MIDD Middleby Corp

• Record Q3 Adjusted EBITDA of $224 million, an $11 million increase year over year
• Record LTM Adjusted EBITDA of $896 million, an $83 million over the prior year LTM
• Record operating cash flows of $219 million for the quarter and $532 million for the Q3 LTM
• Profitability grew to an organic adjusted EBITDA margin of 23.0% compared to 21.4% in the prior year
• Diluted Earnings per share of $2.01 and adjusted net earnings per share of $2.35 for the third quarter, an increase of 8% year over year
• Net leverage reduced to 2.75x
• Completed strategic acquisitions of Terry Water Solutions and Trade-Wind

The Middleby Corporation (NASDAQ: MIDD), a leading worldwide manufacturer of equipment for the commercial foodservice, food processing, and residential kitchen industries, today reported net earnings for the third quarter of 2023.

“We achieved solid results with growth in earnings, profits margins and cash flows. We are navigating the expected impact of inventory de-stocking at our Commercial Foodservice and Residential Kitchen segments, along with increasing headwinds from rising interest rate affecting near-term demand. Despite the challenging market conditions, we are successfully realizing the benefits from our long-term profitability goals. We continue to make significant progress executing on our long-term growth initiatives, focused on the launch of industry leading product innovations and establishment of differentiated go-to-market sales capabilities that we are confident will provide us with a growing competitive advantage,” said Tim FitzGerald, CEO of The Middleby Corporation.

2023 Third Quarter Financial Results

• Net sales decreased 1.2% in the third quarter over the comparative prior year period. Excluding the impacts of acquisitions and foreign exchange rates, sales decreased 4.4% in the third quarter over the comparative prior year period.

• Organic net sales (a non-GAAP measure) increases were reported for the Commercial Foodservice and Food Processing segments in the third quarter of 2023. A reconciliation of reported net sales by segment is as follows:

 

Commercial Foodservice

 

Residential Kitchen

 

Food Processing

 

Total Company

Reported Net Sales Growth

2.3

%

 

(18.6

)%

 

9.5

%

 

(1.2

)%

Acquisitions

1.3

%

 

0.4

%

 

6.0

%

 

1.8

%

Foreign Exchange Rates

0.9

%

 

2.1

%

 

2.2

%

 

1.3

%

Organic Net Sales Growth (1) (2)

0.2

%

 

(21.0

)%

 

1.2

%

 

(4.4

)%

(1) Organic net sales growth defined as total sales growth excluding impact of acquisitions and foreign exchange rates

(2) Totals may be impacted by rounding

• Adjusted EBITDA (a non-GAAP measure) was $223.7 million in the third quarter compared to $212.3 million in the prior year. A reconciliation of organic adjusted EBITDA (a non-GAAP measure) by segment is as follows:

 

Commercial Foodservice

 

Residential Kitchen

 

Food Processing

 

Total Company

Adjusted EBITDA

28.4

%

 

10.8

%

 

25.8

%

 

22.8

%

Acquisitions

(0.2

)%

 

0.4

%

 

(0.7

)%

 

(0.1

)%

Foreign Exchange Rates

(0.1

)%

 

0.2

%

 

—

%

 

(0.1

)%

Organic Adjusted EBITDA (1) (2)

28.7

%

 

10.2

%

 

26.6

%

 

23.0

%

(1) Organic Adjusted EBITDA defined as Adjusted EBITDA excluding impact of acquisitions and foreign exchange rates.

(2) Totals may be impacted by rounding

• Foreign exchange losses were approximately $1.2 million in the third quarter, which negatively impacted adjusted earnings per share by $0.02.

• Operating cash flows during the third quarter amounted to $219.2 million in comparison to $84.0 million in the prior year period. The total leverage ratio per our credit agreements was 2.75x. The trailing twelve month bank agreement pro-forma EBITDA was $909.4 million.

• Net debt, defined as debt excluding the unamortized discount associated with the Convertible Notes less cash, at the end of the 2023 fiscal third quarter amounted to $2.4 billion as compared to $2.6 billion at the end of fiscal 2022. Our borrowing availability at the end of the third quarter was approximately $2.5 billion.

