Stephens Catering Equipment strikes gold at IFEX Innovation Awards

Stephens Catering Equipment, Ireland’s largest and longest established catering and food service equipment company, based in Co. Antrim, has been awarded the top accolade at IFEX 2022 – Northern Ireland’s premier food, drink, retail and hospitality event - for its smart delivery, Pudu Robotics.
By Claire Cartmill
Published 25th Apr 2022, 10:30 BST
Updated 25th Apr 2022, 10:49 BST
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Competing against a record number of innovative products from across the food and hospitality sectors in Ireland, the Ballymena company was named as the winner of the Innovation Awards by an independent panel of judges that included Adrian McLaughlin, ex-general manager of Merchant Hotel; Colin Neill, CEO of Hospitality Ulster; Glyn Roberts, chief executive of Retail NI and Michael Henderson of NI Takeaway Association.

Judges were looking for all-round excellence among the exhibitors’ products with Stephens Catering Equipment walking away with gold for both its Pudu Robotics and also its Falcon Fryer Angel.

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Showcased for the first time in Northern Ireland, Pudu Robotics is a global leader in commercial service robots. Pudu Delivery Robots are Stephens’ latest innovation to combat staff shortages and salary constraints and help business owners fill critical job vacancies.

The Stephens Catering Equipment team along with the award winning Pudu RoboticsThe Stephens Catering Equipment team along with the award winning Pudu Robotics
The Stephens Catering Equipment team along with the award winning Pudu Robotics

By harnessing technologies such as low-speed automated driving, all-electric drive and autonomous motion control, Pudu Robotics is paving the way for the large-scale commercial rollout of service robots around the globe.

Paul Caves, director of Stephens Catering Equipment, said: “In the post-epidemic era, contactless delivery is becoming important in the intelligent delivery industry, and we are excited to be leading the way and offering up solutions to the Irish market with the launch of our Pudu Robotics. The robots concentrate on delivering customer meals, thereby affording the staff more time to focus on customer engagement and satisfaction. In addition, the robots will help businesses run at maximum capacity.

“It was great to be back at IFEX again, showcasing what we have on offer and meeting with both new and existing customers. With hundreds of products and business solutions all under one roof, we are thrilled to have been awarded two gold awards in the Innovation Awards – one for our Pudu Robotics and one for our Falcon Fryer Angel - helping to showcase both products on a national stage.”

Related topics:AntrimNorthern IrelandColin Neill