company began as a father and daughter team and you could see the commitment to quality,” Doyle said. “Frankly sneeze guards are a really tough sell that are very labor intensive from the get-go with the need for very exact measuring. But as we saw the changes in protocol coming with Covid, we knew the English line would provide a valuable solution for our dealer and consultants and their customers.”
With the Pandemic, Doyle sees a change in how sneeze guards are utilized. “Clearly the day of the self-serve buffet line are gone. But again, English Manufacturing’s line has such flexibility that as the industry moves to a protective shield with a pass-over or pass under, their quality is going to enable foodservice operators to meet new safety protocols.”
English Manufacturing and the TD team both have an eye towards the future. “Both pre- and post-vaccine, there is always going to be a need for protector shields, cases and display cases. And English is ready.”
The English line is yet another example of Doyle returning to his roots. “I started in custom fab years ago and we have a great custom fab line with EMI. When you combine that factory’s expertise with English, we are able to offer our customers a really unique portfolio of solutions.”
“As a company we do a lot of healthcare and school foodservice work. These shields have also taken us beyond foodservice applications. There are a number of schools that have us designing guards that can be used at students desks this Fall. In fact, we just shipped 1500 guards to the Ocean County school district in New Jersey. Masks become uncomfortable to wear all day and shields enable the give and take needed in the classroom.”
Today, TD Marketing Co. is made up of 15 seasoned individuals with extensive knowledge of the Tri-State Marketplace and the products TD Marketing represents. With over 250 years of experience, Doyle and his TD team are on-call to answer the needs of the Metro New York foodservice professional.
To learn more about English Manufacturing, visit their website.
