BERLIN FOOD & LAB EQUIPMENT CO. PROFILE - 2010-11      

Berlin Food Equipment Company has helped shape the Bay Area food service industry since being founded in 1945 by Fred J. Berlin.   Today, the combination of experience, strict attention to detail and a focus on individual client needs places Berlin in the unique position to design, fabricate and install both customized stainless steel and manufactured kitchen, pharmaceutical, & bio-technology equipment for any type of project.

Berlin understands the restaurant owner as an entrepreneur following their dreams, and proactively develops concepts and plans to fulfill them.  Being a licensed food service contractor (California State Contractors SCL#341808) rather than just an equipment dealer, the company can anticipate and react to all client’s specific needs, throughout the entire design and installation process by utilizing in-house equipment fabrication and the expertise of design and build consultants.  Client specific needs from equipment costs to labor saving traffic flow to efficient employee use of each piece of equipment are all taken into consideration at the project outset to facilitate an accurate final installation.

In the past 60 years Berlin has designed and installed employee dining facilities, biotechnology facilities, restaurants, schools, hospitals, research centers, retirement community facilities, and residential kitchens for many of the Bay Area’s most important entrepreneurs and companies, focusing on the unique aspects of each project.  Projects as client specific as the kitchens of Joe Montana, Larry Ellison, Wolfgang & Gordon Getty to as grand as the concession areas of Pacific Bell Park show the unlimited range of Berlin. The employee dining facilities of IBM, Cisco, Amgen, Pacific Bell and United Airlines and the meticulous stainless steel work at Chaya on the Embarcadero demonstrate the excellence by which projects are always carried out.  In addition to restaurants, hospitals, hotels, bars, clubs, employee dining rooms and cafeterias, over the last 25 years Berlin has branched out to meet the needs of the growing biotechnology, research and defense industries.

Keep in mind that Berlin does not only work on new projects.  A large part of Berlin’s business consists of repairing, remodeling, replacing and modifying existing equipment with the flexibility of the in-house plant; work can be done both on and off site.

Inside Berlin’s 36,000 square foot facility in South San Francisco, departments work to bring each client’s entrepreneurial visions to life.  Each department (CAD Design, Fabrication, Installation, Sales, Construction Management, and Warranty Service) can be reached independently, which allows for a quick and effective response to all the client’s questions and concerns.  A minimum of bureaucracy combined with a high level of project knowledge and a focus on communication allow for work to be completed in the most timely and accurate manner.  

President Mike Ulrich’s hands on approach and years of experience provide another level of quality control to all aspects of a project.  Mike Ulrich began his career as an apprentice fabricator with Fred Berlin and in the 40 years since, has developed a philosophy that puts quality work and quality equipment as the primary focus of each project. Mike Ulrich’s in-depth experience and mechanical insight bring a world class dynamic to each project undertaken by Berlin.

Executive Vice President Mark Cottonaro a 15 year veteran of the Biopharmaceutical & Industrial Equipment industry and has been with Berlin for 11 of those years.  As EVP he assists Mike Ulrich and the design and build consultants in supervising all projects. Mark Cottonaro also oversees the STA-PRO Group standard product line & Operations of Berlin Food & Lab Equipment Company.  STA-PRO’s quality is well known and is an industry benchmark of value & durabilty. STA-PRO equipment, consisting of food & lab equipment as sinks, cabinets, casework, worktables, racking and hoods, is available through many restaurant, bakery, and lab dealers. 

The designers and consultants of Berlin aim for client satisfaction. Since Berlin’s consultants always strive to make sure a client gets value, because they know that their success depends upon your success.  By taking this whole project team view, client satisfaction is guaranteed. 

When a client first calls Berlin about a new project, the principles of quality and individuality are applied. This begins with either a design consultant or a chief estimator responding to the call to determine the needs of the client.  What do you want to do?  Do specifications and plans need to be submitted?  Or is it a negotiated “CAD design and build” contract that Berlin will collaborate on with the client and their Architect.  If the client does not know the answer the consultants of Berlin will assist in finding them out, either through industry experience and knowledge or by utilizing the contacts and information services developed over the past half century.