Similar to its sister Aga Foodservice Equipment companies, Victory Refrigeration entered the 2007 International Hotel/Motel & Restaurant Show seeking to expand awareness of its brand and showcase its newest products.

    For Victory, these efforts included displaying its blast chiller line, which has been equipped with a new controller, and its back bar coolers and beer dispensers, which were introduced earlier this year.

    "Our upgraded blast chiller was a big hit," stated Mark Whalen, president of AFE and Victory Refrigeration. "One of the advantages we offer with our blast chiller is that it's easy to operate. We kept that user-friendliness with the new controller, but added the capability to utilize the NAFEM Data Protocol for enhanced HACCP compliance."

    Consultants, Whalen noted, expressed the greatest interest in Victory's blast chillers, along with "several big hotel operators" and, interestingly enough, a culinary school based in the Bahamas.

    Victory's back bar line, which was introduced just prior to this year's NRA Show, earned positive reviews, as well. In particular, dealers visiting the AFE booth expressed interest in the line, which, said Whalen, is priced competitively with commodity products but is designed with dimensions and appearances that match up closely to the expectations of the specification market.

    "Our back bar units run 24-inches deep, which is the standard for bars," he related. "A lot of our competitors have units that are 27-inches deep, because they're made on a common platform with other products. The elegant styling, handsome doors and the fact that Victory's back bar models are all highly energy efficient had the desired effect, creating interest at the show. Now, we have to translate that favorable reception into sales growth. To date, every month has shown increasing sales and we expect that trend to continue."

   

For more information on ENERGY STAR-qualified Victory models, visit Victory's web site at www.victory-refrig.com