Welbilt, Inc., a global provider of commercial foodservice equipment, announced it has launched the Welbilt Kitchen Leasing Program at the 2018 National Restaurant Association show in Chicago. This first-of-its-kind program is designed to provide all of the hot, cold and beverage equipment needed to run a professional kitchen. The program is available to customers in the United States.

Welbilt’s Kitchen Leasing Program will include the entire range of Welbilt brands and is offered in partnership with Marlin Finance that acts as the lessor.

“We are excited to be the first company to offer commercial kitchen leasing solutions that will allow our customers to effectively ‘pay as you go’, rather than to pay entirely up front, for their professional kitchen,” said Hubertus Muehlhaeuser, President and Chief Executive Officer of Welbilt. “This is another important step to further tailor our services to our customers’ needs and underlines our commitment to revolutionize the foodservice industry with fresh concepts.”

The program will empower startup restaurants, fast-growing chains and independents in many ways:
 
The up-front costs for setting up a professional kitchen will be significantly lower and the cash flow savings can be invested in other important areas of the new or established restaurant business.

Operators can shift their attention from the kitchen equipment to their customers leaving them with more time to focus on customer experience, food quality, and culinary creativity.

Leasing allows them to change products, implement new technologies, create better efficiencies, get new warranties, update kitchen layouts and even develop new menu concepts with little to no extra costs.

“Leasing an entire kitchen provides restaurant owners with a high level of flexibility, lower risk of full ownership, an uptime guarantee and better cash flow,” Hubertus Muehlhaeuser said. “Our customers can buy the equipment at the expiration of the lease or get brand new models with new warranties and new advanced technology features. In addition, operators can exchange one brand for an entirely new brand with little to no cost. This flexibility allows restaurants to constantly evolve their menu concept, improve their kitchen design, and to introduce innovations in cooking solutions.”

Florida-based Welbilt will be partnering with dealers to help operators design the kitchen they wish to lease. Should an operator prefer to lease certain appliances, but not a full kitchen system, Welbilt also offers to bundle equipment.

Welbilt operates 17 manufacturing facilities throughout the Americas, Europe and Asia. It sells through a global network of over 3,500 distributors and dealers in over 100 countries. It has approximately 5,800 employees and generated sales of $1.45 billion in 2017.