Refrigeration Magazine - April 2020 by Refrigeration Magazine

APRIL 2020

COVID - 19 WIth Covid-19 changing everything, this month, we bring you outlooks and articles on the positives, negatives, and mysteries of what is going on.

Let us hear from you. We welcome the connection!

2 REFRIGERATION Magazine â&#x201D;&#x201A; April 2020

April 2020 Vol. 203 │ No. 4 ISSN #0034-3137

EDITORIAL STAFF Editor/Publisher Mary Y. Cronley refrigerationmag@gmail.com (404) 819-5446 Senior Staff Writer Joe Cronley cronley.joe@gmail.com (404) 295-5712 Art Direction Markurious Marketing info@markurious.com (678) 439-6534

ADVERTISING, SUBSCRIPTIONS, ACCOUNTS Mary Y. Cronley Editor/Publisher refrigerationmag@gmail.com (404) 819-5446 Established as ICE in 1906, Refrigeration Magazine™ is published thirteen times a year, including the Annual Buyer's Guide. Postmaster: Send notice by form 3579 to: Refrigeration Magazine 2930 Cedar Knoll Drive Roswell, GA 30076 Annual Subscriptions: US: $49/year or $79/two years International: $79/year Single Copies: $6/copy

FEATURES

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SALES Sales Down? 3 Steps to cope with the stress in sales during Covid-19

INNOVATION

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S ix Ways Businesses will stay changed after Covid-19 passes A round the World: 19 Businesses Pivoting in Response to Covid-19

NEWS

FDA provides temporary flexibility regarding packaged-food nutrition labeling in response to the COVID-19 pandemic New Research Finds Six in 10 Consumers Have Decreased C-store Spending Since COVID-19 Outbreak

WORKING FROM HOME

C-STORE NEWS

Home Office Syndrome. No place like home, unless you’re working from there because of COVID-19

Poll: Three-Quarters of C-store Retailers Say COVID-19 Has Negatively Impacted Their Sales

DEPARTMENTS

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spICE All WIll Be Well

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FIND OUT MORE AT refrigeration-magazine.com OR CONNECT WITH US AT facebook.com/refrigeration-magazine REFRIGERATION Magazine │ April 2020 3

spICE

W All WIll Be Well

When your children were young, do you remember how they would not accept the answer “I don’t know?” Whether the question was about Santa Claus, the blue sky, bugs, machines, just about anything, kids don’t accept the answer, “I don’t know.” They expect their parents to know everything. I wish I could tell you what this business, what the food supply chain, what outdoor recreation, will look like this summer or next. I don’t know. There is no sector of the economy that is not devastated by the utter business stoppage in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. Even in essential services such as medical, police, fire, garbage and grocery, workers who go to their now critical jobs find a totally different environment and risk infection themselves as they interact with the public. We all trust that the uniform stoppage that affects everyone will prevent normal consequences from further damaging everyone. In many countries, national legislatures are temporarily suspending normal procedures of debt collection, bankruptcy and eviction. In the United States, some states are discussing similar action although it is not clear how this would work. One cannot squeeze blood from a turnip, and if the bank cannot collect on its lending, it fails as well. That chain of dominoes is a long one.

“We will return to work. We will remain vigilant in the face of possible illness. ”

Clearly, some businesses will not emerge from the other side of this. Despite a massive SBA lending program, reports are that the money was exhausted in a little more than a week. Small businesses who didn’t apply immediately may not get a chance to. If you’re a tiny restaurant, boutique or service sector provider, you may not be able to ride it out, and your staff may not return. Giant household names may fall as well. This crisis wasn’t caused by normal economic factors. In 2008, things started to turn when real estate lenders began to have loans go bad, then whole portfolios, then Wall Street backers of these loans started to suffer, investors on Wall Street balked, and one thing led to another. It was a systemic issue, and needed to heal by healing the system. This is an external crisis. Banks, lenders, consumers didn’t cause this. It is caused by a microscopic virus that nobody knows how to stop. The mantra in countries emerging from this, such as South Korea and Singapore, is “Test, Treat, Track” to have awareness of where the virus is, how to avoid it, and how to limit or prevent its spread. Here in North America, government and industry is gearing up for all three areas. We will return to work. We will remain vigilant in the face of possible illness. Possibly hundreds of millions of people will use the ubiquitous cellphone to allow others to remotely monitor our whereabouts, and notify us of possible exposure to others with the virus. If we haven’t tested yet, we probably will. And we’ll test over and over. The combined efforts of the world’s science expertise will find a viable treatment plan and, hopefully, a vaccine (I’m told there is no guarantee of this). We will heal our sick, and we will heal our economy. What things will look like after this, I don’t know. But everything will be OK.

Mary Cronley EDITOR/PUBLISHER, REFRIGERATION MAGAZINE

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REFRIGERATION Magazine │ April 2020 5

SALES

Sales Down?

STEPS

TO COPE WITH THE STRESS IN SALES DURING COVID 19

It’s unprecedented: The world is in chaos, and everyone’s work situation has changed drastically for the foreseeable future. You’re realizing for the first time that working from home isn’t what you thought it would be, and your numbers are down. Really down. There’s no stress quite like sales stress because there’s no career quite like a sales career. On top of that, we’re going through a time of unprecedented stress due to the spread of coronavirus.

Sales is already a highly-competitive, high-pressure, resultsdriven career. That’s why, when disaster strikes, the results of a high-stress environment on an already stressful job can seriously take their toll on your mental health. There’s a lot riding on your performance. From the financial well-being of your family to the success of your company, you’ve got a lot of people depending on you to meet your quota. 6 REFRIGERATION Magazine │ April 2020

So what happens when you don’t? How do you deal with the stress of letting yourself and your team down, especially in these challenging times? No surprise, there are right and wrong ways to deal with this stress; and most salespeople don’t handle it well. But before we get there, let’s talk about what stress really means, because it might not be what you think.

