HAYWARD, CALIF. – On June 1, the Heat and Control family celebrated the 100th birthday of its founder Andy Caridis. Caridis began his engineering career in the early 1950s and started Heat and Control in San Francisco alongside four other engineers when he was 30 years old.

He is credited with developing or supervising the development of more than 130 patents over the course of 70 years.

“Advancements in the production of French fries, snack foods, and prepared foods can be directly connected to Andy’s creativity and passion to continually create something better and to always put product quality first,” the company said. “Andy continues to be passionate about solving problems and finding better ways of doing things, and to this day is involved in R&D projects and supports various engineering teams within the company.”

Tony Caridis, president of Heat and Control said, “100 years ago, Andy was born in San Francisco during the Great Depression. He joined the military and represented his country in World War II. At the age of 30, he joined with his buddies to create Heat and Control. That was 70 years ago, and today there are almost 1,700 people contributing to the success of the company. This success is based on Andy’s hard work and ability to see the future and do the right thing.”

When asked about celebrating his achievement and his 100th birthday, Caridis said, “The first 100 years was practice; the next 100 years is the real thing.”

Read more about personnel changes throughout the industry.