“We continue to further strengthen our three industry-leading foodservice platforms through organic growth initiatives and strategic acquisitions. We are excited to have completed this quarter the acquisitions of Trade-Wind and Terry Water Solutions, further extending our complementary product offerings, and providing synergistic growth opportunities for our Commercial Foodservice and Residential Kitchen platforms.”

“Trade-Wind has experienced rapid growth as a technology leader in residential ventilation recognized for their spectacular designs. The Trade-Wind ventilation line-up perfectly complements our indoor and outdoor residential cooking brands, including Viking, Lynx, LaCornue and Aga and provides for an exciting combined cooking and ventilation offering in demand by our customers.”

Mr. FitzGerald continued, “Terry products allows us to incorporate water treatment solutions to a broad array of products across our Commercial Foodservice equipment portfolio including ice machines, beverage dispense equipment, espresso machines and coffee makers, combi-ovens and steam cooking equipment. The combination of the Terry products across the Middleby family of products allows for an enhanced level of equipment performance with reduced scale build-up, lower maintenance costs, and a greater consistency and quality of food, ice and beverage. Utilizing a patented and environmentally friendly formulation of Citryne®, Terry products are food grade, biodegradable and treat water without the use of hazardous chemicals. Terry’s water filtration solutions last 20% longer than other competitive solutions, also providing an operating cost savings to our customers,” concluded Mr. FitzGerald.

Conference Call

The company has scheduled a conference call to discuss the third quarter results at 11 a.m. Eastern/10 a.m. Central Time on November 8th. The conference call is accessible through the Investor Relations section of the company website at www.middleby.com. If website access is not available, attendees can join the conference by dialing (833) 630-1956, or (412) 317-1837 for international access, and ask to join the Middleby conference call. The conference call will be available for replay from the company’s website.

Statements in this press release or otherwise attributable to the company regarding the company's business which are not historical facts are forward-looking statements made pursuant to the safe harbor provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. The company cautions investors that such statements are estimates of future performance and are highly dependent upon a variety of important factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from such statements. Such factors include variability in financing costs; quarterly variations in operating results; dependence on key customers; international exposure; foreign exchange and political risks affecting international sales; changing market conditions; the impact of competitive products and pricing; the timely development and market acceptance of the company's products; the availability and cost of raw materials; and other risks detailed herein and from time-to-time in the company's SEC filings. Any forward-looking statement speaks only as of the date hereof, and the company does not undertake any obligation to publicly update or review any forward-looking statement, whether as a result of new information, future developments or otherwise, except as required by law.

The Middleby Corporation is a global leader in the foodservice industry. The company develops and manufactures a broad line of solutions used in commercial foodservice, food processing, and residential kitchens. Supporting the company’s pursuit of the most sophisticated innovation, state-of-the-art Middleby Innovation Kitchens and Residential Showrooms showcase and demonstrate the most advanced Middleby solutions. In 2022 Middleby was named a World’s Best Employer by Forbes and is a proud philanthropic partner to organizations addressing food insecurity.

THE MIDDLEBY CORPORATION

CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF EARNINGS

(Amounts in 000’s, Except Per Share Information)

(Unaudited)

 

 

Three Months Ended

 

Nine Months Ended

 

3rd Qtr, 2023

 

3rd Qtr, 2022

 

3rd Qtr, 2023

 

3rd Qtr, 2022

Net sales

$

980,651

 

 

$

992,871

 

 

$

3,028,029

 

 

$

3,001,148

 

Cost of sales

 

605,329

 

 

 

627,639

 

 

 

1,880,736

 

 

 

1,944,664

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Gross profit

 

375,322

 

 

 

365,232

 

 

 

1,147,293

 

 

 

1,056,484

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Selling, general and administrative expenses

 

196,433

 

 

 

201,200

 

 

 

615,361

 

 

 

596,757

 

Restructuring expenses

 

4,448

 

 

 

