CHICAGO—The 455-all suite Embassy Suites by Hilton Chicago Downtown Magnificent Mile recently repurposed its atrium as the largest greenhouse in the city in launching its new “Sky Garden” concept and herb collection allowing the hotel to connect with its guests with a “direct-to-fork” approach. Given the climate in Chicago, most rooftop gardens are seasonal, active for only six months and not accessible to guests. The new 750-square-foot Sky Garden is open and accessible 365 days a year with accessibility to guests whether staying at the hotel for business or leisure. The hotel’s culinary team created the Sky Garden’s herb collection...

BALTIMORE, MD.—Combining heavy duty performance and energy savings technology, Vulcan announces the launch of the CEF Countertop Electric Fryers, including the industry’s first Energy Star certified countertop electric fryer. Driven by customer-backed innovation and insights, the CEF fryers are built to meet the cooking demands of any commercial kitchen. Available in two sizes—the CEF75 with a 75 lb. vat size, or the Energy Star certified CEF40 in 40 lb. vat size—Vulcan’s robust designs feature solid state analog controls resulting in consistent food quality and shorter cook times. “Vulcan co-developed the CEF fryers with a leading QSR chain, so we are confident...

WASHINGTON – More than 1,000 U.S. companies and organizations signed a letter to Congress and the administration calling for lawmakers to strengthen the ENERGY STAR program that was recently proposed for elimination under the Trump administration’s budget. “ENERGY STAR is a model for successful collaboration between the public and private sectors,” the letter states. “It enjoys a long track record of success and should be strengthened, not weakened, to ensure it continues providing these important benefits to the public while helping us meet our energy and environmental goals.” The letter, which was sent Monday and can be found here, was led...

MANCHESTER, N.H.—Xeros, the innovator of polymer cleaning technologies, announced the Symphony Project, an innovative technology collaborative with a mission to improve the sustainability of the world’s laundry rooms. The Symphony Project will include access to the Xeros polymer science, product designs, IoT platform, and its entire commercial laundry eco-system to any participating partner. The goal is to enable partner brands to offer customers a more sustainable laundry system with significant operational and end-user benefits while retaining their hard-earned brand loyalty. Xeros established the Symphony Project with the goal of helping to improve the sustainability of the commercial laundry industry. For...

OSHKOSH, WIS.— Continental Girbau Inc.’s presence at “Clean ’17” will showcase the company’s vast product breadth as a diverse provider of on-premise, industrial and vended laundry equipment and solutions, according to President Mike Floyd. Continental booth 3215 is dedicated to on-premise and industrial laundry, while booth 3415 is vended-laundry focused. “During ‘Clean,’ Continental will feature new product advancements in folding automation, dryer programmability and washer technologies,” said Floyd. “We promise exciting booth interaction, educational product demonstrations, and valuable opportunities to speak with Continental end-users, distributors and team members.” During the show, visitors will also enjoy financing and product promotions. Booth 3215 will...

CLEARWATER BEACH, FLA.—Wyndham Grand Clearwater Beach’s Ocean Hai restaurant is inviting both guests and Clearwater Beach locals to dine in support of local nonprofit organizations with its new You Dine, We Donate program giving all net proceeds from food and non-alcoholic beverage purchases by diners seated at Table #31 to a different local charity selected each month. The March beneficiary of Ocean Hai’s You Dine, We Donate program is The Humane Society of Pinellas County. The Humane Society of Pinellas has been caring for animals within their community since 1949, providing life-saving services to help keep the citizens of Pinellas...

WASHINGTON, D.C.—Informa Exhibitions U.S. and the U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC) announced the release of the 2016 Greenbuild Sustainability Report, highlighting valuable metrics and key benchmarks regarding the impact on energy use and waste management at the 2016 Greenbuild International Conference and Expo, held last October at the Los Angeles Convention Center in Los Angeles. “Each year, we celebrate our victories with the release of this report and set the bar a little higher for the next year, to continue positively impacting the events industry with environmentally responsible management in the planning, operations and execution of Greenbuild,” said Lindsay Roberts,...

GLENVIEW, ILL.—For the tenth year running, ITW Food Equipment Group is being recognized by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) for its commitment to energy efficiency. ITW Food Equipment Group has earned the EPA’s Energy Star Partner of the Year— Sustained Excellence Award for 2017, the agency’s highest industry honor. By maintaining a focus on energy savings and efficiency, ITW Food Equipment Group has earned Partner of the Year—Sustained Excellence awards since 2010 as well as Energy Star Partner of the Year in 2008 and 2009. “ITW FEG has always been committed to energy and resource efficiency, for our customers,...

JOSEPH, MICH.—Maytag Commercial Laundry is giving a new meaning to 15,000. The brand, which recently launched its Front-Load Washer, confirmed the machine’s DuraCore Drive System is designed and tested to run 15,000 cycles. Through its stringent testing, the DuraCore Drive System provided consistent results, even with tough loads. The DuraCore Drive System is engineered with a watertight, flexible triple-seal with garter springs, which keeps moisture away from the shaft and protects the premium bearings, while the durable shaft sleeve eliminates shaft wear. Combined with the die-cast trunnion, the DuraCore Drive System is designed and tested to run 15,000 cycles—solidifying the...

OSHKOSH, WIS.—Continental Girbau Inc. recently broke ground on its third facility expansion since 2000, according to President Mike Floyd. The two-phase project comes as a result of catapulting sales, product offerings and staff. “Business is so strong that we need more space for our team members and product inventory,” said Floyd. “We are projecting aggressive expansion throughout the next four years.” Phase one of the building expansion, to be completed May 1, 2017, encompasses a 24,000-square-foot warehouse addition. “This extra space will allow Continental to inventory more product and quickly and efficiently turnaround customer product orders,” said Floyd. Phase two, to...