On March 21st, Aga Foodservice Equipment was recognized as a 2007 ENERGY STAR® Manufacturing Partner of the Year at an awards banquet in Washington, D.C. The ceremony marked AFE as a two-time winner of the award (its Victory Refrigeration company earned the honor in 2006) and underscored the fact that it is still the only foodservice equipment manufacturer ever to receive this designation.

    One reason that AFE was selected for distinction by ENERGY STAR is the resource-saving performance of products across company lines. All Victory equipment in categories that ENERGY STAR certifies, for example, have earned the EPA-regulated qualification, and all Infinity and Stellar Steam products have received the ENERGY STAR mark, as well. ENERGY STAR's designation marks fryers as being up to 25% more efficient than standard models and steamers as up to 60% more efficient. The qualification also signifies that ENERGY STAR refrigeration uses as much as 45% less power than standard units.

Kathleen Hogan, administrator of the EPA's ENERGY STAR program, presents a 2007 Manufacturing Partner of the Year award to Iain Whyte (center), president of Aga Foodservice USA. Joining Whyte in accepting the award were (left to right) Lab Technician Al Frazier, Manufacturing Engineer John McGill and Victory's Director of Engineering Jeff Bauman.

    According to Mark Whalen, president of AFE (and Victory), the company's ENERGY STAR participation reflects a commitment, originated in its UK global headquarters, to energy efficiency and environmental stewardship. "We have a written environmental policy," he related. "We're committed to offering our customers the most efficient products we can design and build. We believe we all have a responsibility to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. It is one of the things we've chosen to do to be a better citizen of the world."

    AFE's commitment to reduced energy consumption, Whalen noted, extends beyond the products it sells. The company also makes it a priority to operate its own businesses in the most environmentally friendly manner possible.

    "We're installing a new lighting system in our Victory factory in Cherry Hill, NJ, that reduces energy consumption and costs. There are compelling environmental and economic reasons for us to operate in the most energy-efficient fashion, and the corporation is committed to doing that globally," he explained.

    AFE, Whalen added, will continue to make reduced utility consumption a priority in its product development as the company continues to evolve. "We're going to keep innovating and, as we do, we'll proceed with two major imperatives. One is to look for innovations that create points of performance differentiation for our customers. The other is to reduce the energy and resource consumption of the products we make. That includes water consumption for Stellar Steam and Eloma, as well as energy consumption across all our companies," he confirmed.