Five halls of the worlds hospitality and professional kitchen equipment and systems held over four days in October at the Singapore EXPO exhibition and conference center. The exhibition offered visitors a truly global experience with cutting-edge equipment not only from Europe and the Americas, but a significant presence by Asian manufacturers.
Speed, automation, induction, and waste were equally prominent in their presence. Local Asian manufacturers who showed equipment familiar in Europe and North America and often engineered it to the next level; I suspect to the surprise of some of the European cooking equipment who may have been exhibiting in Asia for the first time.
Of course, Induction cooking equipment was seen everywhere, but not just hotplates, chafing dishes and woks (15kW) but also fryers, grills and tiling kettles up to 40lt. In some cases, matching induction heating with automatic cooking stir fry systems.
Automation in abundance
Automation was everywhere from self-service cook to order to stirring kettles, bakery equipment and woks. Most automation being demonstrated such as the BOTINKIT programmable stir fryer are engineered systems rather than using cobots as an add such as the familiar robotic coffee maker.
While thinking about coffee, the number of Asian designed and manufactured, in some cases applying unique engineering and technology, automatic bean to cup coffee machines being shown equalled those coming from Italy a fair indication that the consumption of coffee in Asia is certainly on the rise. Many automatic machines offered a “simulated” Americano coffee to save the need for a second filter coffee unit.
There was a proliferation of speed ovens on display, both microwave and air impingement type (without microwave). It seems to have taken well over twenty years from the introduction of the original Mealstream oven (now offering three different capacities and duty) until they are now an everyday piece of kit. For designers they varied from front of house models like Mealstream and Lainox Oracle to the heavier duty back of house Speed.Pro by Unox.
The issue of waste and the environment featured prominently in many sales pitches as well as the presentation, in some cases for the first time, of products and equipment designed for managing food waste by breaking it down, dehydrating it and in one case turning it into something else useful altogether. Efay, a Taiwanese manufacturer of melamine wares has developed a means of repurposing discarded melamine rather than having it sent to landfill. The firm is also harvesting styrene waste from the ocean and converting 80% into a hard surface material. They are also converting husks from banana plant waste into a fabric which their exhibition booth used and printed with soy ink so that it is 100% compostable.
The topic on the exhibition floor and the seminars frequently turned to the need to overcome the issue of waste in the foodservice and hospitality industry. These issues are the same as confronted by businesses in the Americas and Europe, but potentially magnified by multiples because of the expanding middle class population in Asia. But also, this same problem of sheer population multiples has resulted in a market for foodservice equipment innovation that will inevitably challenge the European and American markets.
Improving, innovating and new ideas
There is a saying that good designers don’t copy; they steal: and improve. That seems to have been happening at all levels in the Asian foodservice and equipment industry; and not just improving but also innovating with completely new ideas.
The 2024 FHA HoReCa exhibition was totally facilities focussed without any food business exhibiting; this will revert back to a combined event from 2026 which will make it a more meaningful visit for FCSI-member consultants in the future. FCSI Asia Pacific Division (APD) had a well patronized booth and an afternoon panel session and workshop on AI and Automation delivered by BOTINKIT which provided data and an interesting insight into the point (volume throughput) at which the taste of the delivered meal changes from the of chef produced (Industry 1) to automated production (Industry 3/4).
The APD AGM was held at EXPO and online, with the committee being re-elected, with the exception resulting from the retirement of Moffat’s Greg O’Connell as the APD Allied member representative. Greg has been a great support and important to the evolution and development of APD over the past decade plus and has defined the role of the Allied member representative to the APD board. His worthy successor is Leonard Lam, managing director, Asia Pacific at Welbilt Inc.
Tim Smallwood FFCSI
