What Hobart Food Equipment does

Hobart Food Equipment is the Australian and New Zealand sales, service, and project-engineering subsidiary of HOBART, a global manufacturer of commercial warewashing, cooking, and food preparation equipment. The company operates from its Australian head office in Silverwater, NSW and a New Zealand office in Penrose, Auckland, while primary manufacturing and R&D sit at the expanded 122,000 sqm Elgersweier plant in Germany. HOBART originated the flight-type dishwasher (patented in 1953) and currently holds more than 100 patents concentrated around the PREMAX product line, with a design portfolio that has earned multiple Red Dot, iF Product Design, and German Design Awards.

The product portfolio spans glasswashers, front-loading and hood-type dishwashers, two-level washers, utensil washers, and conveyor systems including rack-type (CP/CN) and flight-type (FLOW Line) machines capable of up to 2,000 racks per hour. The cooking division includes the CHEF'S COMBI, COMBI, and ECOCOMBI combi-steamer ranges, the Precipan multifunctional braising pan, and the Bonnet Maestro cooking suite. Food-preparation equipment comprises planetary mixers (5L to 140 quart), slicers, peelers, and cutter-mixers, complemented by HYDROLINE water treatment, HYLINE chemicals, racks and tabling, conveyors, and BiVaTec/Ecolo waste technology. The 2025 FLOW Line introduces AI-supported warewashing via SMART VISION CONTROL (computer vision trained on 80,000+ images), ASR² automatic soil removal, and PREMAX-inside efficiency features, with the SmartConnect mobile app providing remote monitoring, hygiene reporting, and bidirectional control.

Revenue is generated primarily through one-time hardware sales of commercial warewashing, cooking, and food-preparation equipment, supplemented by recurring service, maintenance, and repair contracts, original spare parts supply, and proprietary HYLINE chemicals. Pricing is quote-based and not publicly disclosed. The go-to-market is enterprise field sales supported by certified service partners, with project engineers engaged for large installations such as conveyor systems and custom kitchen builds. End customers span hospitality, institutional foodservice (hospitals, nursing homes, schools, universities), marine and cruise shipping (4 of 5 vessels globally), airline catering, bakery, meat production, and industrial food processing. HOBART has operated under ITW (Illinois Tool Works) since 2001, within the ITW Food Equipment Group alongside BONNET, VULCAN, Berkel, BAXTER, FOSTER, Traulsen, ELRO, and Stero, giving the AU/NZ subsidiary access to group-level R&D and capital.

Name

Hobart Food Equipment

Legal name

ITW Australia Pty Ltd

Website

https://hobartfood.com.au

Company type

Private

Founded year

1915

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

51–100 employees

Short description

Hobart Food Equipment is the Australian and New Zealand subsidiary of HOBART, a global manufacturer of commercial warewashing, cooking, and food preparation equipment. It serves hospitality, healthcare, marine, and airline catering customers through direct field sales, certified service partners, and AI-powered dishwasher technology.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Commercial Kitchen Equipment

NAICS

Commercial and Service Industry Machinery Manufacturing (333310)

SIC

Wholesale-Professional & Commercial Equipment & Supplies (5040)

akta.pro primary industry

Restaurant & Commercial Kitchen Equipment Wholesale (AFAIALAB)

Keywords

• Commercial warewashing equipment
• Commercial kitchen equipment
• Combi steamer systems
• Food preparation machinery
• Flight-type dishwashers

Headquarters

HQ city

Silverwater

HQ country

Australia

HQ region

Oceania

Offices3 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Hardware or Manufacturing

Cost components

Supply Chain, Personnel, Technology or R&D, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. Commercial kitchen equipment sales: Sale of commercial warewashing, cooking, food preparation and waste technology equipment. Products sold to enterprise customers including hotels, restaurants, caterers, hospitals, cruise ships, and airlines. Revenue model is one-time hardware sale, typical of commercial equipment manufacturers.
2. Service, maintenance and repairs: Service department offering planned maintenance, repairs, and technical support. Comprehensive network of service staff and partners with own stocks of spare parts. Service partners undergo regular further training. Training provided at headquarters in Germany as well as in various countries.
3. Spare parts: Supply of original HOBART spare parts to service partners and end customers. Parts available through documents download portal and partner area.
4. Chemicals and consumables: HYLINE hygiene range including detergents, rinse aids, and hygiene tabs specifically formulated for use in HOBART machines. Products are tailor-made for HOBART washers.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels7 records

Core offering

HOBART Australia & New Zealand designs, distributes and services commercial warewashing, cooking and food preparation equipment manufactured primarily in Germany. The portfolio spans glasswashers, undercounter and hood-type dishwashers, two-level washers, utensil washers, rack-type and flight-type conveyor dishwashers (including the AI-enabled FLOW Line), combi steamers (CHEF'S COMBI, COMBI, ECOCOMBI), Precipan braising pans, planetary mixers, slicers, peelers, cutter-mixers, waste treatment systems and the SmartConnect IoT application. Equipment is sold under the ECOMAX (entry), PROFI (mid) and PREMAX (premium) lines, with quote-based pricing, professional installation, planned maintenance and original spare parts supplied through a certified service partner network.