2,327

 

 

 

11,698

 

 

 

8,231

 

Income from operations

 

174,441

 

 

 

161,705

 

 

 

520,234

 

 

 

451,496

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Interest expense and deferred financing amortization, net

 

31,080

 

 

 

24,067

 

 

 

92,071

 

 

 

62,563

 

Net periodic pension benefit (other than service costs & curtailment)

 

(2,103

)

 

 

(9,944

)

 

 

(6,929

)

 

 

(32,244

)

Other expense, net

 

1,072

 

 

 

8,529

 

 

 

2,642

 

 

 

18,478

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Earnings before income taxes

 

144,392

 

 

 

139,053

 

 

 

432,450

 

 

 

402,699

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Provision for income taxes

 

35,742

 

 

 

34,684

 

 

 

107,861

 

 

 

99,327

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Net earnings

$

108,650

 

 

$

104,369

 

 

$

324,589

 

 

$

303,372

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Net earnings per share:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Basic

$

2.03

 

 

$

1.94

 

 

$

6.06

 

 

$

5.60

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Diluted

$

2.01

 

 

$

1.92

 

 

$

5.99

 

 

$

5.50

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Weighted average number of shares

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Basic

 

53,588

 

 

 

53,867

 

 

 

53,569

 

 

 

54,190

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Diluted

 

54,157

 

 

 

54,384

 

 

 

54,192

 

 

 

55,134

 

THE MIDDLEBY CORPORATION

CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED BALANCE SHEETS

(Amounts in 000’s)

(Unaudited)

 

 

Sep 30, 2023

 

Dec 31, 2022

ASSETS

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Cash and cash equivalents

$

167,189

 

$

162,001

Accounts receivable, net

 

633,169

 

 

631,134

Inventories, net

 

1,015,047

 

 

1,077,729

Prepaid expenses and other

 

131,287

 

 

125,640

Prepaid taxes

 

14,165

 

 

9,492

Total current assets

 

1,960,857

 

 

2,005,996

 

 

 

 

Property, plant and equipment, net

 

498,871

 

 

443,528

Goodwill

 

2,452,419

 

 

2,411,834

Other intangibles, net

 

1,775,546

 

 

1,794,232

Long-term deferred tax assets

 

8,877

 

 

6,738

Other assets

 

226,038

 

 

212,538

 

 

 

 

Total assets

$

6,922,608

 

$

6,874,866

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

LIABILITIES AND STOCKHOLDERS' EQUITY

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Current maturities of long-term debt

$

44,330

 

$

45,583

Accounts payable

 

224,375

 

 

271,374

Accrued expenses

 

595,542

 

 

671,327

Total current liabilities

 

864,247

 

 

988,284

 

 

 

 

Long-term debt

 

2,535,896

 

 

2,676,741

Long-term deferred tax liability

 

214,021

 

 

220,204

Accrued pension benefits

 

5,420

 

 

14,948

Other non-current liabilities

 

207,809

 

 

176,942

 

 

 

 

Stockholders' equity

 

3,095,215

 

 

2,797,747

 

 

 

 

Total liabilities and stockholders' equity

$

6,922,608

 

$

6,874,866

THE MIDDLEBY CORPORATION

NON-GAAP SEGMENT INFORMATION (UNAUDITED)

(Amounts in 000’s, Except Percentages)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Commercial Foodservice

 

Residential Kitchen

 

Food Processing

 

Total Company (1)

Three Months Ended September 30, 2023

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Net sales

$

634,009

 

 

$

179,975

 

 

$

166,667

 

 

$

980,651

 

Segment Operating Income

$

158,582

 

 

$

10,915

 

 

$

37,472

 

 

$

174,441

 

Operating Income % of net sales

 

25.0

%

 

 

6.1

%

 

 

22.5

%

 

 

17.8

%

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Depreciation

 

6,957

 

 

 

3,304

 

 

 

1,924

 

 

 

12,588

 

Amortization

 

13,959

 

 

 

2,280

 

 

 

2,677

 

 

 

18,916

 

