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Emerson Climate Technologies, a business segment of Emerson, is building a fully operational commercial kitchen to research and develop solutions to food service industry challenges, including connected kitchen concepts, new refrigerants and food safety.
The kitchen is one of five modules currently under construction at The Helix innovation center, a nearly 40,000-sq.ft. facility on the University of Dayton campus. Emerson’s $35 million total investment in The Helix will foster an ambitious, collaborative approach to conducting research to create new technologies that address heating, ventilation, air conditioning and refrigeration (HVACR) industry challenges.
“We want to look holistically at the challenges facing busy commercial kitchens, so our new facility will be a working restaurant that can serve 150. We will be able to simulate warm and cold climates, as well as looking at zoning, lighting, humidity and food temperature scenarios. The facility will be built with the latest technology from food service equipment manufacturers and Emerson’s own controls and food recycling systems,” said Allen Wicher, director of food service marketing for Emerson Climate Technologies Refrigeration business.
The functioning 1,500 sq.ft. commercial kitchen will help Emerson and its collaborators tackle innovative solutions to current and future challenges in food service operations. The company is kicking off the process by creating a cross-functional team of its food service product experts to interview chefs and staff at commercial kitchens across the country.
Upon its completion, The Helix innovation center will employ about 35 people and focus on five HVACR industry markets: supermarket refrigeration, food service operations, residential connected homes, data center cooling and light commercial buildings.