MBiz

24 MBiz | may 2016 FOOD TRUCKS INTERNATIONAL By Wendy King F ood Trucks International (FTI) is serving up made-in- Manitoba entrepreneurial ingenuity to the world. The Dugald company's state-of-the-art restaurants on wheels have hit the streets in every Canadian province, 21 U.S. states and Panama, and they've drawn interest from as far afield as Saudi Arabia and Greenland. FTI president Otto Kemerle says three mobile eateries are using FTI-built trucks here in Manitoba — Habanero Sombrero, Simba Safari Grill and Little Pizza Heaven — and the trend is just heating up. He found a study showing that up to 4% of the total restaurant industry will be based out of food trucks by 2017, at least triple the current rate. "We know the trend is moving that way because the big chains are phoning us now looking for units and wanting us to help design for them." It helps to be nimble to meet the needs of the market. Kemerle bought the business, which builds and remodels concession trucks and trailers, just over two years ago. He says sales used to be web-based, but he recently took a turn toward old- school marketing. "We went to the International Pizza Expo trade show in Las Vegas recently and it was unbelievable," he says. What brought approximately 500 potential customers into the FTI booth was the presence of a finished truck that was ready to be delivered to a client in Kentucky. "People were very excited to actually see finished units, which was a really smart move because it wasn't just having a booth and showing pictures," he says. "People could actually touch it and feel it and walk through it." He says people just couldn't believe what they were seeing — a spacious, fully functional restaurant on wheels. "The food trucks you see on TV a lot of times are dingy old converted trucks, and people came and saw this brand-new trailer that is extra wide, extra tall, with lots of space where they can actually have four or five people working in it — it's restaurant sized," he says. The result was keen interest from buyers in the U.S., Canada, South America and Europe. "We've actually just talked to someone in Yellowknife, so we'll see," he says. "You have to find a way to get the propane to flow, because when it's minus twenty, propane doesn't flow, so what they would usually do is park in a heated garage overnight, and then make sure they start it every couple of hours." WHEELS WHEELS WHEELS hot Food truck business is gathering steam

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