Grande Cuisine Systems Inc. featured in Summer 2021 issue of Foodservice and Nutrition Magazine
July 29, 2021The summer 2021 issue of Food and Service Nutrition Magazine (the quarterly publication of the Canadian Society for Nutrition Management) features an article written by Howard Katz, P.Eng, the president of Grande Cuisine Systems Inc.
"Better Decisions Through Quality-Driven RFPs" describes how to create and structure RFPs which respond to your needs and priorities, rather than just encouraging a "race to the bottom" of lowest purchase price. Quality, end-to-end cost, reliability, safety and environmental factors can all be factored into your evaluation and scoring criteria, so that the winner of the RFP is in fact the best overall solution for all your needs. See https://www.foodserviceandnutrition-digital.com/csnq/0321_summer_2021/MobilePagedReplica.action?pm=2&folio=20#pg20
Grande Cuisine Systems Inc launches new ad
July 29, 2021The summer 2021 issue of Food and Service Nutrition Magazine (the quarterly publication of the Canadian Society for Nutriion Management) features our new full-page ad. See https://www.foodserviceandnutrition-digital.com/csnq/0321_summer_2021/MobilePagedReplica.action?pm=2&folio=32#pg32
Grande Cuisine Systems introduces custom design and construction of stainless-steel towing enclosures for laundry and pharmacy carts
January 3, 2021We are proud to announce introduction of custom-engineered towing enclosures for institutional carts which historically have not been towable.
Laundry carts are difficult to tow, because they typically don't belong to the hospital / long term care facility, and therefore can't be modified with towbars. They are heavy (200-300 kg) and difficult to control (4 swivelling wheels); having them pulled or pushed by hand is an exercise which too often results in employee injury. A towing solution which eliminates the manual effort (and consequent injuries) was a priority for the Laurentides Health Region in Quebec.
Our solution is a custom-engineered stainless steel cart enclosure which the laundry cart is connected to and surrounded by. The beauty of our solution is that it provides directional stability and a manageable turn radius, without requiring any modifications to the laundry carts themselves.
Our enclosures (and the Beagle 360Drives which tow them) will be installed in hospitals and long-term care facilities throughout the Laurentides Health region.
July 1, 2021 follow-up: Our Laundry Cart Towing Enclosures are now installed in 6 hospitals and long-term care facilities throughout the Laurentides Health Region. Get more information
Our Beagle 360drives are deployed in 7 facilities throughout the Laurentides Health Region, towing a variety of meal carts, laundry carts, pharmacy carts and service carts.
They are also running in all the hospitals in the CHU de Quebec Health Region throughout Quebec City, as well as l'Institut universitaire en santé mentale de Québec (IUSMQ).
Get more information
CHU de Quebec goes live with new Vitalis-2 Carts from ISECO St-Phal
March 5, 2020CHUL de CHU de Quebec Hospital in Quebec City went live today with its new Vitalis-2 carts with external StandFresh refrigeration. CHUL is a hot line environment, and the Vitalis-2 carts boost the temperature at the end of the hot line to ensure that meals arrive to patients at the right temperature. Each refrigeration unit can retherm 3 carts every hour, one after the other.
As with all the other CHU de Quebec hospitals, the meal carts are towed by our Beagle 360Drive cart pullers.
CHU de Quebec made the decision to switch from convection technology to thermocontact technology in 2016. Their key decision factors were best meal quality and lowest end-to-end cost.
CISSS du Bas-St-Laurent Commits to New Vitalis-2 Carts from ISECO St-Phal
February 27, 2019The CISSS du Bas-St-Laurent Health Region today announced that it is committing to roll out the new Vitalis-2 carts across the health region.
The change from Vitalis One to Vitalis-2 will not change the implementation dates; installation of the new carts will start in September, 2019, and finish in 2020.
September 18, 2019 follow-up: We have just finished installation and commissioning of Vitalis-2 Single carts with separate StandFresh refrigeration at the first of 8 sites in this project, on schedule. We are on track to have all sites installed by Summer 2020.
November 25, 2020 follow-up: After delays caused by Covid 19 lockdowns in the Bas-St-Laurent Health Region, we completed installation of our 8th and final location for this project. We have installed over 120 Vitalis One and Vitalis-2 carts, and over 75 StandFresh refrigeration units across the region.
ISECO St-Phal Announces Vitalis-2
February 20, 2019ISECO St-Phal has announced the introduction of a new generation of individual meal retherm carts, the
Vitalis-2. Building on the reliability and superior performance of the Vitalis One series, the Vitalis-2 is the first new design developed since the ISECO factory was purchased by Groupe Ortecal in July, 2017. The new cart uses exactly the same electronics as the Vitalis One, making for easy transition to and co-existence with existing fleets of Vitalis One carts around the world. Key features of the new cart are:
- Improved retherm performance: a new hermetically-sealed shelf provides near-perfect reliability, along with superior heat distribution to enhance retherm quality. It also provides superior isolation between the hot and cold cavities, improving the performance of both hot and cold sides. The new cart performs far better in cook-and-freeze scenarios, a key benefit for the European market.
- Improved energy efficiency: the new shelves lose less heat to the cold side of the cart, and less heat to the front wall of the cart. This means more heat goes into the meals being rethermed, resulting in lower energy costs and faster retherm times.
- Improved maintainability: all electronic components are now together, with much quicker access via a new retaining system for the front cover.
