Monika’s technical manager dies 

Monika’s technical manager Simon Wood has passed away unexpectedly at the age of 57.

Wood was well-known, liked, and respected across the catering equipment industry in which he worked for 37 years.

Joining the Gerard Gamble Group (within which Monika was a start-up) as a newly-qualified engineer in 1987, Wood was instrumental in developing the temperature monitoring technology that would go on to become a central element of the Monika system when the business was launched as a separate entity in 1989.

Amongst his professional achievements, he pioneered the ‘Regina’ regeneration trolley used in NHS hospital wards which identified safe food temperatures, reheating where necessary, and automatically logging temperature data. Wood subsequently successfully engineered the first wireless temperature monitoring system for fridges and freezers.

Under Wood’s leadership, Monika’s engineering team moved the product to radio frequency (RF), introduced the first wireless insertion probe for checking food temperatures, before integrating these innovations to a smart, cloud-connected system.

Tim Gamble, executive chairman of Monika, said: “Simon was extremely modest about his accomplishments, both at Monika and in terms of his broader work in the industry, which included collaborating on a number of Foodservice Equipment Association projects focused on connectivity and the possible North American Association of Food Equipment Manufacturers protocol.

“Having been with Monika since its inception, Simon was a pivotal member of the team and will be sorely missed by all his colleagues who had the pleasure of working alongside him. You would be hard pressed to meet a nicer person and our thoughts are with Simon’s family at this difficult time.”

In his personal life, Wood had a passion for restoring cars and undertook an annual trip to Scotland to attend the car rally in Mull. These trips also gave him a chance to camp, tying into his love of all things outdoors.