Welbilt Launches the Welbilt Kitchen Leasing Program

Creates first ‘pay as you go' solution for professional kitchens

Welbilt, Inc. WBT, a leading global provider of commercial foodservice equipment, today announced that it has successfully 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.

"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."

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. 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.

Hubertus Muehlhaeuser, "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. 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."

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 has the most comprehensive portfolio of hot and cold foodservice equipment in the industry backed up by exceptional after-sales service and connected via its new connectivity platform KitchenConnect. Together with the new kitchen lease program, Welbilt is uniquely positioned to provide operators with solutions that support the growth of their business and the evolution of their kitchens.

For more information about Welbilt's Kitchen Leasing Program and Welbilt financing solutions, please visit http://www.welbilt.us/Sales/Financing

About Welbilt, Inc.

Welbilt, Inc. provides the world's top chefs, premier chain operators and growing independents with industry-leading equipment and solutions. Our innovative products and solutions are powered by our deep knowledge, operator insights, and culinary expertise. Our portfolio of award-winning product brands includes Cleveland™, Convotherm^®, Crem^®, Delfield^®, Frymaster^®, Garland^®, Kolpak^®, Lincoln™, Manitowoc^® Ice, Merco^®, Merrychef^® and Multiplex^®. These product brands are supported by two service brands: FitKitchen^®, our fully-integrated kitchen systems brand, and KitchenCare^®, our aftermarket parts and service brand. Headquartered in the Tampa Bay region of Florida and operating 17 manufacturing facilities throughout the Americas, Europe and Asia, we sell through a global network of over 3,500 distributors and dealers in over 100 countries. We have approximately 5,800 employees and generated sales of $1.45 billion in 2017. For more information, visit www.welbilt.com.

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