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R e s t a u r a n t D a i l y N e w s 1 1 1 Tu e s d a y, M a y 2 4 , 2 0 1 6 we expect it to have on the restaurant industry? DL: Aalberts Industries is a Netherlands- based technology company first founded in 1975. We have acquired over 53 com- panies with three being in the dispense category. We supply and service all lead- ing customers in the beverage industry with established brands Taprite and DSI, plus recently acquired Schroeder America. We bring together leading tech- nologies in select markets to achieve the highest value for our customers. RDN: What products and services will you provide? DL: Taprite is the preferred supplier of soft drink and beer equipment acces- sories and parts for over 75 years. Its products range from CO 2 /N 2 regulators, BIB racks, draft taps/towers/pumps/couplers, ice bins, accessories and more. DSI (Dispense Systems International) is a consolidated company in Germany with more than 100 years of experience in the industry. Its products include various types of extractor tubes, dispense heads, pres- sure regulators and beer taps. Jud Schroeder founded Schroeder America in 2006 as a vertically integrated manu- facturer of beverage dispensers. Its products range from bar guns, non-car- bonated post-mix dispensers, chillers, ice cooled dispensers, accessories and more. Coming together as Aalberts Dispense Group means all these leading products, services and technologies cre- A alberts I ndustries (C o nt'd. fro m p. 1 ) ate a stronger portfolio with continued growth in the future. RDN: What does partnering these com- panies mean for the restaurant industry? DL: The product lines of Schroeder America are complementary to our existing dispensing technologies at Taprite and DSI. By combining the three portfolios, utilizing our strong brands, sales and distribution channels, we are able to offer an even more complete dis- pensing system to our global customers. We also see many possibilities to improve our supply chain, optimize our manufacturing and strengthen our R&D developments. RDN: What does Aalberts Industries look to achieve with these three compa- nies in its dispense category? DL: Aalberts Industries N.V. is convinced that Schroeder America will be a positive synergy regarding innovation, customer service, new product development, flexi- bility in production and complement DSI and Taprite due to their already close rela- tionship. Aalberts Industries has invested over two million Euro into automated manufacturing equipment at DSI, because of its long term vision to further develop its beverage dispense business. DSI, through successful renovation of certifi- cates ISO 9001 and ISO 14001, is now compliant with market and environmental requirements. Learn more at www.taprite.com, www .schroederamerica.com, www.dispense group.com or call 210.662.8200. JK: 2016 is Zing Zang's 20th year in a row to exhibit at the National Restaurant Association Restaurant, Hotel-Motel Show. At the 1997 NRA show, my father, company Founder Richard Krohn, intro- duced his newly created Zing Zang Bloody Mary Mix, and as they say, the rest is history. RDN: Was Richard a beverage industry executive? JK: No. Actually, this company was started after his other successful careers in finance and real estate, at an age when most people would be thinking about retirement. RDN: Tell our readers how he grew the company to where it is today. JK: Assisted by restaurant and bar industry veterans Steve Mattison and T.M. Ashcraft, Richard began a system- atic marketing effort to fulfill his dream of building Zing Zang into a national brand. At that time, Mattison and Ashcraft were extremely active mem- bers of the Mississippi Restaurant Association, and the professional rela- tionships that they had built in the southeast enabled them to get a strong foothold on-premise, in a part of the country famous for being passionate about food and beverage quality. From there, a steady progression was made to other areas of the country, and the prod- uct began to develop a loyal following as consumers began requesting it as their preferred Bloody Mary mix. RDN: With your father's creation and your involvement, is this a family Z ing Z ang (C o nt'd. fro m p. 1 ) business? JK: Oh, yes. My mother has been active since the company's inception, and my sister and I became involved in the daily operation of the company five years ago. RDN: With so many Bloody Mary mixes in the marketplace, why would a con- sumer make Zing Zang their preferred Bloody Mary mix? JK: Zing Zang Bloody Mary Mix is made with a mixture of the highest qual- ity ingredients and the distinctive, bold taste reflects Richard Krohn's dedication to producing a mix that needed no addi- tions. As he so aptly put it, Zing Zang was 'not just another Bloody Mary mix.' Now 20 years later, the many thousands of dedicated Zing Zang customers have propelled the brand into a national award winning Bloody Mary Mix. It is served in fine drinking and dining establishments around the country, and stocked on the shelves of retailers nationwide. RDN: Does the company have other products? JK: Yes, we produce eight other mixes that we will be showing in our booth at the show. RDN: Will there be any additions to the line this year? JK: Currently