Infinity Fryers, an AFE company, recorded double-digit sales growth in 2007. According to Mitch Cohen, vice president of cooking system sales for Infinity, as well as for Eloma and Stellar Steam, the company achieved this growth by increasing sales in a variety of markets, including hotels, independent restaurants, schools and colleges/universities.

    Though Infinity remains "a work in progress," said AFE president Mark Whalen, such a diversified customer base is a positive sign for the company.

    "It's good that it worked out that way because it tells us that we're reaching every different market that we can," Cohen stated. "All these customers seem to focus on energy efficiency, oil savings and ease of filtration. Those three product features led to sales in all these markets."

    As with sister companies Eloma and Stellar, Infinity's sales growth was achieved through efforts the company took to build its brand and increase its name recognition, including product demonstrations in AFE demo kitchens and one-on-one customer meetings during trade shows and other industry events. Looking to 2008, AFE will continue these efforts and in fact may add a handful of addition product-demonstration kitchens to the 17 it currently operates in the United States, Cohen noted.

    Such investments and efforts are necessary, said Cohen, because Infinity is a relatively new competitor in the U.S. foodservice market. Simply getting end-users and specifiers familiar and comfortable with the equipment is a multi-year project for the company, he said.

    "I think we're probably in a five-year building period. We're up against companies that have been doing business for 60, 70 years. If we bring something new on the market, people aren't always anxious to try it," he said. "But once people start using it, start liking it, word of mouth will spread, especially in those markets where people talk to one another, like schools and hotels."

For more information, visit Infinity Fryer's web site at www.infinityfryers.com