Alto-Shaam

Alto-Shaam Wins FEDA Gold Award for Model Workplace

Alto-Shaam won the FEDA Gold Model Workplace Award for the second time in four years, recognized for its exceptional workplace culture and commitment to employee development.

For the second time in four years, Alto-Shaam has won the Model Workplace Award at the FEDA Gold Awards 2024.

The Model Workplace Award recognizes the dynamic and unique workplace culture that Alto-Shaam has created and fostered, as well as its ability to attract and retain talent, and develop future leaders for the foodservice industry.

Steve Maahs, Alto-Shaam CEO, says the award is testament to the company’s people-first philosophy and the hard work and dedication of the global Alto-Shaam family.

“Almost 70 years ago, Alto-Shaam was a team of one,” Steve said. “My father, Jerry Maahs, created the company from a simple idea, turned into an invention. Since then, Alto-Shaam has remained driven by a greater calling – a purpose to innovate and pioneer products that help real people realize their own entrepreneurial success. That includes our customers and partners, but also includes our employees, the people who make us who we are.”

“Over the years, we have stayed true to our roots and the legacy of my father, while constantly asking ourselves ‘how can we be better today than we were yesterday?’.” Steve continued. “A pivotal answer to that question was to make our dynamic workplace culture and employee experience a central, ongoing focus.”

Alto-Shaam continues to enhance its employee experience with investment in people-first programs and initiatives each year. Over 15 years ago, Alto-Shaam began one of its greatest employee investments, a gain sharing program that rewards employees for their contributions to the company’s success. The program continues to run strong. Last year, Alto-Shaam gave back $6.2 million to its more than 500 employees.

Alto-Shaam was recognized during the FEDA Gold Awards breakfast, which was part of FEDA’s Annual Conference at the Cheyenne Mountain Resort in Colorado Springs. As well as serving as one of the MC’s for the event, Alto-Shaam President, Lucy McQuillan, presented a session on the state of the foodservice industry from a manufacturer’s perspective. Lucy discussed industry challenges of flattening growth, secondary costs and shifting customer expectations, and how partnerships are the driving force in delivering shared success across the industry.

“These three challenges highlight the tremendous partnership potential for dealers and manufacturers,” Lucy said. “This year and going forward, partnership is and will continue to be the secret to our shared success. For this reason, many manufacturers are investing in technology, content and training to drive shared growth for our dealer partners and customers.”

Alto-Shaam previously won the FEDA Gold Model Workplace Award in 2021, as well as winning the Extraordinary Service Award in 2020, 2022 and 2023. In 2024, Alto-Shaam also won Top Workplaces USA Today and Top Workplaces Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, which was selected based on anonymous employee survey results.

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