ABOUT HARDT
Hardt is a privately-held company with roots dating back to the early 1960's. Over the years, Hardt has evolved from a small engineering firm to a globally recognized leader in foodservice equipment. Today we are proud to work directly with many large food retailers as well as independent customers around the world.
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How Hardt Began
In the mid-1970s, Hardt developed its first rotisserie. With the creation of these first rotisseries, Hardt began its gradual shift to become a designer and manufacturer of commercial cooking equipment. In 1992, the Kenny Rogers Roasters restaurant chain started operations and appointed Hardt the sole-source rotisserie supplier for their concept. In 1993, Hardt sold its gas rotisseries to the Kentucky Fried Chicken restaurant chain for the roll-out of their ‘Rotisserie Gold’ program for the California market.
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Staying On Top of Supermarket Trends
In 1995, a new trend surfaced in the U.S. supermarket industry, that of Home Meal Replacement (HMR). This prepared food concept took hold and many supermarket chains began looking for equipment to cook food in-store. The non-fried appeal along with the theatrical presentation of the rotisserie, especially Hardt’s Inferno live-flame model, was a perfect fit for a growing number of large supermarket chains.
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Enter Wholesale Clubs
Another segment of the supermarket industry are the Wholesale Clubs. Costco Wholesale, Sam’s Club and BJ’s Wholesale Club represent more than 90% of this segment; all of whom have been Hardt customers for decades. These companies have been instrumental in defining the technology that Hardt has brought to market by challenging us to provide solutions for their operational issues. This approach of solving problems has led Hardt into developing new products that meet and often surpass expectations. These products include the Zone Hot Case line, our Cleaning Solution, as well as the self-cleaning Inferno 3500 and GC rotisseries.
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Ongoing Goals
It is this history of developing and strengthening long-term relationships with large national chains that has defined Hardt’s philosophy and approach to the marketplace.
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By focusing and excelling on the ‘care’ our customers receive, Hardt will continue to develop strong relationships based on a win-win approach.
Hardt lives daily by its motto – Responsive, Reliable Solutions
