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OCG Show Daily Sunday, June 2, 2019 2 8 Prairie View Industries: A Proven Company By Sonia M. Krupicka, Sales Manager, Prairie View Industries, Inc. PVI is a USA manufacturer of foodser- vice equipment and access ramps. We are centrally located in Nebraska, USA, and ship direct from the heartland of America to make our lead times unmatched. PVI is committed to continuously improving the high quality of standard products offered at a competitive price. With a world full of promises unkept and a flood of cheap imitations, PVI is the real deal. PVI manufactures the highest quality foodservice equipment in the USA. With a product line that consists of both stain- less and aluminum equipment, PVI can be your one-stop-shop for all your kitchen and restaurant needs. For close to 30 years, PVI has been producing a wide variety of foodservice equipment to meet the needs that exist. We are continually striving to go beyond the typical foodservice equipment, looking for fresh and new ideas that industrious entrepreneurs want and need for thriving catering, bakery or restaurant businesses. As mentioned before, we manufac- ture both access ramps and foodservice equipment. We added the foodservice equipment line to our manufacturing in 1999. Since that time, PVI has become a major player in the foodservice industry through innovative design and creativity. We pride ourselves on listening to our customers and build- ing equipment that will solve their specif- ic needs. Our design team not only brain- storms with customers but is also able to provide professional CAD drawings for approval before manufacturing. When considering any major pur- chase, most of us look for something of quality, durability and a proven record of consistency. We want something that will last and that we can count on when we need it. PVI believes that there are no shortcuts for quality. We are not the typical cookie cutter company. We pride ourselves on every piece of equipment manufactured at our facility. Quality, Durability, Guaranteed is not just our motto, it's who we are and what we are known for. With a proven record of consistency for many years, look no further then PVI for all your foodservice equipment needs. For more information, go to www.pvifs.com, call 800.554.7267 or email sonia@pvifs.com. Smitty Bee Honey: A Sweet Success Story For over 95 years, Smitty Bee has been passionate about producing and packag- ing high quality honey. That passion has helped create one of the most respected honey packaging businesses in the industry. Louis Henkelman, who always had a love for honey, started producing honey from a single colony hobbyist kit from Sears and Roebuck. In those days, honey could only be obtained by raising your own bees. At this time, honey was a novelty item and not mass marketed like it is today. It wasn't until the 1940s when sugar was rationed to support the war effort, that honey was turned to as an alternative sweetener. The popularity of honey grew, and the industry was born. Throughout the next 30 years, Louis grew his family orientated busi- ness into one of the most respected honey producers in southwest Iowa. Lavern Schmitz worked for his father- in-law, Louis, after returning from the Korean War. Lavern saw the opportuni- ties with honey early on and started his own producing operation in the mid 1950s. Nicknamed "Smitty" in grade school, he named his new business Smitty Bee Honey. The business grew through the 1960s, '70s and '80s. Doug Schmitz, Lavern's son, worked beside his father, learning the trade as well. Doug then started his own opera- tion in the late 1970s, which he grew into a lucrative honey pro- ducing business throughout the 1980s and '90s. In the early 1990s, commercial agriculture changed the natural landscape and honey production yields decreased every year, as the majority of southwest Iowa was converted to corn and soybeans. To further diversify, Doug and his family turned their attention to packing honey for farmer's markets and craft shows. The packaging business grew strong through the 1990s, while honey produc- tion struggled. Over 20 years, Smitty Bee grew from a small honey producer and packer to one of the nation's fastest growing honey processors, packaging over 20 million pounds of honey per year. Smitty Bee Honey pack- ages different types of honey for all industry sectors. These markets include commercial food manufacturing, foodser- vice and retail. Honeys are carefully selected from spe- cific botanical or geographi- cal areas from around the world and blended to match customer specifications. Exotic and rare varietals such as Washington Raspberry, California Sage and Mexican Avocado honey are just a few of the honeys that can be sourced. Recent trends show that customers are looking for new and trendy honey items that will stand out from the rest. New Product