Merrychef USA Announces Partnership with Wawa as Supplier for Accelerated Cooking Ovens

March 27th, 2006

Merrychef USA today announced an agreement to be the supplier of choice for accelerated cooking ovens to Wawa, a major US convenience store based in Pennsylvania widely recognised for its foodservice innovation.

Under the agreement, Merrychef will provide its Merrychef 402(S) accelerated cooking ovens to power the expansive hot food program at more than 540 Wawa stores throughout the Northeastern United States.  Wawa serves a wide variety of fresh-prepared foods, including breakfast, baked goods, soups, salads and sandwiches. 

“Merrychef and our parent company, Enodis, are excited to help expand Wawa’s outstanding foodservice program,” said Steve Beck, president of Merrychef USA.  “By integrating the Merrychef accelerated cooking ovens into Wawa’s proven foodservice operation, Wawa customers will be able to select from a wider variety of freshly-prepared, hot menu items while enjoying fast, convenient service.”

“Our customers rely on Wawa for high quality fresh foods.  Our relationship with Merrychef will enhance our ability to deliver on that promise.” said Rob Price, Sr. Vice President of Marketing.

Wawa selected Merrychef ovens after evaluating a variety of options for expanding its menu and speeding its service.  Using the Merrychef 402(S) with its combination technologies, Wawa produces high quality hot food items at significantly reduced cooking times.  In selecting the Merrychef 402(S), Wawa cited the outstanding reliability of Merrychef ovens as well as the ability of the technology to handle expanded future menu items.

A global leader in accelerated cooking ovens, Merrychef has installed more than 70,000 microwave and combination technology ovens in foodservice operations in North America, Middle East and Asia as well as throughout Europe in quick service restaurants, and in a variety of casual and fine dining operations.

Said Dave McCulloch, CEO of Enodis, the parent company of Merrychef, “This opportunity shows the power of our innovation strategy to develop key technologies that create more value for our customers.  We believe that accelerated cooking technology across our product range, including Convotherm, Garland, Lincoln, Savory and Merrychef, will dramatically shape the future demand for new cooking equipment. This is a clear example that the adoption of this technology has begun with major chains."

About Wawa

Wawa, Inc., a privately held company, traces its roots back to 1803 as an iron foundry in New Jersey. Owner George Wood started a dairy processing plant in Wawa, PA, in 1902. The milk business was a success, due to its quality, cleanliness and “certified” process. In 1964, George’s grandson Grahame Wood opened the first Wawa Food Market in Folsom, PA. Today the company operates more than 540 stores in Delaware, Maryland, New Jersey, Pennsylvania and Virginia. Wawa is known for its branded products including award-winning coffee and freshly prepared hoagies. All Wawa stores feature a wide selection of ready-to-go salads, fresh fruits and produce items.  Wawa consistently ranks among Forbes’ top 100 privately held companies. “Wawa” is the Lenni-Lenape Indian word for Canada goose in flight.

About Merrychef

Merrychef (www.merrychef.com) products are used throughout the World, across a wide variety of market segments and applications.  In partnership with major food manufacturers and hot food retailers, Merrychef is constantly investing in research and development.  Merrychef Ltd., with headquarters and ISO 9001 approved manufacturing facilities in Aldershot, Hampshire, UK, is an operating company of Enodis plc. (www.enodis.com)  Merrychef USA is based in New Port Richey, FL.

About Enodis

Enodis plc (www.enodis.com) is a worldwide company focused on the design, manufacture, and supply of food equipment.  Through its two operating groups, Global Food Service Equipment and Food Retail Equipment, it has 27 factories in 8 countries and a large portfolio of premium brands, including Delfield, Scotsman, Frymaster, Lincoln, Cleveland, Garland, US Range, ICE-O-Matic, Jackson, Merco Savory, Dean, Varimixer, and Merrychef in foodservice, and Kysor/Warren and Kysor Panel Systems in food retail equipment.