NSF Bolsters Industry Engagement

Since the creation of the first NSF standard for food service equipment, working closely with and supporting organizations representing the industry has been important to NSF.

Like many sectors, the food service equipment industry has had to adapt in recent years. Changes in customer and market needs have required agility. Disruption to increasingly global and interconnected supply chains has challenged procurement professionals. And robotics, digitization and automation have brought in disruptors and new market entrants.

Despite these challenges, the importance of food safety and meeting the required standards remains constant. That’s why, in a fast-moving market, maintaining NSF’s relationships with organizations representing this industry has never been so important.

To spearhead NSF’s market engagement work, Larry Levine joined NSF in 2022 as Strategic Account Manager in the food product certification business unit. The core focus of Larry’s role is to strengthen existing industry relationships while forging new ones.

No stranger to this arena, Larry brings to NSF a wealth of experience spanning some 40 years, including work as a dealer and a manufacturer’s representative, in design and innovation, and in the procurement of equipment for chains. His experience also extends to facilities management and hotel and restaurant construction.

In his first few months on the job, Larry met with several industry associations. He heard more about their needs and discussed how NSF might work with the sector. “I created a goal of reaching out to important organizations,” Levine explains. “I simply asked, ‘Hey, how would you like to get to know NSF? We could educate, interact, ideate, support and do many other things.’”

The response so far has been overwhelmingly positive. Larry’s schedule has been packed with delivering presentations and webinars, writing articles for publications, and meeting and educating industry members.

Recently, Larry presented at a regional Foodservice Consultants Society International (FCSI) meeting, receiving a number of enthusiastic comments, such as, “Thank you so much for sharing this information,” “You’ve taught us things we didn’t know or understand about NSF” and “Can I contact you?” Larry’s response was, “Of course, please call for anything; NSF is here to help.”

If your organization would like to discuss working with NSF and how we can help, contact us. We’d love to connect!