| As founder and owner for 32 years of
SMS Catering of Charlotte, Bob Freeman has accomplished a lot in his
life. He was District Assistant (1972-1984) to U.S. Congressman Jim
Martin (later, Governor Martin in North Carolina). He was a high school
teacher and guidance counselor after graduating with majors in psychology
and social studies from Western Carolina University. Bob was also
first president and co-founder of the National Barbeque Association.
Now, Freeman at 60, can add "Inventor" to his resume. He's marketing
a problem-solver for the entire catering industry. |
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| Freeman, this week, placed the Freeman
Cordless Portable Food Warmer on the market through a new company
he formed, SMS Industries. The machine, manufactured in Waxhaw, a
suburb of Charlotte, North Carolina, at Sheet Metal Specialties, uses
small propane gas canisters and time-tested design to keep foods hot
in locales inside or outside. |
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| "There are so many times when you need
a warmer not powered by electricity," he said. "People hold parties
under tents, on the beach or in parking lots. And food exhibitors
sometimes have to pay a lot of money to hook up to electricity in
convention centers and display halls. Using one-pound propane canisters
gives you a lot of mobility and a whole lot of convenience." |
|
| Chef Bernhard Spogat of Sharin' Foodservice
Sales, headquartered near Charlotte, wants the warmer for its utility
outside and inside. "I'm going to talk to the company about getting
a couple," he said. "We do events on golf courses and other places
outside," he said. "And during food shows, you always have to find
an electrical outlet, then grit your teeth hoping the power won't
go off when 50 or 60 food brokers turn on warmers at the same time." |
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| Charlottean Tom Muller is another food-service
veteran—35 years in the business. He said, "People want warmers that
are practical, easy, convenient and safe — a warmer that does the
job it's supposed to do and meets all the rules and regulations. Bob's
unit does that, and it's attractive, too." |
|
| The Freeman Portable Cordless Food
Warmer began life as a series of drawings five years ago after Freeman
and his son, Robert, suffered embarrassment. Here's how Freeman tells
it: "In October of 1997, we were providing a fish fry for the Charlotte
Association of Realtors in the parking lot at their office. There's
nothing better than fish when it's just out of the pan. So, we're
cooking it and putting it on the line. It was pretty chilly that day,
and within minutes on the line, it was not fit to eat." |
|
| The chill and the wind and the frustration
got Freeman to thinking serious about an idea that had tickled the
back of his mind for years. "Within a week, I started drawing rough
designs. I wanted something with radiant heat that would keep food
hot even if it was chilly and breezy." |
|
| Freeman applied years of practice to
his brainchild. It had to be light for portability. It weighs 32 pounds.
It had to have an easy fuel source. Propane gas cylinders are available
at hardware, grocery and convenience stores. It had to have staying
power. Each small gas cylinder lasts about four hours and costs around
$2.70. |
|
| And it had to have economy because
caterers and food distributors have been as strapped by the recession
as other businesses. The price is $1895.00. |
|
| His son, Robert, also an executive
in the catering business, helped. |
|
| "We'd work on it every couple of months
when we had time," the elder Freeman said. "And we thought about it
constantly. Those times between sitting down to figure out things
were incubator periods when ideas just came. Last summer, we were
ready. We took our drawings on graph paper to Sheet Metal Specialties
and they did final designs for us, subtracting an inch here or adding
an inch there. We got a prototype in September." |
|
| After testing the warmer at his company's
events and a bit more revising, the unit was pronounced ready for
market. "There are millions of people in food service, and what surprises
me is that no one else has made available a warmer like this," Freeman
said. "I guess people are just so busy that they don't have time to
put ideas on paper and see them through." |
|
| Bob Freeman had occasional time because
his catering firm has reached a level of maturity that some things
run themselves. SMS handled 900 events in 2000 and, as the economy
cooled, 750 in 2001. The Duke University party at the Atlantic Coast
Conference Tournament in Charlotte is one of almost 120 events so
far in 2002. Decades in food service served Freeman well during design. |
|
| "I don't have an engineering degree
or experience in engineering," he said, "but to me, the warmer isn't
that complex. I've been working with gas and high pressure and low
pressure and regulators and vales for 30 years." |
|
| Catering the Judge Advocate General's
JAGFest on September 1, 1979, in Washington, DC, is an event Freeman
enjoys talking about. "Look at this," he says, holding a flyer for
the event. And there it is, tongue in cheek as can be: |
|
| "Old Fashioned North Carolina barbecue.
Will be catered by internationally famous pigpicker Bob Freeman." |
|
| Before long, however, the name "Freeman"
may be ubiquitous at food events all over the country. And it'll be
known for a mighty fine food warmer instead of for pickin' a pig. |