- Improved reliability: the new hermetically-sealed shelves provide near-perfect reliability. Redesigned front compartment reduces risk of condensation / water damage to electronics.
First Major American Order for ISECO St-Phal’s “Vitalis One” Thermocontact carts
February 20, 2019Grande Cuisine Systems is proud to announce that it has received an order for ISECO Vitalis One carts and Stand Fresh One refrigeration units from the United Health Center of West Virginia in Bridgeport, WV. This is the first significant sale of ISECO equipment to the U.S. in over 20 years.
One of the key reasons for their decision to buy ISECO equipment has to do with the equipment they’re replacing: ISECO Transtronic retherm carts which were installed 22 years ago! In all that time, maintenance costs for the Transtronic carts were virtually non-existent, averaging less than 0.25% (¼ of 1%) of the purchase price annually.
The new carts offer them much better operational characteristics, since both hot and cold food gets put on patient trays only once; the cart takes care of heating the hot food while keeping the cold food cold. The carts’ dual refrigeration option enables both hot and cold sides to be refrigerated until retherm begins, so the morning meals can be loaded into the carts the previous evening, kept cold all night, and then rethermed automatically in the morning in time for breakfast.
The carts are scheduled to be installed in late June, 2019.
The carts will be manufactured by ISECO St-Phal in Saint-Phal, France. Grande Cuisine Systems Inc. is the exclusive North American distributor for ISECO thermocontact systems.
Major commitment by CISSS du Bas-St-Laurent Health Region to ISECO Thermocontact Technology
November 30, 2018Grande Cuisine Systems Inc. is proud to announce that it has won a major competition for installation of meal retherm carts for the entire health region of Bas-St-Laurent (CISSS du Bas-St-Laurent), which is located on the south shore of the St. Lawrence River, east of Quebec City from La Pocatière to Matane. The initial contract is for 100+ Vitalis One Single retherm carts and 60+ StandFresh One refrigeration units to be installed in 4 hospitals and 4 long-term care facilities (CHSLDs) in the region. Deployment is planned for September, 2019 through March, 2020. The contract is valued at over $2,000,000.
The carts will be manufactured by ISECO St-Phal in Saint-Phal, France. Grande Cuisine Systems Inc. is the exclusive North American distributor for ISECO thermocontact systems.
Article and TVA video in original French
TVA video with English subtitles
CHSLD de Chauffailles Opens in Rivière-du-Loup with ISECO Thermocontact Technology
November 19, 2018The newly built long-term care facility in Rivière-du-Loup, CHSLD de Chauffailles opened today. The feedback to the ISECO Vitalis One meal regeneration system from residents and staff has been exceptionally positive. Residents are extremely happy with the quality of their meals, and staff are really pleased with how easy the system is to use.
The CHSLD put on a special lunch yesterday (Sunday, Nov. 18) for the Board of Directors of the CHSLD, which is comprised of senior CHSLD management, relatives of residents, and senior executives from the CISSS du Bas-St-Laurent health region. The lunch was prepared exactly the same as residents’ meals will be, rethermed in one of our Vitalis One carts.
Jacques Gilmore, Grande Cuisine Systems’ Director of Eastern Canada Operations gave a presentation to the board explaining how the system works, and why it delivers far better quality meals than other systems on the market, at significantly lower end-to-end cost. The presentation was scheduled to run ½ hour, but the many detailed questions from the Board extended the presentation to over an hour. At the end of the presentation, the Board gave Jacques (and our system) a standing ovation!
New $25MM long-term care facility to be built in 2018 in Rivière-du-Loup will use ISECO Vitalis One carts with Thermocontact Technology
December 6, 2017Grande Cuisine Systems Inc. is proud to announce that it has won the competition for supply of meal rethermalization systems at the new $25 million long-term care facility (CHSLD) in Rivière-du-Loup, Quebec. This CHSLD has been designed as a “best of breed” model for long-term care in the region, utilizing the best-available technologies and methodologies. ISECO’s Vitalis One meal regeneration carts and separate StandFresh One refrigeration units fit the bill, providing superior-quality meals to residents, while at the same time delivering proven best-in-market reliability, energy efficiency, ergonomics and total cost of operation.
This is the first significant sale of ISECO Vitalis One carts and StandFresh One refrigeration units in Canada. The carts will be manufactured by ISECO St-Phal in Saint-Phal, France. Grande Cuisine Systems Inc. is the exclusive North American distributor for ISECO thermocontact systems.
ISECO purchased by Groupe Ortecal
July 14, 2017The ISECO factory in St-Phal, France has been purchased by the holding company Groupe Ortecal, who specialize in logistics solutions for the distribution of meals for institutional establishments: hospitals, clinics, long-term care facilities, retirement homes and prisons. They also own Electro-Alu and Electro-Calorique, who manufacture competitive products. The new company (“ISECO St-Phal”) will operate completely independently of its sibling companies. They will continue to manufacture ISECO’s best-selling products: Vitalis One individual meal retherm carts, StandFresh One refrigeration units, Serelis bulk retherm carts, Energis retherm ovens and Navis transport carts. They plan on making minor engineering changes to improve the already excellent reliability of ISECO’s products.
Sébastien Revel has been appointed Managing Director of the new company. Prior to this, Sébastien was with Electro-Calorique for 18 years, most recently as their Director of Sales.
Grande Cuisine Systems Inc. will continue act as the exclusive North American distributor for ISECO thermocontact systems.