ENLIGHTENMENT FROM A T-SHIRT At best, stress is uncomfortable. At worst, it’s downright painful; so no one is going to blame you for thinking of it as a bad thing. I know I used to—at least until a chance encounter with some random guy in a t-shirt. Let me explain: I was out walking one day, stressed about one thing or another, when a modern-day Confucius crossed my path. I don’t know his name and we didn’t exchange any words. We didn’t even make eye contact. But he taught me a valuable lesson that day.

Plastered across his t-shirt was a simple sentence: Stress just means you give a f***. I love that. If you’re stressed about something, it means you care. It means it matters to you. And sure, the feeling of stress itself isn’t good, but the fact that you’re stressed is a good sign. Caring is the most important part of sales success. And now that you understand that, let’s talk about what you can do to manage, reduce, and even eliminate that stress (by continuing to care).

STRESS MANAGEMENT 101 At its core, stress management really means emotional management. The more capable you are of recognizing, realizing, and managing your emotions, the more control you have over your time, your energy, and your focus. And once you’ve got control over your time, energy, and focus, there simply isn’t any room in your life for stress. So before we get into specific stress management techniques for salespeople, let’s start with the five basic

things every human being needs to do on a consistent basis to reduce stress, especially during a worldwide pandemic.

WAIT. I can tell some of you want to scroll past this section because “you’ve heard it all before.” That may be true, but you need to hear it again. Just because the information isn’t “new” or “sexy” doesn’t mean it isn’t important. In fact, without the five principles below, the sales-specific stress management techniques I cover later on won’t even work. So think of this section as a quick but necessary review of the things you should already be doing.

GO TO SLEEP

Work will still be there in the morning I get it: Silicon Valley idolizes workaholism and there’s this unspoken pressure that if you’re not working, you’re failing. It isn’t true.

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You’ve probably heard the stories of hyper-successful entrepreneurs who only sleep 3-5 hours each night, right? They’re the exception, not the rule. If you need sleep habits to look up to, how about these:

I don’t care what that looks like for you: Lift weights. Follow your favorite YouTube workout routine. Go for a jog around the office (or around your house). Do whatever you want, as long as you break a sweat.

Elon Musk sleeps 6 hours each night Tim Cook sleeps 7 hours each night Jeff Bezos sleeps 7 hours each night

This balances out your body chemistry so you not only feel less stress, you’re better equipped to handle the stress you do have. For more on the effects of exercise on stress, check out “Exercising to Relax” by Harvard Health Publications.

Go to bed. Work will still be there in the morning. Besides, you’ll probably get more done in 8 hours of rested productivity than 12 hours of sleep-deprived dabbling. We’ve all got that one meal we know isn’t good for us, but we can’t resist. You know the one: You’ve convinced yourself it helps you relax and unwind, but really it just leaves you feeling like shit. Stop doing that to yourself. I’m not saying you can’t eat junk food; I’m just saying it shouldn’t be a staple of your daily eating habits. Ditch the fast food a couple days each week and eat something that leaves you feeling (healthfully) energized instead.

Take a break

You may be getting enough sleep, but are you taking enough breaks during the workday? I don’t care who you are: You can’t possibly be working at peak productivity from 6:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m. every day. If you find yourself doing that, pause and ask yourself, “What are my most and least productive hours?” Then simply stop working during your least productive hours and use them for exercise or a healthy meal instead.

Eat good food.

We’ve all got that one meal we know isn’t good for us, but we can’t resist. You know the one: You’ve convinced yourself it helps you relax and unwind, but really it just leaves you feeling bad. Stop doing that to yourself. I’m not saying you can’t eat junk food; I’m just saying it shouldn’t be a staple of your daily eating habits. Ditch the fast food a couple days each week and eat something that leaves you feeling (healthfully) energized instead.

Break a sweat

You can’t spend your entire work day in front of a computer and your entire evening in front of a TV. You’ve got to carve out at least 30-45 minutes each day to be active.

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Clear your mind

Meditation means different things to different people. However you define it, make time for it. Pray. Sit along the beach. Feed ducks at the pond. Do yoga. As long as it clears your mind, calms your body, and allows you to focus on the here-and-now, it’ll help you let go of current stress and equip you for future challenges. (RF Editor’s note:) We will get through this crisis…maybe we’ll be emotionally and physically healthier for it…all we have to do is take care of ourselves in a much better way. And that has never been easy for this excessive, speeddriven nation. Maybe we’ll learn something important this time.

INNOVATION

Six ways business will stay changed once COVID-19 passes By Phil Wainewright

The COVID-19 pandemic has changed our world with devastating speed. New ways of working that were waiting on the sidelines are suddenly mainstream. Most of the time, the future arrives gently. Despite the high speed of technology change, we absorb its effects into our daily lives far more slowly — especially at work. Faced with the option of retiring familiar old ways of working in favor of more streamlined, emergent alternatives, the response is usually, ‘If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.’ Change gets deferred — until one day something happens and suddenly everything that was familiar is broken. At a stroke, all those fixes that have been waiting on the sidelines get fast-tracked to the mainstream. We are in one of those exceptional moments. Of course we still hope for everything to get back to normal as soon as possible. We especially want to put all the anxiety, fear, suffering and tragedy of the COVID-19 pandemic behind us. That day will come, but the world afterwards will not be the same as before. In adjusting to the new abnormal we are learning new habits and skills that we won’t want to unlearn. Those new ways of behaving are already known to us. A few early adopters have been honing the underlying technology and developing the skills to make best use of it. Many of us have seen what they’ve been doing and thinking that maybe, one day, it will make sense to switch. Then