the number of products will remain the same, but we are working on some packaging and size innovations that will be introduced when ready. For more information, call 888.891.7489 or visit booth #5406. product. We are pumped to be attending this year's NRA for the first time! Our InvisiGlides have been an overwhelming success in all of our markets the past two years. We relish the opportunity to be able to solve a common problem that faces a vast majority of restaurants across the world. Historically, chairs and barstools have wreaked havoc on restaurant floors and created loud and annoying noises each and every time a customer would slide a chair from under a table. I say his- torically; let's just say at least since the very first U.S. restaurant, Delmonico's, opened in New York in 1827 by brothers Giovanni and Pietro Delmonico. To be more exact, they opened a café in 1827, and then three years later in 1830 they opened "Restaurant Francais" in the building adjacent to the café. Well, enough of the history lessons. InvisiGlides have been designed to elimi- nate both the flooring and noise issues that have plagued restaurants for decades. They will also help owners with the costs of floor maintenance and chair replacements, while at the same time provide a much more pleasant dining experience for their I nvisiG lides (C o nt'd. fro m p. 1 ) guests. Our InvisiGlides have felted bot- toms and a pliable, clear plastic sleeve that will conform to all different chair leg designs, be they round, square or rectangu- lar. An added bonus to the clear sleeves is that they become practically invisible once installed, maintaining the look of the chairs. The process is made easy by simply picking the correct size range from nine size options and then easily sliding them onto the bottom of the chair or bar stool legs. They do not require any damaging glues, nails or tap-ins that can do more harm than good to those expensive floors. We are proud to say InvisiGlides are manufactured in the good ol' U.S.A. and come with a one year warranty against manufacturer's defects. On a side note, we have not had one InvisiGlide returned in the past two years! We look forward to serving all the customers from NRA, and don't forget to take advantage of the 16 percent NRA Show discount. Just use offer code NRA16 when placing your order at www.invisiglides.com or just come by. I look forward to meeting everyone at booth #9052! For more information, go to www .invisiglides.com or stop by booth #9052. The Problem – Keeping Food Warm Faced with the frustration of keeping food warm outdoors, caterers Lois and Joseph Leonard decided that there had to be some way to deal with this problem. They hated the look of foil; besides being unsightly and hard to manage, the heat still escaped. They set out to find some type of device or solution that would remedy this problem. Unfortunately, they found that there was nothing on the market which was safe, light-weight or convenient. Undeterred that a product/solution did not exist, they decided to create one. The Solution – The WindBlocker Collectively, they worked diligently testing different designs and materials to create the Ultimate Chafing Stand. Their list of product "must-haves," although not overly extensive, was not going to be compromised. The chafing stand had to be extremely lightweight, very strong, washable, durable, easy/fast to assemble, space-saving and most importantly, able to withstand vir- tually any wind condition. The WindBlocker chafer accomplishes all of the above. Most impressively, it was subjected to a wind test where the winds were in excess of 70 miles per hour – the flames stayed lit. Although the unit is ideal for out- door use, its functionality indoors is without parallel. Besides not having an open flame (no burn risk for the little ones who are curious), one fuel cell usu- W indB lo ck er (C o nt'd. fro m p. 1 ) ally produces more heat than two cells in a traditional chafer. They can be easily decorated to accommodate any theme – weddings, graduations, anniversaries, tailgating, corporate events or virtually any event. About The Inventors (Lois & Joe) They are the owners of the famed Four Seasons Banquet House, which sits on 13 beautiful acres in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. They have more than 22 years of experience doing indoor and outdoor events, which include every- thing from formal weddings to casual picnics. They are comfortable hosting events that range from 100 to 700 guests. Event/meal planning, food prep, cooking and serving – they love every moment. Lois says, "The WindBlocker has made catering warm food so much easier. We can set up faster and rest assured knowing that the food is going to stay warm thoroughout the entire event. It is always rewarding when the guests com- pliment you not only on the quality/taste of the food, but also on how warm it is. It is nice to know that after hours of prepa- ration, the food will still be warm until the last guest leaves." This all-in-one solution is collapsi- ble (folds flat), weight slightly over a pound, is extremely strong, has a built-in fuel tray and comes with a carrying case that holds six stands. For more information, visit www.the windblockernow.com, call 877.692.2006, ext. 102 or stop by booth #8866.