It is truly revolutionary what the Roto Flex Oven has done for the Pizza business. Just consider: you can cook 24 18 inch pizzas at one time in the Roto Flex Oven; the interior is lit and with the glass doors you can watch your pizzas without opening the doors!! The Roto Flex Ovens allow the heat to stay inside.
Simply put, there is nothing like the Roto Flex Oven in today’s marketplace.
With that in mind we spoke with the Director of Sales for the Roto Flex Oven Company-Mr. Allen Kieney.
Q – Allen, you’re just back from this Pizza Convention in Atlantic City. Did the Roto Flex Oven get a lot of attention?
A – We did. We did very well. The majority of our customers are all up and down the East Coast in the New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania area.
Q – What type of questions do you typically get about the oven?
A – Most of the questions we get are about production and the volume of it, how does it bake from traditional bake ovens? What degree do some of the customers bake on? Is it really true it doesn’t really need any hood system? And then of course how much does it cost? Those are pretty much the top questions we get.
Q – Is the Roto Flex Oven expensive? That information is not on the website.
A – Well, when it comes to traditional deck ovens, generally whatever brand they are, and listen all deck ovens are really good. They make a great product. They just can’t keep up with us as far as the volume. So, it’s going to depend on what part of the country you’re in because we deliver and we do the install.
Q – What is your title with the company? I should probably have asked you that in the beginning.
A – I’m actually the owner of the company of Roto Flex. My title says Director of Sales. I just kind of like leaving it at that. I don’t need to beat my chest.
Q – When did Roto Flex enter the marketplace?
A – Roto Flex has been in business since 1966.
Q – You were part of the company back then?
A – It was before my time and there’s a story between that and how I got there. I’ve been with the company about 10 years.
Q – Is it a family business?
A – It is. It was family owned and operated and were still kind of a family here. There are eight or nine of us here. We’ve been together a long time. Most of my guys are tenured. They’ve been here from 30 years. I might have the least amount of tenure of everyone and I at 10 years.
Q – I see you can bake 24 18 inch pizzas at one time in the Roto Flex Oven.
A – That’s correct.
Q – It almost seems like the Roto Flex Oven would be geared towards more of a high volume restaurant or pizzeria then?
A – Correct, High volume. Places like my Jersey Shores guys, from Manco and Manco to Marcuca’s to Sam’s. All those guys have our ovens because they produce a lot and they don’t break down. As a matter of fact we just got into Citizens Bank Park for the Phillies. We got two units in there. We’ve got a unit at the Denver Broncos, the Utah Jazz. Most of the high volume places have deck ovens that have outgrown their deck ovens and can’t keep up anymore.
Q – Do pizza ovens typically come with a timer?
A – A timer?
Q – Yes where you will put a pizza in for a certain length of time and when it’s done a bell will go off or a buzzer will sound. Something like that.
A – I don’t have any customers that do that in ours. I don’t know of an oven that does that. The simple reason Gary is because everybody’s dough is different. People bake at different times depending on how wet, how thick, how meaty the pie is. It’s just going to depend. I don’t know of any that have a timer but, I would assume nowadays you can find anything.
Q – The reason I ask is because I went into a supermarket and ordered a pizza. The first time the pizza was burnt. The counter guy asked if I still wanted it and I said yes. The second time, the same counter guy burnt the pizza again and this time made another pizza for me at no cost. I’m not blaming the employee because he’s waiting on other customers in between baking my pizza. If there was a timer on the oven, that situation wouldn’t happen.
A – Oh, gotcha yeah. Good point. Honestly Gary, I don’t think you’d have that with us. We got two or three big glass Windows in their (Roto Flex Oven) and you can see the pizza all the time. It’s turning. The beauty of our ovens like I tell everybody at the show is one guy can be putting pizzas in and another guy can be taking them out, cutting them, boxing them and going out. So, that’s the difference between us and your traditional deck ovens where everybody is fighting over the same door to get in here, to get in there and have to turn pizzas around. It’s tough when it’s one person having to do it all. So, I can see where it would get a little difficult.
Q – Is the Roto Flex Oven just found in the United States?
A – No. We got a couple in Canada I think we’ve got a couple in Mexico. I think we’ve got a couple in the United Emirates. But, for the most part it’s here in the United States.
Q – Do you have to personally supervise the installation of the Roto Flex Oven wherever it goes?
A – My guys go wherever the oven goes. My guys have been with me for years. They can put these ovens together in their sleep. They’ve been doing them forever. We build them by hand. So, we go from one stop to another. They all get tested and certified here and then we ship all over the country. My guys will meet the delivery at the location, put it in wherever the customer needs it and then go from there.
Q – The Roto Flex Oven looks big or is it just me?
A – Its 73 ¼ inches just like a box. The difference between our oven and deck ovens is were not hot to the touch. All our ovens are insulated. So, your kitchens are nice and cool in the summer. The only thing that’s hot is the glass and its triple pane so we keep a lot of heat inside our oven versus traditional deck ovens.
Q – That’s a great selling point right there!
A – It really is. You open that deck oven and all that heat hits you in the face. You got to constantly turn pizzas. Your losing heat, you’re burning your forearms. Yeah, it’s crazy. Every door has an air curtain in it to keep the heat in so it doesn’t hit you in the face when you pull that door down.
Q – Did you design the oven?
A – Honestly, I didn’t. We’ve only done a few things with that oven since conception. We’ve added some light bulbs to it. We use a different kind of glass sealant. We’ve got a different cone. Were on a belt drive system versus a gear. But, other than those it’s pretty much the same oven. It’s crazy how these guys thought of all this back in that day. We don’t really switch around a lot of things in our ovens. We have a dual gas system. Got dual pilots, dual thermostats. We’ve got dual of everything so you’re never out of business. On a traditional deck if your gas valve goes out or your temperature gauge goes out in that deck-you’re done. You can’t use it anymore. On ours, if something happens to one of them, we have an auxiliary. So, it’s a backup. Generally you’re not out of business with one of our ovens unless you don’t pay the gas or electric bill. Other than that you’re good.
Q – Another great selling point!
A – It really is.
Q – The sky is the limit for Roto Flex Ovens.
A – You know, we’ve been very fortunate. I just did a post on LinkedIn we’ve got the best customers in the business, I mean really, my customers sell more ovens for me then I do. We just have really good customers. We’re just grateful. We really are. We are in a good spot. We’ve got big things coming. We’ve been blessed. It’s been a good ride for us.
Official website: www.rotoflexoven.com
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