1 | Remote digital teamwork becomes the norm

suddenly, everything changes and the time to make the switch is now. We’ve seen this play out with earlier shocks, most recently in the 2007/08 banking crisis, which accelerated adoption of cloud computing, as Software Unit4 CEO Mike Ettling pointed out in a phone interview earlier this week. Zuora is a company that processes many of the monthly payments when you click to subscribe to a Software as a Service, and is growing rapidly. Zuora CEO Tien Tzuo made a similar point, also citing the rise of Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) in the wake of the dot-com bust in 2000/01. In some ways, the shock of COVID-19 ushers in the next wave of those same trends, as distributed working takes mobile and cloud computing to a whole new level. But there’s so much more that is going to change — or is already changing — in the coming year. Here are six of the big changes coming in business as the pandemic sweeps in new ways of digitally connected working that we already knew made sense, but which we now have no choice but to adopt.

People have been working remotely — or as we are now calling it, working from home — for many years already. Web conferencing got started before the turn of the century. Email and remote access over Virtual Private Networks dates back even further. Over the past two decades, the broadband infrastructure has progressed enormously, while the tools have become far more sophisticated. Just when we need it, we have the resources at our disposal to weave a collaborative canvas to connect digital teamwork across the enterprise, even when many participants are physically isolated. Yet remote working has always seemed a second-best choice in organizations where most work is centered on the office, while working from home is often seen as ‘slacking off’. It’s only now that almost everyone is forced to work from home that the tables have turned. Suddenly, working from home is the mainstream choice and we are all learning the etiquette of video team calls, how to keep our work in sync with other members of a distributed team, and how to balance work deadlines with domestic demands. When the Prime Minister of Britain, now self-isolating with COVID-19, says that he can stay on top of his ˃ REFRIGERATION Magazine │ April 2020 9

job from home “thanks to the wizardry of modern technology,” you know that this has gone mainstream. The millions more users joining Microsoft Teams, exchanging messages on Slack or joining web conference calls on Zoom or Google Hangouts are forming habits that will last a lifetime.

2 | Conferences go virtual

People have been trying to run virtual conferences since the mid-2000s, but it never really caught on. There was never any great incentive to invest in a virtual alternative when everyone was still willing to endure the huge cost and travel disruption of the traditional trade show or vendor conference. Suddenly virtual events are all the rage because travel and large gatherings have been abruptly vetoed. Every event planned since early March has either been put off or else switched to online — with varying degrees of success. But here’s the thing. Now that everyone has an incentive to make a success of virtual events — because there’s no alternative — huge amounts of talent, creativity and funding are suddenly being devoted to finding out what works best. The sector is finally getting the attention and resource it’s been starved of, and as people learn from each other’s experiences, the quality of online events will rapidly evolve.

This is somewhat different than the shift to remote working, where the tools and the techniques are already mature because there are have been many early adopters, including some very large and well-resourced enterprises. Virtual events are at a much earlier stage, but that doesn’t mean they can’t make huge progress over the next few months. Once there have been several significant successes that show how to replicate much of the experience of a physical event without a large part of the cost and hassle, what appetite will there be for a wholesale return to the old model? That’s even assuming that travel restrictions — especially international — are going to get lifted soon enough to allow it. No, the business world is going to figure out virtual events over the next few months and they will become a formidable rival to old-school trade shows and conferences.

3 | Education goes on-demand

Just as the move to remote working was held back by existing structures and habits that have suddenly and forcibly been abandoned, so too with the transformation of the education sector. Despite the rise of massively open online course (MOOC) providers such as Coursera, Khan Academy and Udacity, the growing number of online

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courses offered by academic institutions, and the growth of industry-specific online training platforms such as Salesforce Trailhead, most education remains stubbornly classroom based. Why? The old model of young people spending three or four years at college amassing knowledge that will set them up for a lifetime career is already broken. But the institutions and methodologies that delivered that model still exist, and so they perpetuate an educational system that is no longer fit for purpose — sustained by a funding model that imposes often unsustainable financial burdens on graduates. Once working from home becomes mainstream, won’t it become just as natural to study from home? Although this is a change that will likely take longer than some others, I think the demand for change will become overwhelming. Already, schools and colleges that have closed for the pandemic are turning to online classes so that they can continue teaching. When they finally reopen, they may discover that online interaction has become fundamental to their continued existence.

4 | The rise of local sourcing and 3D printing

Another technology innovation that’s seemed slow to take hold has been 3D printing. For the past decade, we’ve heard the promise of printing components locally, on demand, without having to wait for them to ship from some faraway factory. But the reality of 3D printing has been more of a niche role, creating one-off custom designs such as prototype parts or custom medical implants. In a highly predictable, homogenized and globalized world, we haven’t needed the flexibility of local sourcing to fulfil our needs. Demand planners have been able to precisely hone their demand forecasts and co-ordinate just-in-time production from faraway factories to deliver components where they’re needed, using a reliable global logistics network. Maintaining alternative, local sources of supply was an unnecessary overhead. But then came the Coronavirus panic and suddenly demand planning ceased to be predictable, at the same time as the supply chain ground to a halt as many producers abruptly shut down. The fragility of the just-in-time supply chain was laid bare and the new mantra, as political risk analyst Ian Bremmer recently put it, is just-in-case. Supply chains need to build in redundancy and alternative sourcing as a cushion against unexpected disruptive events. This new awareness of supply chain risk will lead businesses to seek ways of achieving much more agile modeling of demand and supply, of managing more agile sourcing, and taking advantage of more agile production — which is where 3D printing can play a bigger role. This story of a 3D-printed

ventilator designed in Spain in less than a week and already in production shows the potential. These changes won’t happen overnight — refactoring a supply chain is no easy feat, as we’ve all seen in our much changed experience of grocery shopping these past few weeks. Many will want to breath a huge sigh of relief once the panic is over and return to their old habits. But that nagging fear of getting caught out again isn’t going to fade away, and governments too will see strategic value in ensuring local sources of supply for critical items. Agile, riskaware supply chain planning is here to stay.

