Issue link: https://www.e-digitaleditions.com/i/1037828
80 FEDA News & Views One of those, Welbilt's fi t- Kitchen™, focuses on the pro- cesses and structures unique to each customers' needs and then designs a space to hit on the pain points— ineffi ciencies in fl ow and productivity, labor shortages, incon- sistencies in food quality, waste. KitchenConnect addresses the same concerns by exploring the impact of connectivity. "There is traumatic change coming to the industry because the world around us is moving at high speeds from an analog world to a digital online world," says Muehlhauser, explaining the drive behind KitchenConnect. "The iPhone has become the new drive thru and QSRs are struggling with how to take that POS data and sync it with our equipment, so we have to transform the kitchen into a digital world. "QSRs want their systems to speak to our equipment. They want to do asset management and auto- mated menu downloads. They want to have predictive and preventative maintenance. This is not something that is going to happen in 10 years. This is their reality today." Which is why in 2017, Welbilt announced that it was establish- ing digital as a corporate function and threw additional muscle behind aligning its products, services and business model with its strategy to become the leader in automat- ing the commercial kitchen. "All of Welbilt's equipment is going to be digitally-enabled," says Muehlhauser. "We have three boards in our equipment that can connect to a software platform that we provide. If operators have their own platform, we can hook up our equipment to it. Or, if they want to use another manufacturer's equip- ment, they can use our platform." That foresight is what grabbed the collar of Zume Pizza's CEO Alex Garden, who initiated a meeting with Welbilt last year. The two are now partners and have big plans to ele- vate the food delivery business by equipping Zume's trucks with hyper- effi cient, custom-built equipment, and then broadening the platform to offer customized solutions for other operators interested in embracing the model. "A supplier was trying to sell them standard equipment, but they didn't need standard equipment," explains Muehlhauser about why Zume reached out to Welbilt. "They needed completely new-to-the-world solutions that did not exist." A week after their initial meeting, the two companies had an agree- ment and Welbilt had an exclusive contract. "Now we're developing all the automated solutions, starting with baking pizza but there is going to be frying and grilling equipment as well," adds Muehlhauser. "What we're trying to do is reduce the labor component, so grilling, baking and cooking can be done, ideally, in response to POS data that comes from someone ordering fi ve miles away." ■ WELBILT'S FITKITCHEN FOCUSES ON UNDERSTANDING HOW OPERATORS AND THEIR STAFF INTERACT WITH ONE ANOTHER, THE FOOD AND THE EQUIPMENT TO PROVIDE CUSTOMIZED SOLUTIONS THAT ADDRESS CRUCIALS LIKE IMPROVEMENTS IN SPEED OF SERVICE AND FOOD QUALITY. Interim President Takes Over for Muehlhauser Welbilt's Board of Directors appointed Josef Matosevic to assume the role of interim presi- dent and CEO after Hubertus Muehlhauser resigned in Au- gust to become the CEO of CNH Industrial N.V., a $27 billion global manufacturer of capital goods comprising agricultural and construction equipment, commercial and specialty vehicles and power- train technologies. Matosevic joined Welbilt in August 2015 and most recent- ly served as Welbilt's execu- tive vice president and COO. Prior to Welbilt, he held execu- tive positions at The Manitow- oc Co., Inc., Oshkosh Corp. and Wynnchurch Capital/ Android Industries.