Kitchen Brains®, a Source Capital portfolio company, and a leading designer and manufacturer of fully integrated smart cooking computers, electronic controls and software solutions for commercial foodservice operations, has announced that it is expanding its U.S. manufacturing capabilities to meet the growing demand for high quality, onshore production.
Reconfiguration of the manufacturing floor is already underway and additional equipment is expected to be installed by the end of the year. With the recent opening of the Advanced Technology Center in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, Kitchen Brains was also able to reallocate space formerly occupied by the software engineering team to expand within the current footprint. Upon completion, Kitchen Brains production capacity will increase by more than 40%, allowing the Company to better serve current customers and provide additional services to new customers, including contract manufacturing.
Along with this expansion, the entire Kitchen Brains team recently completed updated Lean training. As a result, several initiatives have been implemented, including the realignment of equipment to reduce excessive movement between functional spaces, the installation of monitors throughout the manufacturing facility to share job tracking and key data with employees, and the reconfiguration of the shipping and receiving areas to process orders faster. These changes have already begun to increase efficiency, reduce waste and, most importantly, ensure quality.