5 | IT projects go agile

At times of crisis, the time horizon for action is short. Nobody at the moment is thinking about multi-month IT projects, unless it’s how to put them on hold. Instead, IT leaders should be looking at much shorter timelines, falling into two waves. The first priority is rapidly redeploying resources for immediate needs, whether that means putting in tools to support people working from home, accelerating information gathering and analysis to get in front of stresses in the business, or switching to lower-cost alternatives.

The change in expectations has been as sudden as flicking a light switch. And yet those changes are grounded in reality. These trends may have become mainstream overnight, but they were always standing on the sidelines

Anything of this nature is only worth doing if it can be put in place in a matter of days or a few weeks at most. In technology terms, that means looking at SaaS applications that can be deployed ready-torun, rapid application development toolkits or low-code/no-code tools that can deliver working solutions fast, and agile development methodologies to quickly work up new applications for deployment on public cloud or serverless infrastructure.

We know all of this works because it’s what digital businesses have already been doing to manage rapid change — some of the most advanced are already using continuous integration and delivery (CI/CD) to ship hundreds of code changes a day. Everyone else has been trying to gauge the best time for them to make the leap to this new more agile world of SaaS, RAD and CI/CD. That time is here, now. ˃

REFRIGERATION Magazine │ April 2020 11

The Future is Here

The industry’s engineering leader, Polar Temp, is ahead of the curve as we enter the new decade. 2020 will have its own special challenges, but also successes, with a clear vision and path forward for our customers. We all know that a clean environment is good business, making some important decisions easy to make. With that in mind, and after much preparation, Polar Temp began this year manufacturing with refrigerant R448A. Simply put, but with much significance, this refrigerant reduces the potential for global warming by almost two thirds, 64.635% to be exact. Polar Temp uses Ecomate® foam-in-place insulation. Ecomate® insulation is EPA approved, has no ozone depletion potential, no Global Warming Potential, is environmentally friendly and thermally efficient.

In Stock and Ready to Ship! With R448A as Polar Temp’s standard merchandiser refrigerant, we are prepared with in-stock availability, and so are our customers, as we meet all current and projected EPA rulings in all fifty states and comply with the twenty-five state (and growing) Climate Alliance States, for now and into the foreseeable future. Many times, managing change and being prepared for those changes is the most daunting part of running any business. Be assured that Polar Temp is ahead of the curve, with the most important thing to us, your business.

FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS Why R448A? R448A is the least cumbersome and safest next step for our customers and their technicians. One alternative is R290, which is greater than 97.5% propane, is extremely flammable and requires extra safe handling precautions for any and all refrigeration system repairs, for the life of the equipment. Specialized training is recommended to service R290 equipment. Both R448A and R290 are compliant in states with the most stringent requirements like California. The best advice when it comes to the choice you make is simply buyer be informed, buyer beware, and please be safe by making an informed choice. What about Polar Temp R404A replacement parts and components? Polar Temp will continue to stock R404A replacement parts as long as they are available from our supplier manufacturers, which should be for years to come. Can I replace the R404A compressor or condensing unit that is on on my ice merchandiser with a R448A compressor or condensing unit? No, because the other refrigeration components are specific to R404A. These components would also have to be changed. However, Polar Temp does have a supply of compressors that are dual rated for R404A or R448A refrigerants, depending on the original charge of your merchandiser’s refrigeration system. For a more in depth comparison of R448A and R290 please contact us at sales@polartemp.com

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While there are some changes that can be brought in overnight — such as deploying Zoom, or switching on Teams or Hangout if you already use Office 365 or G Suite — others need a little more time to put in place. Here’s where the second wave of action comes into play. There’s probably a window ahead, through the peak of the initial COVID-19 crisis, until restrictions start lifting so that most businesses can tentatively begin to resume operations. Until that time, many are effectively furloughed by forced closures of their own operations or those of their customers. During this window of reduced or mothballed operation, consider what projects can be completed that will be most useful once activity picks up again — remembering that when it does, agility, responsiveness and up-to-date information will be even more valuable than ever. Perhaps it’s rolling out one or more SaaS applications, firing up a new RAD tool to fast-track some priority development work, or implementing API-based connectivity to replace some of the more fragile middleware that’s been holding back transformation plans. With core systems ticking over at idling speed or even stopped entirely, this is a rare opportunity to tackle some of those nagging issues that were never possible to fit into routine planned downtime. Maybe this is the time for the development team to learn some new skills, adopt some new tools, or reorganize into more of an agile team structure that’s better suited to delivering new or changed functionality in a more unpredictable business environment. Or take the opportunity to fix some of those data consolidation challenges that have been getting in the way of connecting up more agile workflows or building more accurate, up-to-date and flexible reporting and dashboards.

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Often these projects will have been mooted many times before, but always got sidelined by other more mainstream priorities that seemed more urgent. Suddenly, the new circumstances have advanced them into the mainstream and propelled them to top priority. Now they’re here to stay. They won’t be going back on the shelf when this is over.