Offerings from Sterno To meet the needs of the evolving food- service landscape, Sterno Products recently launched SpeedHeat ® , a flame- less, water-activated system that pro- duces high-heat steam, with zero ramp- up time. It is considered by many in the catering industry to be the most innova- tive portable heat system since the intro- duction of Sterno chafing fuel more than a century ago. Industry press has echoed this opinion – SpeedHeat recently took top honors in Foodservice Equipment Reports Magazine, 2018 Tabletop Competition; Catersource Magazine called the product a "terrific innovation." Sterno continues to expand its food- service offerings with its line of Insulated Food Carriers (IFCs), designed for the demands of the catering industry, and are ideal for hot (or cold) delivery. These lightweight and portable IFCs are ideal for transporting your culinary creations at the optimal temperature. Known as Sterno Delivery ® , this line of IFCs features: multi-reinforced, cross- woven, high-tensile strength liners, creat- ing a super-tough, leak-proof environ- ment; dense-gauge urethane foam with high insulation value, providing state-of- the-industry heating/cooling perform- ance; and continuous formed foam vertical wall construction, deliv- ering 360 degree tem- perature protection. Worried about butane safety? You'll be glad to know Sterno's butane canisters are designed with the latest safety technology. The unique safety system features Temperature Sensing Valve (TSV) and Rim Vent Release (RVR) technologies. The TSV shuts off the flame if the stove is being misused and overheating. The RVR is a back-up safety feature that pre- vents over-pressurization. Along with 20 new, on-trend lamp designs, Sterno's new Allure – Real Flame, No Mess Candle offers the opportunity for endless creative applica- tions. Developed to meet the challenges of using a real wax candle, the Allure provides a real flame, without the melted wax mess. It features a patent pending plastic cover and base that fits 24-hour and 30-hour Sterno SoftLight ® Liquid Wax Candles. The Allure can be used in a unique vessel or within the included hurricane and filled with sand, coffee beans or shells, etc. to create a stunning piece. For more information, go to www.sterno pro.com or call 951.682.9600. Wilpack Packaging Provides Cost-Effective Products Wilpack Packaging is a division of A- American Companies, which was founded in 1986. Wilpack is a full-ser- vice packaging supplier and equipment manufacturer. The company helps cus- tomers choose the correct packaging materials and equipment to fit their needs. Its main customers are kitchens, restaurants, startups and large contract packaging facilities. Wilpack's packag- ing materials include a full line of polypropylene cups with tamper-evi- dent seals. Its diverse line of equipment ranges from manual tabletop sealing equipment through production-ready Rotary Fill and Seal machines with individual capabilities of up to 80 cups per minute each. Its turnkey solutions also include conveyors and vacuum pack off devices. Wilpack Packaging began by manu- facturing high-speed contract packaging equipment. Through years of experience, it became apparent that there was a need for sealing equipment that would allow start-up and point-of-service facilities to provide those same quality, safe packag- ing solutions to their customers. Wilpack's solution allows entrepreneurs to start using the correct packaging sup- plies that then transition to a fully auto- mated process once the product line grows. This inspired the company to cre- ate a tabletop tamper-evident sealing line of equipment. Its patented, UL and NSF certified equipment allows any company the opportu- nity to grow their product line with branding in safe, spill-proof packaging. Wilpack is able to offer solu- tions to organizations that are ready to take products to market but perhaps do not have the same expertise in packaging those products that Wilpack has been refining and expanding. The company prides itself on its quality service and exception- al customer support. The team at Wilpack is proud to pro- vide its innovative, tamper-evident seal- ing solutions and to provide customer safety and satisfaction to its customers. Wilpack knows what it takes to be above the crowd and be seen. Wilpack works with foodservice providers, educational facilities and contract packagers. By always improving equipment and determining the best methods of deliv- ering a finished prod- uct to market at the most economical and reliable ways possible, Wilpack is the best choice for those seeking positive and cost-effective methods for all levels of packaging product. Wilpack takes enormous pride in its ability to protect each of its customers' special products by providing the best materials and packaging. For more information, go to www.wilpackpackaging.com or call 815.490.9235.