Pots and pans manufacturer makes impression on national chefs

Members of the American Culinary Federation recently made a field trip from their convention in Kansas City, Mo., to visit the Vita Craft pots and pan manufacturing plant in Shawnee, Kan. (Photo by William Crum)
Members of the American Culinary Federation recently made a field trip from their convention in Kansas City, Mo., to visit the Vita Craft pots and pan manufacturing plant in Shawnee, Kan. (Photo by William Crum)
by William Crum

At the 2014 national American Culinary Federation convention in Kansas City, Mo., national chefs were taken on a tour of Vita-Craft.

Vita-Craft manufactures pots and pans in Shawnee, Kan. This company is noted as a leader in the industry. A lot of people know this company as a direct sales company, selling door-to-door.

According to Jerry Martin, Vita-Craft president, “We decided recently to expand our market. Instead of not only doing direct sales, we recently decided to go retail.

“The commercial market is what we are testing now,” he said. “This why we invited the chefs to come by and take a tour and give their input. This means a lot to us, after all, they are possible future customers.”

The company has 40 employees now, and is intending to expand soon, he said.

“This is why we are looking to explore into other markets,” Martin said. “We want to give the people who work here a future. In fact we have a lot of people who live in Wyandotte County who work here. Every employee has a say-so at Vita-Craft. Since we have started the commercial market, response has been overwhelming.”
One chef, while touring the plant, said he was impressed with not only the quality of the product, but also the work ethic of all the employees.

To learn more about Vita-Craft pots and pans, go to the website www.vitacraft.com. For more information call 913-631-6265.

Members of the American Culinary Federation recently made a field trip from their convention in Kansas City, Mo., to visit the Vita Craft pots and pan manufacturing plant in Shawnee, Kan. (Photo by William Crum)
Members of the American Culinary Federation recently made a field trip from their convention in Kansas City, Mo., to visit the Vita Craft pots and pan manufacturing plant in Shawnee, Kan. (Photo by William Crum)

Members of the American Culinary Federation recently made a field trip from their convention in Kansas City, Mo., to visit the Vita Craft pots and pan manufacturing plant in Shawnee, Kan. (Photo by William Crum)
Members of the American Culinary Federation recently made a field trip from their convention in Kansas City, Mo., to visit the Vita Craft pots and pan manufacturing plant in Shawnee, Kan. (Photo by William Crum)

Medical-alert device companies sued under no-call law

Kansas Attorney General Derek Schmidt has sued a group of Utah-based medical device companies for violating the Kansas Do Not Call Act.

In 2013, the attorney general’s office received multiple complaints from Kansans who had received telemarketing calls saying they could be eligible to receive a medical alert device. Schmidt issued a consumer alert in August 2013 warning Kansans about the calls. A copy of the consumer alert can be found at http://1.usa.gov/1qkounF.

Schmidt filed suit against Benjamin D. George; Jody C. Rookstool; KMR Medical, LLC; KPM Capital, LLC; Arizona Medical Supply, LLC d/b/a Western Medical Supply; and Medical Pendant Billing, LLC d/b/a US Lifecare. The suit was filed last month in Shawnee County District Court, and the final defendants were recently served with process.

The lawsuit alleges the defendants violated the Kansas No Call Act by calling Kansas consumers registered on the Do-Not-Call list attempting to sell them medical alert devices. The lawsuit seeks injunctive relief, civil penalties and investigative fees.

Consumers who have been called by or done business with any of the companies identified above may file a complaint with the attorney general’s Consumer Protection Division at www.InYourCornerKansas.org at 800-432-2310.

New grocery store to open Wednesday

A new Price Chopper store is slated to open at 8 a.m. Wednesday, July 16, on the east side of Wyandotte Plaza at 7600 State Ave. At 68,000 square feet, the new store will be larger than the existing one on the west side of Wyandotte Plaza. The space from the older Price Chopper building at the center will be the site of a new Marshalls store and PetSmart next spring. Red Legacy was in charge of the Wyandotte Plaza redevelopment project.