One of Urnex’s stated mission goals is striving to uphold the highest standards of quality, consistency, and effectiveness within the industry. In alignment with this goal, Urnex employs an internal team of chemists and product technicians, as well as manufacturing and coffee professionals.

Urnex looks to distinguish themselves in the market by having this level of in-house expertise and experience. By investing in a deep understanding of coffee equipment, and creating products based on proprietary formulas, Urnex is able to offer a cleaning solution for nearly every brewing need.

Popular Urnex offerings include cleaning powder, liquid, and tablets for milk frothing systems, espresso machines, coffee pots, urns & brewers, ice machines, grinders, tea brewers, and more. By offering a wide range of products, often in multiple case sizes, Urnex is able to serve businesses of all types, from local coffee shops to large corporate café equipment manufacturers.

As any barista, café owner, or other coffee professional knows, cleaning is one of the most important factors in maintaining a successful business. Having clean equipment allows a business to yield better-tasting drinks, keep equipment running smoothly, and extend equipment lifespan, all while upholding health & safety standards.

In addition to being well-formulated for effectiveness, Urnex also strives to make cleaning products which are easy-to-use, making cleaning tasks more efficient for baristas and café staff.

Houston’s is your source for a wide slate of Urnex cleaning offerings, as well as a full line-up of other café and coffee industry supplies. Everything from drinkware and disposables to flavor syrups, alternative milks, and other consumables such as frappé & smoothie mixes can be found online at https://www.houstons-inc.com/catalog/index.php

Urnex offers helpful cleaning guides on their website.

Read about our other valued partner vendors on the Houston’s Blog.

The post Vendor Spotlight: Urnex Café Cleaners appeared first on Houston's Blog.

What is NAFEM?

“Every other year, The NAFEM Show attracts thousands of qualified foodservice equipment and supplies buyers – a powerful marketing opportunity for all of our exhibiting members. With a wide array of innovative prep, cooking, storage, and table service products on display, the show is a one-stop-shop for operators, dealers, consultants and manufacturers alike. “

Over 500 equipment and supplies manufactures will be at this year’s show! Come say hi to our vendors and explore the innovations that could help propel your business to the next level.

• 3M – Booth #3417
• American Metalcraft, Inc. – Booth #1418
• August Thomsen Corp. – Booth #220
• Bar Maid Corporation – Booth #4419
• Cretors and Company – Booth #431
• Cadco, Ltd. – Booth #2630
• CAL-MIL Plastic Products, Inc. – Booth #2627
• Cambro Manufacturing Co. – Booth #1012
• Carlisle Foodservice Products – Booth #2606
• CDN – Booth #804
• Chef Master/ Mr. Bar-B-Q – Booth #3003
• Cooper-Atkins Corporation – Booth #3612
• Edlund Company, LLC – Booth #1818
• Fisher Mfg. Co. – Booth #653
• Focus Foodservice, LLC – Booth #400
• Franmara, Inc. – Booth #2539
• Gessner Products Co., Inc. – Booth #919
• Gold Medal Products Co. – Booth #212
• Grindmaster Cecilware – Booth #1068
• Hamilton Beach Brands, Inc. – Booth #2000
• International Tableware, Inc. – Booth #428
• iSi North America – Booth #227
• Iwatani Corporation of America – Booth #4502
• John Boos & Company – Booth #812
• M & Q Packaging Corporation – Booth #1633
• Mundial – Booth #832
• NEMCO Food Equipment, Ltd. – Booth #600
• Oak Street Manufacturing – Booth #112
• Prince Castle, LLC – Booth #635
• Pronto Products Company – Booth #1602
• Risch, Inc. – Booth #871
• San Jamar – Booth #3022
• Service Ideas, Inc. – Booth #1264
• Shat-R-Shield – Booth #925
• T&S Brass & Bronze Works, Inc. – Booth #3412
• Tablecraft Products – Booth #1022
• Thunder Group, Inc. – Booth #442
• Town Food Service Equipment Co., Inc. – Booth #2240
• Tuxton China, Inc. – Booth #4200
• Update International – Booth #400
• Vertex China – Booth #1315
• Victorinox Swiss Army, Inc. – Booth #3620
• Vitamix Corporation – Booth #4012
• Vollrath Company – Booth #1435
• Walco Stainless – Booth #235
• Waring Products Division – Booth #1048
• Wells Bloomfield, LLC – Booth #1279
• WINCO – Booth #2279

Our vendors are all looking forward to sharing their new products with you! What are you looking forward to at The NAFEM Show 2017? Let us know in the comments below!

The post And So The Foodservice Show Season begins: The NAFEM Show 2017 appeared first on Houston's Blog.

“The main focus is for Regional Managers to work with various departments and gain a better perspective of how everything works in the building as well as get to know the people in each department better,” says National Sales Manager Jarrod Bowren.  This is the first time that any of the current Regional Managers have had the opportunity to spend an extended period of time in any department learning the ins and outs of daily operations at Houston’s.  While the main goal was to help our outside sales staff to learn about routine procedures in the Wilsonville office, Jarrod also wanted to expose the Regional Managers to the upbeat and positive culture that has consumed Houston’s.  “There’s a huge difference,” said Jarrod, noting that employees are up and moving around, and interacting with other people in different departments.  “It’s refreshing.”

Regional Manager Pete Butorac tries out an iSi dispenser with the help of vendor rep Antoinette D’Ambrosio Photo Credit: Christina Graiff

In addition to shadowing the various departments, the Regional Managers also had a day of in-office vendor training in which they met with representatives from National Chemicals, Espresso Supply, Hospitality Glass, International Tableware, Inc (ITI), and iSi North America.  These hour-long sessions provided great insight into vendor product lines, product testing, and allowed time for question that our sales team regularly fields from their customers.

The week wrapped up discussing 2017 goals and how current procedures and processes could be improved upon with key departments such as Purchasing, Inside Sales, and Marketing—the goal being “help us help you” in building sales and revenue, and working toward the ultimate benefit to Houston’s. Communication was one of the largest topics of the day: communication within departments and between departments.  Jarrod wasn’t shy in displaying Outside Sales’ 2017 sales goal for all to see:  $62 million!  It’s a realistic goal, one easily attainable when all departments work together to better serve our customers.

The merchandising team arrived in the office in full force on Friday, ready to learn primarily about the technology that Houston’s has available to assist in offering our clientele supreme service.  Time was spent learning about Salesforce and how to utilize the program to help grow customer satisfaction and loyalty, as well as how to navigate the extranet, our internal reporting and information resource.  They also were given the opportunity to get better acquainted with Robin Phillips, the newly promoted National Merchandising Manager.  Robin is excited for “the opportunity to expand my responsibilities…one of my long term goals is business development in other parts of the country…I believe it is an exciting time in our company and see great things for us ahead.”  In addition to Robin’s long term goals, he also looks forward to transitioning some of his day-to-day responsibilities to Jered Bokoskie, and to further working with Bob, Geoff, Lindsay, and everyone in the office.

What a great way to bring 2016 to a close and to begin focusing on how to make next year even better.

The post Setting Our Sights on 2017 appeared first on Houston's Blog.