6. You must connect to customer success

The other huge trend that I believe now gets accelerated to the mainstream is one that builds on the connected digital infrastructure that’s come out of earlier waves of SaaS and cloud adoption. This is a trend I’ve called the XaaS Effect, because it takes the lessons of SaaS and applies them to every other industry, in other words Everything-as-a-Service (XaaS). What SaaS providers discovered very early on was that their continuous digital connection to customers meant that they could stay engaged with them, monitor how they were using the products or services, and then make iterative improvements to deliver better outcomes. Note that this goes beyond customer satisfaction or experience at the time of purchase. Through digital connection, real-time analysis and dynamic teamwork, it’s focused on understanding what the customer wants to achieve: ENGAGE — Know what success means for your customers. MONITOR — Measure whether they’re experiencing success. IMPROVE — Find ways your business, product or service can help them be even more successful. This is a huge switch from the old disconnected product sales model, and one where customer service becomes a crucial part of maintaining and developing the customer relationship. It also requires joined-up collaboration across the organization, which is why it ties into both the collaborative canvas

concept that I mentioned earlier and the overarching framework of frictionless enterprise, which breaks down the old organizational barriers to crossfunctional teamwork. So what just happened with the onset of the Coronavirus pandemic? Suddenly, your customer’s needs may be nothing like they were just a few weeks ago. Instead of working out what quantity, color or size they’re going to want next, you’re co-ordinating with them to help them protect their staff, ease their cashflow or co-create a completely new product line. Your capacity to accurately listen to customers, understand their needs and then rapidly swarm to adapt your offering is being tested at an unprecedented intensity. And now that everyone is remote working, their expectation that you can deliver on all of that across distance and timezones just went up several notches. The change in expectations has been as sudden as flicking a light switch. And yet those changes are grounded in reality. These trends may have become mainstream overnight, but they were always standing on the sidelines — I first wrote about frictionless enterprise in 2011 and as early as 1999 was advancing the cause of cloud computing and serverless architectures. This was always going to happen, we just kept on putting it off. In the beginning, the technology lacked maturity, then even when the technology improved, the time was never right, and when the time had finally come, the business case was never compelling. But now the business case has arrived, demanding immediate action. The world has changed in a few short weeks and, however much we may yearn for a return to what we knew as normality, all of these fringe ways of working — remote working, virtual gatherings, on-demand education, just-in-case sourcing, agile IT and engaging with customer success — have now become the new mainstream. RM

FDA provides temporary flexibility regarding packaged-food nutrition labeling in response to the COVID-19 pandemic The decision will help keep grocery stores and food banks stocked, said IDFA President and CEO Michael Dykes. To facilitate the distribution of food during the COVID-19 pandemic, FDA released a guidance document on March 26 to provide restaurants and food manufacturers with flexibility regarding nutrition labeling of certain packaged food. The document, “Guidance for Industry: Temporary Policy Regarding Nutrition Labeling of Certain Packaged Food During the COVID-19 Public Health Emergency,” will help restaurants and food manufacturers distribute dairy products and other food ingredients to retail establishments during the outbreak. In short, this means products destined for foodservice can go to retail without repackaging and/or relabeling, the Washington, D.C.-based International Dairy Foods Association (IDFA) said. IDFA, along with its partners in the Food & Beverage Issue Alliance, has been working with FDA on a few priority issues related to ensuring the stability of the food supply through the COVID-19 outbreak.

“FDA’s recent work to help restaurants and food manufacturers divert products originally meant for foodservice to retail will help keep grocery store shelves and food banks stocked in this time when consumers are eating almost exclusively at home,” said Michael Dykes, D.V.M., president and CEO of IDFA. “IDFA is grateful for the government’s flexibility to ensure our nation’s critical food infrastructure can continue to provide safe, nutritious, highquality dairy products to consumers. “It bears repeating — the U.S. dairy industry is experiencing no major interruptions, and that is due in large part to this sort of collaboration between industry and government and the hard work of the men and women up and down the dairy supply chain,” Dykes added. For more information, news and guidance related to COVID-19 and the dairy industry, please visit IDFA.org/coronavirus. RM

New Research Finds Six in 10 Consumers Have Decreased C-store Spending Since COVID-19 Outbreak The convenience channel remains open for business during the COVID-19 pandemic; however, news research found basket rings are smaller than usual. According to TrendSource, since the novel coronavirus began to spread across the United States, 64.4 percent of consumers have reported a decrease in spending in convenience stores. On the bright side, a little more than half (51.7 percent) reported they expect their c-store spending to return to normal once the spread of COVID-19 begins to decrease, and 45.2 percent expect normal spending levels to return once the virus is eradicated. Not all consumers are spending less. Of those who are spending more at c-stores since the outbreak of

COVID-19 in the U.S., most attributed this to C-stores being less crowded than other stores (57.9 percent); Convenient locations (35.1 percent); and Items shoppers need in stock (32.5 percent). Of those who said their spending in the channel have decreased since the outbreak, three quarters of the respondents attributed this to trying to limit the amount of store visits they make, followed by one third of respondents who said they often shopped at c-stores when they were working, but have recently been forced to stay home. San Diego-based TrendSource surveyed 943 primary household shoppers across the US about their shopping behavior in the wake of COVID-19. RM REFRIGERATION Magazine │ April 2020 15

WORKING FROM HOME

Home Office Syndrome NO PLACE LIKE HOME, UNLESS YOU’RE WORKING FROM THERE BECAUSE OF COVID-19. Dorothy in the Wizard of Oz certainly believed it, but many of the millions now required to work from home for seemingly endless weeks because of the COVID-19 pandemic might disagree. In fact, those unable to cope with the upheaval that the virus has caused in their lives may be feeling somewhat stressed, lonely, exhausted and, perhaps, overwhelmed— symptoms of what psychiatrists and psychologists sometimes refer to as “home office syndrome.” The syndrome creates significant stress and uneasiness due to a blurring of boundaries between work and home life. An at-home “employee” is oftentimes never really working, never really relaxing—always constantly dividing time between the work assignment that absolutely has to get completed, frequent interruptions from spouse and children, a dog that needs walking, and the houserepair issue that suddenly arises. Blame some of the at-home angst on a person’s: – Failure to establish a reasonable workfrom-home structure and schedule, with designated time periods for work, for family, and for relaxation. – Lack of routine, resulting in extended at-home working hours that meld too easily with personal time.