Restructuring expenses

 

636

 

 

 

2,873

 

 

 

939

 

 

 

4,448

 

Acquisition related adjustments

 

—

 

 

 

44

 

 

 

(51

)

 

 

(7

)

Charitable support

 

—

 

 

 

—

 

 

 

—

 

 

 

118

 

Stock compensation

 

—

 

 

 

—

 

 

 

—

 

 

 

13,175

 

Segment adjusted EBITDA (2)

$

180,134

 

 

$

19,416

 

 

$

42,961

 

 

$

223,679

 

Adjusted EBITDA % of net sales

 

28.4

%

 

 

10.8

%

 

 

25.8

%

 

 

22.8

%

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Three Months Ended October 1, 2022

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Net sales

$

619,557

 

 

$

220,965

 

 

$

152,349

 

 

$

992,871

 

Segment Operating Income

$

142,999

 

 

$

29,788

 

 

$

27,661

 

 

$

161,705

 

Operating Income % of net sales

 

23.1

%

 

 

13.5

%

 

 

18.2

%

 

 

16.3

%

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Depreciation

 

5,822

 

 

 

1,861

 

 

 

1,591

 

 

 

9,479

 

Amortization

 

14,124

 

 

 

1,289

 

 

 

4,470

 

 

 

19,883

 

Restructuring expenses

 

663

 

 

 

1,894

 

 

 

(230

)

 

 

2,327

 

Acquisition related adjustments

 

1,836

 

 

 

—

 

 

 

303

 

 

 

3,189

 

Stock compensation

 

—

 

 

 

—

 

 

 

—

 

 

 

15,761

 

Segment adjusted EBITDA

$

165,444

 

 

$

34,832

 

 

$

33,795

 

 

$

212,344

 

Adjusted EBITDA % of net sales

 

26.7

%

 

 

15.8

%

 

 

22.2

%

 

 

21.4

%

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

(1) Includes corporate and other general company expenses, which impact Segment Adjusted EBITDA, and amounted to $18.8 million and $21.7 million for the three months ended September 30, 2023 and October 1, 2022, respectively.

(2) Foreign exchange rates favorably impacted Segment Adjusted EBITDA by approximately $2.5 million for the three months ended September 30, 2023. 

THE MIDDLEBY CORPORATION

NON-GAAP SEGMENT INFORMATION (UNAUDITED)

(Amounts in 000’s, Except Percentages)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Commercial Foodservice

 

Residential Kitchen

 

Food Processing

 

Total Company (1)

Nine Months Ended September 30, 2023

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Net sales

$

1,893,607

 

 

$

605,504

 

 

$

528,918

 

 

$

3,028,029

 

Segment Operating Income

$

452,113

 

 

$

51,197

 

 

$

111,483

 

 

$

520,234

 

Operating Income % of net sales

 

23.9

%

 

 

8.5

%

 

 

21.1

%

 

 

17.2

%

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Depreciation

 

20,134

 

 

 

10,070

 

 

 

5,910

 

 

 

37,088

 

Amortization

 

42,905

 

 

 

6,768

 

 

 

6,946

 

 

 

56,619

 

Restructuring expenses

 

2,658

 

 

 

8,184

 

 

 

856

 

 

 

11,698

 

Acquisition related adjustments

 

797

 

 

 

44

 

 

 

—

 

 

 

841

 

Charitable support

 

—

 

 

 

—

 

 

 

—

 

 

 

607

 

Stock compensation

 

—

 

 

 

—

 

 

 

—

 

 

 

35,305

 

Segment adjusted EBITDA (2)

$

518,607

 

 

$

76,263

 

 

$

125,195

 

 

$

662,392

 

Adjusted EBITDA % of net sales

 

27.4

%

 

 

12.6

%

 

 

23.7

%

 

 

21.9

%

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Nine Months Ended October 1, 2022

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Net sales

$

1,765,849

 

 

$

832,054

 

 

$

403,245

 

 

$

3,001,148

 

Segment Operating Income

$

390,218

 

 

$

100,811

 

