Stephen’s Catering Equipment, Ireland’s largest and longest established catering and food service equipment company, based in Ballymena, County Antrim, has been awarded Silver at the Irish Foodservice Suppliers Alliance Awards (IFSA’s), which took place during CATEX, Ireland’s largest foodservice and hospitality exhibition – for its smart delivery, Pudu Robotics.
Competing against a record number of innovative products from across the food and hospitality sectors in Ireland, Stephens Catering Equipment was Highly Commended in the Best Foodservice Technology Product (Front of House) Category.
Pudu Robotics, from Stephens Catering Equipment, is a global leader in commercial service robots and can be used to combat staff shortages and salary constraints by helping business owners to fill critical job vacancies. By harnessing technologies such as low-speed automated driving, all-electric drive and autonomous motion control, Pudu Robotics is paving the way for the large-scale commercial rollout of service robots across the globe.
Awarded at CATEX, the IFSA’s are aimed at acknowledging sustainability within foodservice products and service innovation. The theme for 2023 centred around Sustainability and the Circular Economy, with the awards shining a light on suppliers that are at the forefront of the industry’s response to the environmental crisis.
Category award winners were announced on day one of the show, following a two-stage judging process. Overseen by an independent, expert panel of judges with a wealth of experience, judges included Maurice Bergin, Managing Director of Green Hospitality; Keith Warren, Director of FEA UK; Tony McGuigan, Head of Procurement and F&B Projects, Dalata Hotel Group PLC; Gullaime Oates, GFD Associates and Sean Graham, Chief Information Officer, PREM Group.
The shortlisted companies also benefitted from elevated awareness of their products and services across the three-day exhibition, which welcomed approximately 12,000 visitors.
Other award winners included BWG Foodservice, which was named National Foodservice Supplier of the Year, which was chosen via a public vote.
Congratulating this year’s IFSA’s award winners, Alan Cruite, Chairman of IFSA said:
“We were overwhelmed by the level of entries and the judges were challenged to select the category winners – those who have really positioned sustainability at the forefront of their offering. Those selected really impressed the judges with how the business is playing its role in innovation within sustainability.
“Congratulations to all of those who were shortlisted and a special ‘well done’ to the winning companies – what a great achievement!”
A real celebration of skills, service, excellence and innovation within the foodservice hospitality industries, this year’s CATEX exhibition, supported by Calor and Bunzl McLaughlin, was a resounding success which housed culinary competitions, tea and coffee experts, artisan producers and some of the biggest names in foodservice, alongside business clinics, all under one roof to highlight the very best that Ireland has to offer.