Adding to the stress of home office syndrome are the unique economic and social isolation challenges posed by the current viral pandemic, including: – General uncertainty about the ultimate impact of COVID-19 on personal and family health, income, and short-term plans – Feelings of loneliness fostered by government-ordered stay-at-home confinement and loss of social connection with colleagues at the office or with friends and other family members. On this last point, one, indeed, maybe the loneliest number. At a recent press briefing on COVID-19, the World Health Organization advised that social distancing and isolation at home posed a challenge globally to mental health and psychological well-being. And, authors of a study in Perspectives on Psychological Science found that “actual and perceived social isolation,” is linked to an increased risk of early death.

Julianne Holt-Lunstad Ph.D., a psychologist at Brigham Young University, says the long-term isolation imposed by COVID-19 is ushering in a “social recession” that threatens physical and mental health. Yale University psychologists are even offering a free online course to teach “better habits” for preserving “happiness” during the pandemic. But one does not necessarily have to study happiness to attain it. Various tried and true coping mechanisms are available to avoid home office syndrome and achieve “psychological well-being.” Psychological well-being is a state of feeling happy, healthy and physically fit and enjoying a sense of achievement, life-work balance, self-esteem and strong relationships with others—even when confined and working solo from home. FIRST STEP TO AVOIDING HOME OFFICE SYNDROME A key first step to this well-being, the antithesis of home office syndrome, is attention to physiological necessities, namely, setting aside time to eat nutritiously—not just snack; sleep sufficiently, preferably seven-to-eight hours; and exercise daily. Way back in 1943, psychologist Abraham Maslow created a model defining a hierarchy of human needs – with food, water, shelter,

sleep, and safety being the most basic. Until these basics are met, Maslow said, an individual cannot achieve self-actualization – finding true meaning in work and life. Eating, sleeping, and exercise also help establish boundaries, neatly dividing the day into “phases” between work time and home life. Without these “phases,” the at-home worker is more apt to skip essentials because of unrealistic work expectations, excessive focus, and obsession with job performance. Exercise has the added benefit of being a great stress-reliever and a counterbalance to long, sedentary hours working from a chair in front of the home computer. CREATE A WORK ROUTINE Are Home Offices Fueling a Mental Health Crisis? That was the headline of a 2019 Forbes Magazine article, in which the writer states that blurring of boundaries between work life and personal life is a primary reason

why working from home can exacerbate stress and anxiety. When one’s office is the home, it becomes challenging to “unplug,” to call it a day, to let go. The temptation is to keep going back to the computer to finish one more assignment, check the last box, and answer one more email. In a 2019 State of Remote Work report prepared by Buffer, a global software company, nearly a quarter of surveyed remote employees – most of them working from home – said they had a difficult time unplugging from work; 19 percent professed feelings of loneliness; eight percent experienced lack of motivation. Those who successfully work from home – without evidence of home-office-syndrome symptoms -- have learned to: • Separate their work area from personal and family space in the home. • Develop a routine much like the one they had at the office – arising at the same time, starting work at the same time and concluding at the same time to allow for end-of-day relaxation and interaction with family. • Consider mornings as an effective time to begin work. Some successful CEOs will even wake early, avoid checking the news or email, and go straight to the “home office.” This kind of schedule can jump-start one’s day, keeping the mind free of other people’s queries and demands and enhancing focus on what needs to be done, now. • Stop answering work-related calls, texts, and emails at day’s end. • Dress for the office, even though at home. • Contact colleagues – and friends – on occasion just to check-in, catch up, stay connected. IT’S UP TO YOU Remember: at home, you control your day. Set a reasonable work schedule; build in time for necessities, chores, family and yourself; establish achievable goals; make the effort to stay connected; and stop wringing your hands. COVID-19 will eventually run its course. And then, perhaps, we can all return to normal. RM REFRIGERATION Magazine │ April 2020 17

18 REFRIGERATION Magazine â&#x201D;&#x201A; April 2020

INNOVATION

Around The World BUSINESSES PIVOTING IN RESPONSE TO COVID-19

COVID-19 is forcing companies to adapt quickly to change and redesign their products or services or even create new ones to respond to the demands of millions of people self-isolating around the world. Companies have no choice but to adapt as quickly as they can during the Coronavirus pandemic. While some businesses have shut down or suspended their activities, others are aiming to benefit from the outbreak through change and innovation.

Airbnb announced a new global initiative to help house 100,000 healthcare professionals, relief workers, and first responders around the world during the COVID-19 crisis. Airbnb will waive all fees for stays arranged through this initiative.

accuRx have developed a video consultation service (in the space of a weekend!) and made it free for all frontline NHS staff. Patients don’t need to download anything and doctors don’t need fancy webcams or anything to use it. The statistics and feedback are incredible.

Top Cuvée, normally a neighborhood restaurant and a bottle shop with a great bar becomes Shop Cuvée delivering food, drink and toiletries to their customers.

To help hospitals in fighting the coronavirus outbreak in France, the luxury group LVMH produced hand sanitizer at three of its perfume and cosmetics factories.

To support Britain’s National Health Service with medical equipment in the fighting against the COVID-19 crisis, vacuum manufacturer Dyson has created the Dyson ventilator. It is efficient in conserving oxygen, bed-mounted, portable and doesn’t need a fixed air supply.

Tunisian taxi startup IntiGo has temporarily become a delivery service. For $4/hour, the company will deliver groceries and other products to customers. REFRIGERATION Magazine │ April 2020 19

In London, Experience Haus has created OpenHaus, a series of virtual workshops to join for free throughout April, to keep on learning while selfisolating.

