TOP TAKEAWAYS FROM THE NAFEM SHOW 2025
In February, more than 20,000 people descended upon the Georgia World Congress Center in Atlanta to attend The NAFEM Show, a biennial event that is the only foodservice show focused solely on equipment and supplies.
Boelter was there, talking with manufacturers, researching the newest technologies and trying out some of the latest equipment.
Our Design Services team – Eric Chaplick (Vice President), Steve Stern (Director), and Dennis Hahn (Director) – share their highlights from this year’s NAFEM Show.
Improving Energy Efficiency
Chaplick: A lot of our clients are interested in reducing carbon footprint, which has us looking to integrate energy efficient equipment into new designs. One thing that stood out to me were the new options in warewashing that reduce mechanical energy consumption. Features such as automatic soil removal and drain water energy recovery.
Hahn: I noticed R454A refrigerants are now being brought to market in compressors and large refrigeration units. This has a lower GWP (global warming potential) than previous refrigerants.
Stern: The Department of Energy (DOE) regulations on low GWP refrigerants also impacted walk-ins and merchandisers. Almost all manufacturers have re-engineered their cooling systems to run with R290, and in doing so they made other improvements as well, to meet Energy Star standards and improve overall energy efficiency.
More Variety for Electric Options
Chaplick: Cooking with electricity is another way our clients are looking to be better stewards of the environment. Middleby’s EVO has a new hood system, the EVent open canopy ventless hood, that utilizes a self-contained filtration process. This enables us to spec more types of electric cooking equipment, as it can handle large amounts of ventless frying and cooking proteins.
Stern: Middleby also introduced a wider selection of electric cooking options, including a French top unit and a clamshell. More variety helps us as designers be able to specify the type of equipment needed for an operation while still being able to offer an electric option.
Equipment Stand-outs
Chaplick: RPI’s new “touchless” merchandiser. It has all glass doors providing a clear view of products, which are automatic to provide energy savings and keep products colder and safer. These are a great option for grab-and-go market situations.
Stern: Convotherm introduced a new AI feature on their combi ovens. By combining that technology with smart sensors they can increase productivity while conserving energy.
Hahn: This one isn’t tech-savvy, but PMG has a new breath guard with side guards that can pivot with the glass. This is not only more versatile but easier to clean.
Design Technologies
Stern: More types of equipment are implementing smart controls and the ability to connect to the IoT (Internet of Things). This is going to have a big impact on reducing down time, because the ability for remote monitoring can help trouble shoot when equipment fails to identify what is going on before sending the service technician out for the repair. It also helps with menu updates and pushing out LTOs.
Chaplick: We’re seeing more manufacturers offer configurating applications, which assist designers in developing custom stainless steel fabrication, cook lines and bar and beer-line design. Some are even using virtual reality (VR) to give designers and their clients the ability to view a design using augmented reality.
At Boelter, we’re constantly learning about the latest innovations in foodservice design and equipment to help our customers improve operational efficiency and stay ahead of industry trends. From energy-saving technologies to cutting-edge equipment, we leverage these advancements to create smarter, more sustainable solutions.
If you're planning your next project and want to explore the best design and equipment options for your operation, reach out to our team—we're here to help bring your vision to life.