CHICAGO—The North American Association of Food Equipment Manufacturers (NAFEM) announces the return of the WHAT'S HOT! WHAT'S COOL! new product gallery at The NAFEM Show, February 7 to 9, Orange County Convention Center, Orlando, Fla.The NAFEM Show celebrates innovative thinking in the new product gallery, a one-stop-shop spotlighting more than 125 new products—the largest gallery yet—in the areas of labor savings, sanitation, “green,” energy efficiency, food safety, life cycle costs and more.“WHAT'S HOT! WHAT'S COOL! has quickly become an integral part of The NAFEM Show because it provides a tremendous value for all foodservice professionals, buyers and sellers alike,”...

SATELLITE BEACH, FLA.—Lighting Science Group Corp., an LED lighting technology company, announced that its DEFINITY PAR30 LED lamp has been recognized by the IEE, an Institute of the Edison Foundation, as one of the Top Ten best LED lamps. Using an innovative approach that factors in energy efficiency, light quality, cost, and consumer appeal, three energy efficiency leaders—IEE, TopTen USA, and Ecova—teamed up to provide consumers with a list of the Top Ten PAR 30 LED reflector light bulbs on the market today. The study focused on LED PAR30 and PAR38 (parabolic aluminized reflector) lamps because of their significant potential...

DECATUR, GA.—Seresco USA Inc., a leading manufacturer of HVAC indoor air quality equipment, has introduced the “Protocol” (NP) Series, new indoor swimming pool dehumidifier technology that reduces refrigerant use by up to 85 percent and is more efficient than conventional DX dehumidifiers.The NP-Series ranges from 18 to 140-ton units that provide energy-efficient natatorium space heating/cooling and optimum humidity control, while also offering free pool water heating and reheat through heat recovery.Named for the 1997 Kyoto Protocol environmental treaty, the Protocol Series substitutes hundreds of pounds of vapor compression refrigerants commonly used in traditional natatorium dehumidifiers with glycol that’s 95...

DURHAM, N.C.—Using up to 80 percent less energy and designed to last up to eight times longer than traditional 50-watt halogen MR16 lamps, the Cree LM16 LED Lamp delivers a new standard in LED lighting. The new Cree lamp can deliver payback in less than 12 months and provide years of consistent color quality and lumen output. The high-performance LM16 LED Lamp delivers the industry’s best center beam candlepower for 25° beam angles—making it ideal for a wide spectrum of applications in retail, hospitality and residential settings.The new LM16 LED Lamp not only matches the performance, appearance and ANSI...

LAS VEGAS—Panasonic Eco Products Division introduces a “greener” option for builders and remodelers at the 2013 International Builders’ Show (IBS), with the expansion of its popular line of WhisperGreen ventilation fans to include LED technology. Available starting March 2013, the WhisperGreen LED is an ENERGY STAR rated fan/light that provides spot and/or whole house ventilation for cleaner indoor air quality, with added LED illumination.Panasonic has combined two life-long technologies to develop the energy efficient fan/light solution. Utilizing only 7.5 Watts, the 80 CFM WhisperGreen LED FV-08VKSE3 and FV-08VKME3 are more energy efficient than ENERY STAR standards, and the 12-watt...

SAN LUIS OBISPO, CALIF.    —ClearWater Tech, LLC (CWT), provider of EcoTex O3 ozone cold water laundering systems, has added two new videos to the Service and Maintenance playlist on YouTube: “Changing the Inline Particulate Filter” and “UV Ozone Lamp Replacement.”“No other ozone provider comes close to matching our YouTube Library,” asserts Marc DeBrum, CWT assistant sales manager and applications engineer. “Three years ago we launched the library as a way to give customers and prospects convenient access to ClearWater products along with service information. Our collection now includes 24 videos in three playlists: EcoTex O3 Laundry Systems, the Service...

PEACHTREE CITY, GA.—Takashi Sonoda was recently appointed president of Rinnai America Corp. He is a 30-year veteran of the company. Sonoda previously managed a 400-person staff at the company’s Brazil facility and most recently served as president of Rinnai R. B. Controls Co., Ltd., in Japan.“Takashi brings a unique perspective,” said Yuzo Yoshida, general manager of overseas business headquarters at Rinnai. “His extensive global-industry background, strong management skills, and logistics and sales experience are valuable additions to the Rinnai America team.”In addition to welcoming a new president, Rinnai America is growing its advisory committee. Phil Weeks, previously the COO...

MILWAUKEE, WIS.—Marcus Hotels & Resorts, a division of The Marcus Corp., announced that the Sheraton Madison Hotel, located in Madison, Wis., has been accepted into Sustain Dane’s 2013 MPower Business ChaMpion Program. The one-year program, administered by Sustain Dane, a local nonprofit organization committed to creating energy saving solutions for home, school, business and municipalities in Dane County, ensures businesses are going green effectively and efficiently. The Sheraton Madison Hotel is managed by Marcus Hotels & Resorts. “It is an honor to be selected into the MPower Business ChaMpion Program,” said Brian Johnson, general manager of the Sheraton Madison....

KELOWNA, B.C.—The Best Western Plus Kelowna Hotel & Suites continues to charge forward with environmentally responsible initiatives. Not only has the hotel installed an electric vehicle charging station, they have just received LEED Silver Certification for their new environmental wing through the Canada Green Building Council (CaGBC).LEED, or Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design, is a third-party certification program that rates buildings to the highest environmental performance standards in Canada. “This was quite the process,” says Brenda Rayburn, director of sales and marketing for the Best Western Plus Kelowna Hotel & Suites. “However, for me, the length of time...

LAS VEGAS—Bartech, a provider of automatic minibar solutions for the hospitality industry, has announced a partnership with INNCOM and certified integration with the company’s INNcontrol 3 system. INNCOM develops, manufactures, and markets advanced guestroom control systems for the global lodging industry. The Bartech/INNCOM partnership will give hotels access to a rooms control system that controls in-room minibars along with various other technologies, in order to maximize operations and minimize costs.INNCOM’s INNcontrol 3 system is specifically designed to communicate with intelligent guestroom devices such as Bartech minibars. The system reports on room occupancy, network connectivity and equipment run-time, which helps...