 

$

66,164

 

 

$

451,496

 

Operating Income % of net sales

 

22.1

%

 

 

12.1

%

 

 

16.4

%

 

 

15.0

%

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Depreciation

 

17,478

 

 

 

9,271

 

 

 

4,281

 

 

 

31,608

 

Amortization

 

41,169

 

 

 

20,448

 

 

 

8,319

 

 

 

69,936

 

Restructuring expenses

 

2,934

 

 

 

2,892

 

 

 

2,405

 

 

 

8,231

 

Acquisition related adjustments

 

(1,256

)

 

 

15,062

 

 

 

303

 

 

 

15,159

 

Charitable support

 

—

 

 

 

—

 

 

 

—

 

 

 

798

 

Stock compensation

 

—

 

 

 

—

 

 

 

—

 

 

 

42,641

 

Segment adjusted EBITDA

$

450,543

 

 

$

148,484

 

 

$

81,472

 

 

$

619,869

 

Adjusted EBITDA % of net sales

 

25.5

%

 

 

17.8

%

 

 

20.2

%

 

 

20.7

%

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

(1) Includes corporate and other general company expenses, which impact Segment Adjusted EBITDA, and amounted to $57.7 million and $60.6 million for the nine months ended September 30, 2023 and October 1, 2022, respectively.

(2) Foreign exchange rates negatively impacted Segment Adjusted EBITDA by approximately $0.4 million for the nine months ended September 30, 2023.

THE MIDDLEBY CORPORATION

NON-GAAP INFORMATION (UNAUDITED)

(Amounts in 000’s, Except Percentages)

 

 

Three Months Ended

 

3rd Qtr, 2023

 

3rd Qtr, 2022

 

$

 

Diluted per share

 

$

 

Diluted per share

Net earnings

$

108,650

 

 

$

2.01

 

 

$

104,369

 

 

$

1.92

 

Amortization(1)

 

20,693

 

 

 

0.38

 

 

 

21,661

 

 

 

0.40

 

Restructuring expenses

 

4,448

 

 

 

0.08

 

 

 

2,327

 

 

 

0.04

 

Acquisition related adjustments

 

(7

)

 

 

—

 

 

 

3,189

 

 

 

0.06

 

Net periodic pension benefit (other than service costs & curtailment)

 

(2,103

)

 

 

(0.04

)

 

 

(9,944

)

 

 

(0.18

)

Charitable support

 

118

 

 

 

—

 

 

 

—

 

 

 

—

 

Income tax effect of pre-tax adjustments

 

(5,741

)

 

 

(0.11

)

 

 

(4,291

)

 

 

(0.08

)

Adjustment for shares excluded due to anti-dilution effect on GAAP net earnings(2)

 

—

 

 

 

0.03

 

 

 

—

 

 

 

0.02

 

Adjusted net earnings

$

126,058

 

 

$

2.35

 

 

$

117,311

 

 

$

2.18

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Diluted weighted average number of shares

 

54,157

 

 

 

 

 

54,384

 

 

 

Adjustment for shares excluded due to anti-dilution effect on GAAP net earnings(2)

 

(550

)

 

 

 

 

(494

)

 

 

Adjusted diluted weighted average number of shares

 

53,607

 

 

 

 

 

53,890

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Nine Months Ended

 

3rd Qtr, 2023

 

3rd Qtr, 2022

 

$

 

Diluted per share

 

$

 

Diluted per share

Net earnings

$

324,589

 

 

$

5.99

 

 

$

303,372

 

 

$

5.50

 

Amortization(1)

 

61,970

 

 

 

1.14

 

 

 

75,309

 

 

 

1.37

 

Restructuring expenses

 

11,698

 

 

 

0.22

 

 

 

8,231

 

 

 

0.15

 

Acquisition related adjustments

 

841

 

 

 

0.02

 

 

 

15,159

 

 

 

0.27

 

Net periodic pension benefit (other than service costs & curtailment)

 

(6,929

)

 

 

(0.13

)

 

 

(32,244

)

 