Koru Kids are now helping provide emergency childcare to parents who are working at home. They are also working to train medical students to provide childcare to the children of NHS staff.

The Los Angeles-based food truck turned restaurant Guerrilla Tacos has just launched several ‘Emergency Kits’. The $149 option contains enough products for 60 tacos, plus a roll of toilet paper.

Signature Brew is paying out-ofwork musicians to hand-deliver its ‘Pub In A Box’ product with glassware, snacks, a music quiz, playlists and beer.

Spiffy, the US on-demand car cleaning service have rolled-out a service to sanitize facilities and properties.

20 REFRIGERATION Magazine │ April 2020

The UK’s Department for Transport will explore new transportation modes including e-scooters and e-cargo bikes, as well as bringing the on-demand model (popularized by services like Uber) to buses and other public transport alternatives, as well as using drones for medical deliveries. It has also announced funding of £90M ($112M) for three new Future Transport Zones to trial these new services.

ChargedUp, the specialist in phone charging stations created CleanedUp for venues to provide hand sanitizing facilities for their customers, to keep everyone safe and give confidence during and after the COVID-19 crisis.

BrewDog has transformed its distillery in a bid to help with the shortage of hand sanitizers, by creating a new one for giveaways to those in need.

The Rapids have transformed their “Field Trip” workshops into “Remote Field Trips”, to help businesses seize opportunities, deliver mission-critical change and ride these rapids.

Netflix Party allows you to watch movies and TV shows with friends, wherever you are and also has group chat so you can react and discuss together.

1Rebel, Londonbased fitness club has announced that it is willing to offer its gym spaces to the National Health Service for extra beds during the coronavirus pandemic. 1Rebel co-founder James Balfour has said that he believes the gyms have space for up to 400 beds.

In Canada, INKSmith, a startup that was making design and tech tools accessible for kids, has now moved to make face shields and is hiring up to 100 new employees to meet demand.

3D-printing companies like Massachusetts-based Markforged and Formlabs are both making personal protective equipment like face shields, as well as nasal swabs to use for COVID-19 testing.

C-STORE NEWS

Poll: Three-Quarters of C-store Retailers Say COVID-19 Has Negatively Impacted Their Sales By Don Longo, Editorial Director of Convenience Store News Three-quarters of U.S. convenience store retailers report that the nation’s social distancing and other emergency measures enacted to slow the spread of the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic have had a negative impact on their sales, according to a recent online poll conducted by Convenience Store News. Of the more than 150 c-store retailers who took part in the poll, only 8 percent said their sales levels haven’t changed significantly since the outbreak. The other 16 percent report an uptick in sales, likely due to panic buying by consumers. Among other findings: two-thirds of convenience store retailers say they are having trouble staying in stock with indemand products like household cleaners and paper products. Another 10 percent say they cannot keep their store shelves stocked due to intense customer demand. However, 21

percent countered that they haven’t had an issue with product fulfillment during this crisis. In terms of store operations, more than half of the respondents (58 percent) said they haven’t made any changes to their store hours during the COVID-19 pandemic. However, about a quarter (26 percent) have scheduled extra time for store resets and cleaning given the current circumstances. The biggest workforce management challenge, according to c-store retailers, is preventing the spread of the virus among their workforce, cited by 45 percent of respondents. Other workforce issues cited include finding extra staff to support increased demand in certain areas of the enterprise, such as transportation workers and store workers calling in sick. Fifteen percent say they are offering payment, financial support and other services to employees who are temporarily displaced from their jobs.

REFRIGERATION Magazine │ April 2020 21

CLASSIFIEDS Ad Index

CLASSIFIED ADVERTISING

American Ice Equipment Exchange, aieexchange.com..................................... 23 Automatic Ice, automaticice.com............................................................................. 2 Classified Ads....................................................................................................... 20 – 24 Ice Systems & Supplies Inc. (ISSI), issionline.com..................................................... 26 Ing-Tech Corporation (ITC), itcpack.com......................................................... 7 & 22 Keet Consulting Services, LLC (RouteMan), kcsgis.com......................................... 17 KEITH Manufacturing Co., keithwalkingfloor.com................................................... 10 Matthiesen, matthiesen.com...................................................................................... 5 Modern Ice, modernice.com.................................................................................... 18 Polar Temp, polartemp.com................................................................................12-13

Rates are $1.00 per word, with a minimum charge. Any blind ads, with an assigned box number c/o publisher, add $10.00. Deadline for upcoming issue is the 1st of the previous month. For advertising and listing information, contact Mary at (404) 819-5446 or refrigerationmag@gmail.com.

Vault Ice, vaultice.com.............................................................................................. 25 Vogt Ice, vogtice.com............................................................................................... 21

NATIONWIDE/INTERNATIONAL USED EQUIPMENT FOR SALE 1-800-599-4744 | itcpack.com ICE MAKERS

PACKAGING

• VOGT P24A ICE MAKERS (2) • VOGT P34AL W/ HIGH SIDE

• HAMER 125 – NEW, USED AND REBUILT

REFRIGERATION

• HAMER RING CLOSER W/CONVEYOR

• 20 HP KRACK CONDENSER

• HAMER 125 W/ STAND & CONVEYOR • HAMER 310 W/ 125 CLOSER

• LIQUID OVERFEED VALVE PACKAGE

• PALLET DISPENSER

• 6.5 BOHN W/ EVAP CONDENSER W/ UNIT COOLER

• SS SHAKER W/ STAND

• MARLEY TOWER W/ PUMP

BLOCK MAKERS • LEER BL39 W/ REMOTE CONDENSER • TURBO BP-360 BLOCK PRESS

SUPPLIES • LEER ICE MERCHANDISERS IN STOCK • BAGS AND WIRE • PARTS • SPARE PARTS

22 REFRIGERATION Magazine │ April 2020

• SLIP SHEET DISPENSER

BAGGERS • VL - 510 • VLS - 510

SCREW AND BELT CONVEYORS • HYTROL BELT CONVEYORS 10’ & 12’ • PORTABLE FOLDING INCLINE CONVEYOR - MODEL R • POWER 90 BELT CONVEYOR

FOOD GRADE VOGT TUBE ICE FOR SALE 6 AND 26 POUNDS BAG We are located in Magog, Quebec, Canada 20 min from the border of Vermont. We can bag in other size for serious quantity.