Product overview

Hobart Food Equipment is a comprehensive commercial kitchen equipment manufacturer offering an integrated portfolio of warewashing, cooking, and food preparation solutions. The warewashing division includes glasswashers, front-loading and hood-type dishwashers, two-level washers, utensil washers, and conveyor systems (both rack-type and flight-type). The flight-type FLOW Line represents the flagship innovation featuring AI-powered SMART VISION CONTROL for automatic wash parameter adjustment. The cooking division encompasses combi steamers under the CHEF'S COMBI, COMBI, and ECOCOMBI brands, plus the multifunctional Precipan braising pan and Bonnet Maestro cooking suite. Food preparation equipment includes planetary mixers, slicers, peelers, and cutter-mixers. Supporting products include HYLINE chemicals, HYDROLINE water treatment systems, racks and tabling, conveyors, and waste technology systems. The SmartConnect app provides IoT connectivity for remote monitoring and control. Products serve diverse markets including hospitality, foodservice, bakery, meat production, marine, and airline catering.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Glasswashers Commercial glasswashers under the PREMAX, PROFI and ECOMAX lines, including the 2024-launched PREMAX GPCROI and PROFI GXCROI models with integrated reverse osmosis and drying. Designed for bars, restaurants and hotels to deliver sparkling clean glasses without manual polishing.
• Front-loading Dishwashers Undercounter commercial dishwashers (PREMAX FP/FPC, PROFI FX/FXC/FXL, ECOMAX) for restaurants, bistros and cafés with up to 60 racks per hour capacity and integrated drying on premium models.
• Hood-type Dishwashers Hood-type commercial dishwashers (PREMAX AUPT/AUPL/AUP, PROFI AMXT/AMXXL/AMXR/AMX, ECOMAX PLUS H615/H604) for higher-volume commercial kitchens, featuring PERMANENT-CLEAN automatic soil removal on premium models.
• Two-Level-Washer Double-capacity hood-type dishwasher with two separate wash chambers delivering up to 120 racks per hour in the same space as a conventional machine, with VISIOTRONIC-TOUCH control, integrated WiFi and SmartConnect app compatibility. Watermark approved to WMTS-101:2018 (Cert. WMKT21944).
• Utensil Washers Front-loading and hood-type utensil washers (PREMAX UP/UPT, PROFI UX/UXT) for cleaning large wash ware such as pots, pans, baking tins, trays and bakery racks.
• Rack-type Conveyor Dishwashers PREMAX CP and PROFI CN/CS rack-type conveyor dishwashers for high-volume operations, washing 80 to 320 racks per hour depending on model.
• FLOW Line Flight-type Conveyor Dishwashers AI-powered flight-type conveyor dishwashers with modular design handling 300 to 2,000+ racks per hour. Features SMART VISION CONTROL for automatic parameter adjustment, ASR² soil removal, AUTO-CLEAN self-cleaning and PREMAX inside efficiency options including CLIMATE-PRO heat pump, LOW-FLOW rinse system and LCI detergent saving system.
• Utensil Wash Systems (FUX) Flight-type utensil wash systems for containers and boxes: the FUX-C handles up to 300 racks, containers or sheets per hour; the FUX washes up to 2,000 boxes or racks per hour with SENSO-SPACE compartment detection.
• Warewash Systems (AUTOLINE and Semi-automatic) Fully automated AUTOLINE systems, tray washers (FTT) and cart washers (WWA) for industrial dishwashing needs in large kitchens.
• Conveyors Round-belt conveyor systems tailored to scullery workflow, including tray return belts, passage doors, PLC-controlled switches, rising/falling tracks and turnings for fully automated transport of dirty dishes.
• Racks & Tabling Plastic rack programme for all wash ware types including glasses, beer mugs, cutlery and gastronorm trays, with optimised water penetration, stackability and self-cleaning properties.
• HYLINE Chemicals HYLINE hygiene range including HLB-20, HLU-31 and HLU-32 detergents, HLG-1000 and HLD-5000 rinse aids, HLP-7000 plastic rinse aid and HYGIENE TABS, formulated specifically for use in HOBART washers.
• HYDROLINE Water Treatment Water softening (SE-H, SD-H) and reverse osmosis systems (RO-I, RO-S, RO-C, RO-L28) that protect machines from limescale and provide spotless wash results without manual polishing.
• CHEF'S COMBI Combi Steamers Premium combi steamer line with intuitive operation and advanced climate management, ranging from 6x1/1 GN to 20x2/1 GN capacity, with automatic cleaning and consistent cooking for 30 to 500 meals per day.
• COMBI Combi Steamers Professional combi steamers with FastPAD control for saving cooking process images, from COMBI-mini (6x1/1 GN) to COMBI 202 (20x2/1 GN) with over 70 programmes; COMBI-plus models add ease-of-operation features.
• ECOCOMBI Combi Steamers Economical combi steamer line available in electrically heated 4x1/1 GN, 6x1/1 GN and 10x1/1 GN capacities for entry-level commercial kitchens.
• Precipan Braising Pans Multifunctional braising pan combining cooking, roasting, frying, braising, blanching, poaching, sous vide, pressure cooking and steaming in one device. Available in 100L and 150L HighPower versions and compact 2x18L twin pans.
• Bonnet Maestro Cooking Suite Customisable cooking suite with rotisserie functionality, made-to-measure design that can incorporate ethnic modules such as robatayaki, Argentinian grill and tandoori oven, integrating with the cooking line.
• Planetary Mixers Planetary mixers from 5L bench model (N50) to 140 quart (133L) floor models (HL1400), including the A200 20L versatile mixer, HMM20 centerline mixer and legacy HL series for heavy-duty commercial use.
• Slicers Manual gravity feed slicers (EDGE) and automatic gravity feed slicers (HS9) for slicing cheese, charcuterie, deli meats and vegetables with precision.
• Peelers & Cutter-Mixers Potato and vegetable peelers (6414-C, 6430-19C, 6460-21C) peeling 6.3kg to 27kg in 1-3 minutes, plus the HCM450-20 cutter-mixer and 84186 bench type food cutter for food processing operations.
• Waste Technology Systems (BiVaTec, Ecolo) Food waste conditioning systems including vacuum waste treatment (BiVaTec PV), standard waste treatment (BiVaTec) and Ecolo systems for disposing of food residues in hospitals, universities and large canteens.
• SmartConnect App Mobile application for iOS and Android that connects HOBART warewashing machines via WiFi, providing status and message notifications, usage and cost data, hygiene monitoring, service alerts, autostart control and detergent dosage settings.
• PREMAX CARE Care-sector Dishwasher PREMAX-branded care-sector dishwasher specifically engineered for hospitals, nursing homes and care facilities, with patented technology that claims to halve energy, water and detergent costs and uses only 0.8 litres of water per rack.
• Service, Maintenance and Repairs Comprehensive planned maintenance, repair and technical support services delivered through a network of certified service partners across Australia and New Zealand, with their own stocks of original HOBART spare parts and ongoing training at headquarters in Germany.

