This year’s FEA Industry Conference is taking place on Wednesday 9th and Thursday 10th November at Chesford Grange Hotel, Kenilworth. It promises to be a lively session given the current crises facing the foodservice industry. Spiralling costs, supply chain problems, staff shortages, sustainability and the ever-looming impact of climate change are all pressing issues that need to be faced.
The FEA AGM will take place on the afternoon of 9th November followed by the Informal Dinner in the evening. The Informal Dinner provides unrivalled networking opportunities before the main events of the next day and attendees will also see the exciting unveiling of this year’s FEA Top 100 Industry Influencers, now in its second year.
At the AGM Steve Hobbs hands over the two-year chairmanship to Paul Anderson, who will welcome delegates on Thursday morning before introducing Nina Warhurst, BBC Breakfast Show business and consumer presenter who will start the proceedings with an insight into the current state of business in general.
Seamus Nevin, Chief Economist at Make UK the representative voice of over 20,000 UK manufacturing companies spanning engineering, manufacturing, technology and the wider industrial sector is perfectly placed to update conference goers on the current economic picture and offer predictions on where the foodservice equipment sector is heading.
A State of the Industry Update will feature three speakers from key industry sectors who will offer the latest news from their areas of expertise before inviting questions from delegates. This is a chance to get to the nitty gritty. How will the key Government aims of sustainability, waste reduction and net zero be affected by rising costs? What are the predictions across the sectors and how will spend be affected? The speakers will include Matt White, PSC100 Group covering how the public sector is coping with the current economic pressures and Charles Wood, Deputy Director, Energy UK looking at the state and future of the energy market and the impact on the foodservice industry.
Connectivity is featuring large in current and future kitchens and is likely to become more prevalent as businesses tackle staff shortages and embrace technological advances. Ian Machan from Aston Business School will give his take on how this fits into foodservice and how lessons already learnt in other industries can benefit foodservice. A panel discussion afterwards aimed at keeping delates ahead of the curve will include Phil Shelley, Project Lead of the Hospital Review Group and Richard Fordham from KiTech Solutions.
That’s just the morning. In the afternoon the focus will be on improving diversity and inclusivity and looking at ways of bridging the staffing gap. How FEA can change traditional attitudes on recruitment and support women in the rapidly evolving workplace.
At the dinner the FEA Apprentice of the year Award and the Associations’ Outstanding Service to the Catering Equipment Industry Award will be presented; as well as a number of special Chairman’s awards to individuals whose work and commitment underpins the professionalism of the industry.
“This is just a taste of what delegates can expect,” says current chair Steve Hobbs, “We hope this whets the appetite of everyone attending and those who are thinking about attending.”
For the latest information on the Industry Conference 2022, visit www.feaconference.co.uk
The Foodservice Equipment Association (FEA) is the independent, authoritative voice of the foodservice equipment industry, representing nearly 200 companies who supply, service and maintain all types of commercial catering equipment – from utensils to full kitchen schemes. For more information on FEA visit www.fea.org.uk