 

(0.58

)

Charitable support

 

607

 

 

 

0.01

 

 

 

798

 

 

 

0.01

 

Income tax effect of pre-tax adjustments

 

(16,979

)

 

 

(0.31

)

 

 

(16,611

)

 

 

(0.30

)

Adjustment for shares excluded due to anti-dilution effect on GAAP net earnings(2)

 

—

 

 

 

0.07

 

 

 

—

 

 

 

0.11

 

Adjusted net earnings

$

375,797

 

 

$

7.01

 

 

$

354,014

 

 

$

6.53

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Diluted weighted average number of shares

 

54,192

 

 

 

 

 

55,134

 

 

 

Adjustment for shares excluded due to anti-dilution effect on GAAP net earnings(2)

 

(614

)

 

 

 

 

(932

)

 

 

Adjusted diluted weighted average number of shares

 

53,578

 

 

 

 

 

54,202

 

 

 

 

(1) Includes amortization of deferred financing costs and convertible notes issuance costs.

(2) Adjusted diluted weighted average number of shares was calculated based on excluding the dilutive effect of shares to be issued upon conversion of the notes to satisfy the amount in excess of the principal since the company's capped call offsets the dilutive impact of the shares underlying the convertible notes. The calculation of adjusted diluted earnings per share excludes the principal portion of the convertible notes as this will always be settled in cash.

 

Three Months Ended

 

Nine Months Ended

 

3rd Qtr, 2023

 

3rd Qtr, 2022

 

3rd Qtr, 2023

 

3rd Qtr, 2022

Net Cash Flows Provided By (Used In):

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Operating activities

$

219,153

 

 

$

83,991

 

 

$

373,103

 

 

$

173,449

 

Investing activities

 

(53,958

)

 

 

(150,609

)

 

 

(139,224

)

 

 

(257,868

)

Financing activities

 

(150,533

)

 

 

54,856

 

 

 

(225,768

)

 

 

72,594

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Free Cash Flow

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Cash flow from operating activities

$

219,153

 

 

$

83,991

 

 

$

373,103

 

 

$

173,449

 

Less: Capital expenditures

 

(21,330

)

 

 

(18,781

)

 

 

(69,645

)

 

 

(50,914

)

Free cash flow

$

197,823

 

 

$

65,210

 

 

$

303,458

 

 

$

122,535

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

NON-GAAP FINANCIAL MEASURES

The company supplements its consolidated financial statements presented on a GAAP basis with this non-GAAP financial information to provide investors with greater insight, increase transparency and allow for a more comprehensive understanding of the information used by management in its financial and operational decision-making. The non-GAAP financial measures disclosed by the company should not be considered a substitute for, or superior to, financial measures prepared in accordance with GAAP, and the financial results prepared in accordance with GAAP and reconciliations from these results should be carefully evaluated. In addition, the non-GAAP financial measures included in this press release do not have standard meanings and may vary from similarly titled non-GAAP financial measures used by other companies.

The company believes that organic net sales growth, non-GAAP adjusted segment EBITDA, adjusted net earnings and adjusted diluted per share measures are useful as supplements to its GAAP results of operations to evaluate certain aspects of its operations and financial performance, and its management team primarily focuses on non-GAAP items in evaluating performance for business planning purposes. The company also believes that these measures assist it with comparing its performance between various reporting periods on a consistent basis, as these measures remove from operating results the impact of items that, in its opinion, do not reflect its core operating performance including, for example, intangibles amortization expense, impairment charges, restructuring expenses, and other charges which management considers to be outside core operating results.

The company believes that free cash flow is an important measure of operating performance because it provides management and investors a measure of cash generated from operations that is available for mandatory payment obligations and investment opportunities, such as funding acquisitions, repaying debt and repurchasing our common stock.

The company believes that its presentation of these non-GAAP financial measures is useful because it provides investors and securities analysts with the same information that Middleby uses internally for purposes of assessing its core operating performance.

View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20231108410534/en/

John Joyner, VP of Investor Relations, jjoyner@middleby.com