Quantifiable outcome

• PREMAX flight-type dishwasher saves up to 50% water, 30% energy, 80% detergents compared to conventional technologies
• +7 more outcomes

Named customers16 records

Segments7 records

Ideal customer profiles6 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration2 records

AI capability7 records

Feature9 records

Partnerships

One partnership is on record.

• ITW (Illinois Tool Works)parent companyOthers · 1 January 2001HOBART has been part of the ITW (Illinois Tool Works) Group since 2001. ITW is a Fortune 200 company with 50,000 employees in 56 countries and USD 14.8 billion turnover in 2018. HOBART operates within the Food Equipment Group segment alongside other kitchen equipment brands including BONNET, VULCAN, Berkel, BAXTER, FOSTER, Traulsen, ELRO, and Stero.

Scale indicators9 records

Recent moves8 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Broad incumbents

• Electrolux Professional: Large multinational offering commercial warewashing, cooking, and food preparation across the full kitchen, with broader portfolio and scale than HOBART but less specialization in high-end flight-type systems.
• Ali Group: Italian-owned conglomerate (parent of Welbilt, Manitowoc Foodservice brands) operating across commercial cooking, refrigeration, and warewashing — ITW Food Equipment Group's main broad-line rival.
• Miele Professional: Premium German manufacturer of commercial dishwashers, laundry, and laboratory/lab equipment; competes with HOBART in upper-tier warewashing across hospitality and healthcare segments.

Direct peers

• MEIKO: German-based commercial warewashing manufacturer competing head-to-head with HOBART in flight-type and rack-type dishwashers, utensil washers, and food waste systems for hospitality, catering, and marine markets globally.
• Grandimpianti: Italian specialist in commercial rack-type and flight-type dishwashers serving hospitality, institutional catering, and marine — overlapping product and customer profile with HOBART's conveyor/warewash ranges.
• Winterhalter Gastronom: German commercial warewashing specialist with comparable product breadth (glasswashers, rack/flight-type, utensil washers) and a similar water/energy-efficiency focus, directly contesting HOBART in hospitality and foodservice.

Emerging players

• CMA Dishmachines: US-based manufacturer of commercial undercounter and door-type dishwashers focused on smaller foodservice operators, overlapping with HOBART's ECOMAX entry-level line on price-sensitive deals.

Regional players

• Fagor Professional: Spanish commercial kitchen equipment manufacturer (cooking, warewashing, refrigeration) with strong presence across Iberia and Latin America — adjacent competitor to HOBART in mid-market European/Hispanic foodservice.
• Jackson MSC: UK-based commercial warewashing manufacturer offering glasswashers, dishwashers, and utensil washers, primarily serving UK and European hospitality; smaller-scale competitor to HOBART's PROFI and ECOMAX ranges.

Others

• Smeg Professional: Italian brand offering professional dishwashers and small commercial kitchen equipment; shares HOBART's design-led, premium European positioning but operates at smaller scale outside core HOBART segments.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat7 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Facebookfacebook.com/hobartequipment
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/hobartequipment

Compliance2 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles5 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Hobart Food Equipment