The Middleby Corp., Elgin, Ill., acquired Firex Srl, an Italy-based manufacturer of steam cooking equipment for the commercial foodservice industry.

“The Firex acquisition extends our product offerings in steam and sous vide cooking, categories which continue to grow due to health benefits and enhanced food quality,” says Selim Bassoul, chief executive officer of Middleby. “Firex products are highly innovative and include automated features allowing for reduced labor, increased capacity and standardization of cooking processes. We see expanded opportunities for growth, as we introduce Firex products in the U.S. to complement our current equipment lineup and in the international markets leveraging our infrastructure and customer relationships globally.”