» Next Generation Buys Loose Ends Vending Inc. in Batavia, N.Y.
Next Generation Vending and Food Service Inc., based in Canton, Mass., has acquired Loose Ends Vending & Food Service Inc. in Batavia, N.Y. for an undisclosed sum, according to Tom Houseknecht, president, founder and co-owner of Loose Ends Vending & Food Service. Both companies are Canteen franchisees.
Houseknecht said most of the company’s 155 employees will be retained by the new owner. He said that among the previous owners, only his nephew, Mike Houseknecht, will remain with the new owners.
Houseknecht said Loose Ends Vending & Food Service operated 42 vending routes, one OCS route and six manual feeding accounts. The company operated from five facilities: Elmira, N.Y.; Rochester, N.Y.; Erie, Pa.; Batavia, N.Y. and Buffalo, N.Y. He said the company was in the process of closing the Batavia facility before the transaction occurred.
Next Generation announced it will acquire and divest territories with Canteen Vending Services and selected Canteen franchisees in the Northeast. With approximately 900 employees and over $120 million in annual revenue, Next Generation serves New York, Connecticut, Rhode Island, Massachusetts and northern Pennsylvania.
» NAMA Offers Access to CareerBuilder.com
Members of the National Automatic Merchandising Association (NAMA) have an opportunity to save money while searching for a new job or recruiting for a new position thanks to a new business partner, CareerBuilder.com, announced Joann DeNardis, PHR, NAMA manager of human resources.
“NAMA has partnered with CareerBuilder.com to power the career center,” said DeNardis in a prepared statement. “Along with access to a database directly online through the NAMA site that allows you to search through over 1.8 million jobs on CareerBuilder.com, NAMA members also receive a 35 percent discount on job postings. You can post your next job at $147 less as a NAMA member and get access to CareerBuilder’s resume database for your next open position and save at least $210.” For more information, visit www.vending.org and click on Career Center.
» National Coffee Service & Vending Appoints Quality Brokerage as Broker Associate
National Coffee Service & Vending, the Lake Worth, Fla.-based vending and coffee service product brokerage, has appointed Quality Brokerage, based in Turnersville, N.J., as its broker associate for the Mid Atlantic region. Quality Brokerage joins Burdette Beckmann Inc., Hollywood, Fla., Premier National Sales, Wantagh, N.Y., Statewide Brokerage Inc., Twinsburg, Ohio, (which includes Howard J. Eddy & Associates Inc., formerly based in Morocco, Ind.) and Vend Marketing, Ann Arbor, Mich. as broker associates of National Coffee Service & Vending.
National Coffee Service & Vending is the national representative for Timothy’s World Coffee, Emeril’s Coffee, National Coffee Roasters, Cafe Classics, Donut Shop Classics, Autocrat Coffee On Demand, and Lavazza Blue.
» Teamsters Approve Agreement with Interstate Brands Corp.
Teamster members voted to accept modifications of their agreements with Interstate Brands Corp. (IBC), which owns Hostess and other brands, by an overwhelming majority. The modification agreement, covering more than 9,000 workers, was the culmination of months of work by the union negotiating team to find an appropriate financial partner for IBC that was committed to bringing the company out of bankruptcy and preserving jobs.
» PepsiCo Inc. Acquires Canada-Based Sunflower and Pumpkin Seed Firm
PepsiCo Inc. has acquired Spitz International Inc., an Alberta, Canada-based company that produces sunflower and pumpkin seeds, according to AOL News Canada. PepsiCo said Spitz will fall under its Frito-Lay North America division.
» Industry Loses Coffee Equipment Pioneer K. Cyrus Melikian
K.Cyrus Melikian of Haverford, Pa. recently passed away. He was 88. He was chairman of Automatic Brewers & Coffee Devices Inc. in Conshohocken, Pa. and was active up until his untimely death. He is credited with inventing one of the first coffee vending machines and was long active in the vending and coffee service industries. Melikian co-founded Rudd Melikian Inc. in Warminster, Pa., which became RMI, which was later sold Automatic Products ltd., now part of Crane Merchandising Systems.
