Franke Foodservice Systems, a global equipment and supplies solutions provider based in Smyrna, Tennessee, announced the acquisition of Facility Solutions, Inc. (FSI), a project management firm serving national restaurant and retail chains. FSI will continue to serve these customers from its offices in Clinton Township, Michigan, complementing Franke’s own business in supporting large-scale facility improvement programs for global restaurant brands.
“FSI’s business mirrors our own in many ways,” says Thomas Campion, Franke Foodservice Systems CEO. “Not only do they manage complex, high-risk rollouts of new menu and service platforms for the biggest foodservice brands, they’ve also become a trusted partner that works closely with their customers from planning to close-out.”
FSI handles all aspects of nationwide rollouts, from in-store surveys and site preparation to execution timelines, client approvals and full management of contractors, vendors and logistics providers. FSI relies on its veteran foodservice professionals to provide chain management with input on equipment and layout design improvements, but it also strongly emphasizes building enduring franchisee relationships. For its work on core production facilities, FSI has won numerous customer awards in recent years, including Red Lobster Vendor Partner of the Year, Taco Bell Star Supplier and Jack in the Box Project Manager of the Year. FSI also received industry-wide recognition when it was named Vendor of the Year by the Restaurant Facilities Managers Association (RFMA) in 2016.
FSI’s staff of 35 operates from offices in the metropolitan Detroit area. The current management team, led by company founder Tom Cullen, will remain in place, and anticipates continued growth serving not only current accounts such as Yum! Brands, Panera Bread, Wendy’s and Starbucks, but also activities managed by Franke Supply Inc., the distribution and services arm of Franke Foodservice Systems.
“FSI and Franke are a perfect fit,” says Wally Kisling, Franke Supply President. “We both are positioned to help the foodservice industry, using the right resources and expertise, to control the time, cost and complexity of restaurant remodels and retrofits. These programs have been on the rise while new store openings, which were often more straightforward, have slowed. The timing of this marriage is right.”
Franke Foodservice Systems belongs to the Swiss-based Franke Group and is a leading provider of comprehensive systems and services for the global foodservice industry. It employs more than 1,200 associates worldwide, and manufactures and distributes a wide variety of equipment and supplies from a number of facilities in the U.S., Europe and Asia. Its sister divisions within the Franke Group produce diverse items such as automated commercial coffee machines and washroom fixtures. Franke is also a global leader in consumer kitchen fixtures such as sinks, faucets and hoods, and is the world’s largest producer of stainless steel sinks.