CLASSIFIEDS

CANADA ICE EQUIPMENT FOR SALE • Magic Finger • (8) Turbo Ice Makers, 10 & 20 Ton • Cooling tower pumping station • Hamer 125 • 16 feet stainless steel auger • (3) power pack for freezer • Kamco bin • Forklift • Indoor/outdoor merchandisers

• Ice bags • Trucks • Other ice equip. and misc. items • 360 Turbo Block Press • Bagger

Contact Lino at

416-676-3429 Email:

clearicesolidblocks@ hotmail.com

SOUTHEAST USED EQUIPMENT FOR SALE • Matthiesen VL510, Top Load • • • • • • • • • •

Bagger, Galv Matthiesen Heat Sealed Bagging System Hamer 310 Form, Fill, & Seal Ice Max IBM300, 300lb block Baker Kamco Ten Moving Floor Ice Bins Kamco 16 Moving Floor Ice Bins Kamco 20 Moving Floor Ice Bins Matthiesen 20 ton Moving Floor Ice Bin MGR 3000SD Stainless Bin Collapsible Blue Bins North Star Model 90 flake Ice

Makers • Vogt P24 Large Tube • Vogt P24FL Mid Tube and High • • • • • • • •

Side Vogt 18XT Large Tube’ Vogt 118’s 5 Ton Ice Maker 7/8, W/C 2015 Tiger, turbo Ice Maker JMC 4’ Belt conveyor 12”x10’ Stainless Screw conveyor 9x24 Stainless Screw Conveyor 9x10 Galvanized Portable Screw conveyor Belt Conveyor, Hytrol BA 16’

• Water Softener System • Arctic Temp 4000 Lb Ice Maker • Amcot ST-25 Cooling Tower • Marley 4821 Cooling tower • Ice Vending Machine • Bucket Elevator • Snow Crusher/blowers • Perfection 25lb Ice Scorer • 1/2HP drop In Refrigeration • Vivian Manual Block Press • 7lb Roll Stock • 22lb Roll Stock • 10LB Ice Cans (45) 4.5” x 8” x 14”T • Snow Cone Block Cans

AND MUCH MORE!

If you have discontinued ice bags or used equipment you would like to sell PLEASE CALL. SEE OUR USED EQUIPMENT WEB PAGE AT AIEEXCHANGE.COM. Call for surplus ice! Polar Temp Equipment Mike Landino - Toll free - 1-877-376-0367 E-mail (NEW ADDRESS): mlandino@polartemp.com Don’t forget to call if you have a quality piece of used equipment for sale.

REFRIGERATION Magazine │ April 2020 23

CLASSIFIEDS

SOUTHEAST (continued) GOING OUT OF BUSINESS SALE, EVERYTHING PRICED TO MOVE!!! • 3-Phase motor starters and disconnects • 4 Embraco merchandiser compressor units • Bulk quantity 8# and 25# bags on wickets • 9”x14’ Incline auger • 2 Hytrol conveyors (16’x20” and 6’x12”)

NORTHEAST ICE CARVING TOOLS Plastic liners for clear block makers $1.24/ea Reusable drip pans from $6.50/ea Over 500 items in stock for Ice Carvers

IceSculptingTools.com

or (440) 717-1940

Benny and Mary Jones 1484 Topsy Rd. Randolph, MS 38864

Phone 662-419-5119

ICE FOR SALE Vogt Mini tube ice, 8, 20 & 40 lb. bags. All ice is screened, palletized & stretch wrapped. We deliver or you pick up. Our water is treated with ozone for sterilization. No chlorine added! Martin’s Ice Company

Phone (717) 733-7968 or fax (717) 733-1981 PA

FOR SALE Matthiesen Bulk Bagger, 5 years old. 8-29 lb. bag capacity.

FOR SALE Ice carving crystal clear blocks 300lb blocks

Call Kevin at Southern Connecticut Ice and Oil,

203-257-6571 or Kevinscio@yahoo.com

(518) 851-7085

YOUR AD HERE To place a classified ad, contact Mary at (404) 819-5446 or refrigerationmag@gmail.com.

24 REFRIGERATION Magazine │ April 2020

CLASSIFIEDS

MIDWEST

PRIVATE LABEL COCKTAIL ICE Our ice IN the box. Your name ON the box. Large Cubes & Perfect Spheres Sealed – Boxed – Ready to Deliver

Don't waste time & money making your own. David Holland 405-279-9747 david@vaultice.com vaultice.com/privatelabel

ICE FOR SALE A Family Owned Ice Company Tube Ice, 7, 10, 20, 22 lb Bags Over a million bags in stock. Shipped or Picked up PIQCS Plus Accredited Arctic Ice Inc. Call Steve Camenzind

(314) 989-9090

FOR SALE (3) Clinebell 10 lb. ice block makers, Model S60, 1.5HF, (3) condensing units, 3-phase, 240 volts. Will sell individually, or all three for $12,000. Call Arctic Ice at

713-269-2534

REFRIGERATION Magazine │ April 2020 25

26 REFRIGERATION Magazine â&#x201D;&#x201A; April 2020