The Timeline
1977
The beginning
Skip Zink starts the firm.
1978
The first line
Kolpak, an upstart walk-in cooler line, tabs the young firm as its rep.
1986
Zink Marketing
Skip Zink becomes sole owner; the company takes his name.
2001
The next generation
Jim Zink and Mike McGuire purchase the company.
2008
Zink Foodservice
Tabletop and smallwares join; Zink Foodservice Group is formed.
2011
First culinary centers
Test kitchens open in Cincinnati, Cleveland, Columbus, and Indianapolis.
2016
Paradigm founded
Zink becomes a founding member of the national alliance.
2017
Employee-owned
Zink becomes employee-owned through an ESOP.
2020
Zink Hospitality
A dedicated furniture and design team is established.
2025
One roof
A 90,000 sq ft HQ unites every Zink company in Columbus.
2027
50 years
To be continued…
Our Core Values
Be willing to change everything except your core values.
Nearly fifty years in, almost everything about this company has changed — the portfolio, the ownership, the way we run. These five haven't.
We Care
For each other, our customers, and our community — we do the right thing.
Excellence
People, processes, and facilities built to earn the first call.
Forward Focused
Challenging goals, real urgency — always with your success at the center.
Customer First
Satisfaction is every employee's responsibility, not just the sales team's.
Positive Attitude
Enthusiasm and passion, with an eye on balance — the energy is part of the value.
The industry’s barometer
When the industry takes its own temperature, we’re in the sample.
Zink is one of the rep firms whose quarterly numbers become the MAFSI Business Barometer — the survey MAFSI has run since 2002 and calls the industry's leading economic indicator. When manufacturers and dealers read how the market moved last quarter, part of what they are reading is this territory.
See the Barometer at MAFSI →Associations We Belong To
In the room, everywhere it matters.
MAFSI — Manufacturers’ Agents Association for the Foodservice Industry
Ohio Restaurant & Hospitality Alliance
Kentucky Restaurant Association
Hospitality Indiana
Michigan Restaurant & Lodging Association
School Nutrition Association of Ohio
School Nutrition Association of Pennsylvania
Illinois School Nutrition Association
Kentucky School Nutrition Association
School Nutrition Association of Michigan
Association for Healthcare Foodservice — incl. Buckeye Chapter
Association of Nutrition & Foodservice Professionals
American Culinary Federation
National Association of College & University Food Services
Club Managers Association of America — Ohio Valley Chapter
Columbus State Program Advisory BoardIf we take care of our people, they'll take care of our customers.
Since 2017, every Zink associate has held a direct stake in the company through our ESOP. The people who spec your kitchen, cook beside you, and answer your call own the outcome — and it shows.
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