Due in part to a booth promotion that alerted NRA attendees to Victory's Blast-Chill Technology Center, both traffic and sales opportunities were markedly improved over last year's show, according to Jim Hurston, VP of Sales for the company.

"We definitely saw better volume and lead quality this year, not least because blast-chilling technology and equipment is now a clear focus of attention and a priority for operators and specifiers," Hurston pointed out. "That said, the greater interest shown by attendees in our blast chillers was matched by the attention drawn by the rest of Victory's exhibited line. There was quite a lot of people who came to our booth with the purpose of obtaining as much information as possible about our pizza tables, for instance."

Hurston added that he was especially pleased by the large number of personnel from chain restaurant and contract management companies who spent time inquiring about and inspecting Victory's products. "However, we weren't disappointed about the number of prospective customers we saw from any major market," he stressed. "Traffic was uniformly strong and included a large number of dealers and reps who we were also pleased to meet with."

Still, Hurston explained, there was no mistaking the priority most booth visitors had placed on learning more about Victory's blast-chilling equipment. "Professionals in every sector of industry have now heard about the labor savings and food safety improvements operators can realize with blast chilling, which gave them cause to review and compare the equipment on exhibit," he observed. "Many operators and specifiers have also been influenced by how blast chillers can reinforce compliance with HACCP guidelines and fulfill their desires to produce foods more efficiently and consistently."

Among the prospective customers who studied Victory's blast chilling equipment at this year's NRA was an increased number of white-tablecloth restaurant companies, both multi-unit and independent, who expressed particular interest in purchasing models for the safe bulk production of sauces and soups. Among the most common questions posed to Hurston and other Victory sales executives concerned different blast chillers' processing times and capacities, required starting core-temperatures for particular types of cooked foods and how long foods' shelf life can be extended by blast chilling.

One Victory blast chiller feature that drew consistent attention from prospective purchasers and specifiers was the simple to use three-step control system. "The competitive advantage Victory offers with controls is that ours require less input to set-up, which makes them more durable, as well as user friendly," Hurston pointed out. "Simplicity of operation also means that staff need less training and their 'fear factor' is diminished. When current blast chiller owners compare their existing equipment against Victory models, they can see that our products are just as fast and energy-efficient, but are far easier to use."

While Hurston noted a general satisfaction among show-goers with Victory blast chillers' performance, configurations and capacities, he added that these models will continue to receive periodic technology enhancements, including the imminent availability of NAFEM Data Protocol compatibility and wireless data transmission.

The next step in Victory's blast chiller marketing program, according to Hurston, will be further product development with Eloma combis and Stellar steamers to form fully integrated cooking-chilling systems that will offer category-leading efficiencies in energy and water use, while requiring less maintenance than competitive models.

"I think that when industry members attend NRA 2007, they will see some innovative new application options between Victory blast chillers and products from our hot-side sister companies."



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