The Middleby Corporation has announced a number of promotions within its organization. Wayne Froehlich has been promoted to president of Automatic Bar Controls, part of the Middleby Beverage Group; Max Zakharenko has been named president of Middleby Marshall, a division of The Middleby Corporation; and Michael Potter has been promoted to Middleby Group president.
In his new role Wayne Froehlich will oversee all aspects of the beverage brands Wunder-Bar, JoeTap, Starline, and Bloomfield.
“Middleby has considerably strengthened its position in commercial beverage, and Wayne is one of the reasons for our success. His leadership and experience not only benefitted his team, but our entire organization. We are gaining significant traction with customers who want our innovative beverage offerings in this fast-growing segment of commercial foodservice,” said Korey Kohl, president of Middleby Beverage.
“When Wayne joined Middleby two years ago we had just invested in a new Vacaville, California facility. His operations expertise was extremely valuable in quickly ramping up manufacturing while capitalizing on efficiencies. Under his direction, technology development and product launches have accelerated while delivering outstanding quality to our customers.”
Before his promotion, Froehlich was general manager of the group. He will continue to oversee the day-to-day sales, operations, engineering and accounting functions at the brands while becoming more deeply involved in strategic corporate initiatives.
Froehlich joined Middleby and Automatic Bar Controls nearly two year ago. He brought decades of experience to his position, primarily from the commercial foodservice industry. Previously he was VP/GM at Guardian Equipment, a manufacturer of emergency eye wash and showers for the industrial chemical industry. Prior to that he was with Prince Castle LLC, where he directed operations at the main company facility, Silver King’s Refrigeration in Plymouth Minn., as well as their offshore facility in Ningbo, China. In this role he was responsible for all aspects of the manufacturing business units that were under his leadership.
Outstanding leadership
Max Zakharenko has been named president of Middleby Marshall, a division of The Middleby Corporation. In this role he will be responsible for the strategy, product development, sales and day-to-day operations of the brands Middleby Marshall and CTX which are based and manufactured in Elgin, Illinois.
“Max’s outstanding leadership is a reason why we currently have such positive momentum at the Middleby Marshall and CTX brands. Under his oversight, Middleby Marshall has developed new technologies that are quickly entering the market, greatly improved operational efficiencies, and reinforced our commitment to customer service,” said James K. Pool III, Middleby chief technology and operations officer.
“This highly-respected brand, one of the oldest at Middleby, has been refreshed and is well-positioned for a promising future thanks in large part to Max’s commitment not only to the brand, but to its employees.”
Recently, Middleby Marshall introduced a new ventless conveyor oven, the largest and highest capacity available in the market. Soon, the new X-Series platform will be introduced to customers, a new generation of conveyor cooking technology from a long-trusted brand.
Before his promotion to division president, Zakharenko was vice president of finance and administration for Middleby Marshall. Prior to joining Middleby Marshall in 2018, he was part of the Middleby corporate accounting team. Prior to joining Middleby in 2012 Zakharenko was with a Schaumburg-based CPA firm working with individual and corporate clients.
Zakharenko has a B.S. Degree in Business Administration with a concentration in accounting from DeVry University.
A global market presence and customer base
Michael Potter has been promoted to Middleby group president, expanding his responsibilities to lead Middleby fryer brands Pitco, Ultrafryer and Anets. He will direct and oversee day-to-day operations of the brands, which are headquartered at their manufacturing facilities in Bow, N.H. Potter will continue to be responsible for QualServ Solutions in Fort Smith, Ark. and Follett Europe in Poland, both primarily fabrication facilities.
“Even in the challenging environment of last year, Michael had consistent success with QualServ and Follett Europe. He has expanded their global market presence and customer base while continuing to exceed the expectations of our restaurant customers and channel partners,” said Middleby chief commercial officer Steve Spittle.
“With his deep experience in manufacturing, I am confident this expertise will quickly benefit Pitco and the fryer brands as they work to maximize production and efficiency while bringing new innovative products to market.”
Potter has more than 30 years of leadership experience in a variety of business and manufacturing capacities and settings. Since joining QualServ as executive vice president in 2018, then promoted to president in 2019, Potter has heavily concentrated his efforts on fabrication and design to better serve customers in the current market.
Prior to joining QualServ, he was with Atlanta-based SPG International, a provider of custom storage solutions worldwide, in a variety of senior-level sales, engineering and marketing positions, the most recent being chief business development officer. Before joining SPG in 2011 he held senior sales and marketing positions within the medical, engineered components and foodservice products industries.
About The Middleby Corporation:
The Middleby Corporation is a global leader in the foodservice equipment industry. The company develops, manufactures, markets and services a broad line of equipment used in the commercial foodservice, food processing, and residential kitchen equipment industries.
The company’s leading equipment brands serving the commercial foodservice industry include Anets®, APW Wyott®, Bakers Pride®, Beech®, BKI®, Blodgett®, Blodgett Combi®, Blodgett Range®, Bloomfield®, Britannia®, Carter-Hoffmann®, Celfrost®, Concordia®, CookTek®, Crown®, CTX®, Desmon®, Deutsche Beverage®, Doyon®, Eswood®, EVO®, Firex®, Follett®, frifri®, Giga®, Globe®, Goldstein®, Holman®, Houno®, IMC®, Induc®, Ink Kegs®, Inline Filling Systems®, Jade®, JoeTap®, Josper®, L2F®, Lang®, Lincat®, MagiKitch’n®, Market Forge®, Marsal®, Meheen®, Middleby Marshall®, MPC®, Nieco®, Nu-Vu®, PerfectFry®, Pitco®, QualServ®, RAM®, Southbend®, Ss Brewtech®, Star®, Starline®, Sveba Dahlen®, Synesso®, Tank®, Taylor®, Thor®, Toastmaster®, TurboChef®, Ultrafryer®, Varimixer®, Wells® Wild Goose® and Wunder-Bar®. The company’s leading equipment brands serving the food processing industry include Alkar®, Armor Inox®, Auto-Bake®, Baker Thermal Solutions®, Burford®, Cozzini®, CVP Systems®, Danfotech®, Deutsche Process®, Drake®, Emico®, Glimek®, Hinds-Bock®, Maurer-Atmos®, MP Equipment®, M-TEK®, Pacproinc®, RapidPak®, Scanico®, Spooner Vicars®, Stewart Systems®, Thurne® and Ve.Ma.C.®. The company’s leading equipment brands serving the residential kitchen industry include AGA® AGA Cookshop®, Brava®, EVO®, La Cornue®, Leisure Sinks®, Lynx®, Marvel®, Mercury®, Rangemaster®, Rayburn®, Redfyre®, Sedona®, Stanley®, TurboChef®, Thor®, U-Line® and Viking®.
For more information about The Middleby Corporation and the company brands, please visit www.middleby.com.
