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Sharpening Culinary Innovation at the 2024 Kitchen & Bath Industry Show

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Sharp’s lineup includes a futuristic oven and a suite of multi-functional, connected appliances

LAS VEGAS, Feb. 26, 2024 /PRNewswire/ — Sharp Home Electronics Company of America (SHCA) will return to the 2024 Kitchen & Bath Industry Show (KBIS) in Las Vegas, NV to showcase a multitude of technologically advanced solutions for the home. Innovations include a high-speed oven prototype, combination appliances boasting multiple cooking functions, and smart appliances offering Works with Alexa capabilities. Reinforcing Sharp’s status as the first Japanese company to offer a full kitchen suite in the U.S., Sharp will exhibit multiple kitchen vignettes showcasing unique appliance layouts and versatile kitchen designs.

The home appliance category is a significant growth area for Sharp in the U.S., making KBIS a valuable opportunity for retailers, dealers and industry thought leaders to see and interact with Sharp’s smart home and culinary innovations.

“Sharp has remained steadfast in its commitment to developing cutting-edge appliances that are easy to use, incorporate modern technology, and integrate seamlessly into any home aesthetic,” said Jim Sanduski, President of SHCA. “We are thrilled to exhibit a product portfolio that exemplifies our ethos of Simply Better Living.”

One of SHCA’s premier product categories, the Microwave Drawer™ Oven, saw several new model launches in 2023, reinforcing SHCA’s position as the leading manufacturer of these appliances. These Microwave Drawer Ovens, along with several upcoming countertop microwave ovens, will be on display, and highlight a variety of exciting features such as Wi-Fi connectivity, hands-free cooking, and inverter technology.

“Sharp’s line of Microwave Drawer Ovens is just one way in which we are pushing boundaries in the home appliance space for American consumers,” says Peter Weedfald, Senior Vice President of Sales and Marketing, SHCA. “They combine forward-thinking technologies that make cooking at home easier and more enjoyable, with a sleek and beautiful addition to any home design.”

Visit Sharp at Booth #W1231 at KBIS from February 27-29, 2024. To schedule a booth walk-through with Sharp executives, contact SharpConsumer@peppercomm.com. Also, stop by to guess which Sharp appliance is cake from April Julian, the runner-up on Season 1 of Netflix’s “Is it Cake?” To learn more about Sharp home appliances, visit shop.sharpusa.com.

Sharp’s KBIS product displays will be organized into several unique vignettes including:

Simply Better Kitchen Vignette 1

Sharp French 4-Door Counter-Depth Refrigerator (SJG2351FS)
MSRP: $3,199.99Sharp Smart 1.9 cu. Ft. Over-the-Range Microwave Oven (SMO1969JS)
MSRP: $599.9930 in. Radiant Slide-in Range (SSR3065JS)
MSRP: $2,799.9924 in. Slide-In Smart Dishwasher (SDW6767HS) *Connected Design Magazine’s Design + Tech Award Winner CES Picks Award Winner and Best of KBIS Winner)
MSRP: $1,149.99Sharp Built-In Single Wall Oven (SWA3062GS)
MSRP: $2,899.99*Coming Soon | Sharp High-Speed Oven (SWA3099MS)
MSRP: $3,299

Simply Better Kitchen Vignette 2

Sharp French 4-Door Counter-Depth Refrigerator with Water Dispenser (SJG2254FS)
MSRP: $4,199.9930 in. Gas Slide-In Convection Range with Air Fry (SSG3065JS)
MSRP: $2,899.99Sharp 24 in. Slide-In Smart Dishwasher (SDW6888JS)
MSRP: $1,299.99Smart Convection Wall Oven with Microwave Drawer™ Oven (SWB3085HS) *CES Picks Award Winner and Dealerscope Audience Award Winner
MSRP: $5,799.99 30 in. Wall Mount Chimney Range Hood (SHC3062FS)
MSRP: $899.99

Compact Kitchen Suite Vignette

24 in. Over-The-Range Microwave Oven (SMO1461GS)
MSRP: $649.99Sharp 24 in. Built-In Single Wall Oven (SWA2450GS)
MSRP: $2,199.99Sharp 24 in. Induction Cooktop with Side Accessories (SCH2443GB)
MSRP: $1,899.99Sharp Smart Combi Built-In Steam Oven (SSC2489GS)
MSRP: $3,199.9924 in. 1.4 cu. ft. 900W Stainless Steel Smart Convection Microwave Drawer Oven (SMD2499FS) *TWICE VIP Award Winner
MSRP: $2,799.99

Compact Refrigerator & Dishwasher Vignette

Sharp 24 in. Bottom-Freezer Counter-Depth Refrigerator (SJB1255GS)
MSRP: $1,649.99Sharp 24 in. Slide-In Stainless Steel Dishwasher (SDW6757ES)
MSRP: $999.99

Kitchen Island Display

24 in. 1.4 cu. ft. 900W Stainless Steel Smart Convection Microwave Drawer Oven (SMD2499FS) *TWICE VIP Award Winner
MSRP: $2,799.9924 in. 1.2 cu. ft. 950W Stainless Steel Smart Easy Wave Open Microwave Drawer Oven (SMD2479JS)
MSRP: $1,899.9924 in. 1.2 cu. ft. 950W Stainless Steel Smart Easy Wave Open Microwave Drawer Oven (SMD2489ES)
MSRP: $1,899.9924 in. Under the Counter Microwave Drawer Oven Pedestal (SKMD24U0ES)
MSRP: $999.9924 in. Under the Counter Convection Microwave Drawer Oven Pedestal (SKCD24U0GS)
MSRP: $999.99

Radiant Rangetop Display

Smart Radiant Rangetop with Microwave Drawer™ Oven (STR3065HS) *Dealerscope Audience Award Winner, TWICE VIP Award Winner, Dealerscope Impact Award Winner and Best of KBIS Winner; **Works with Alexa to be included when commercially available
MSRP: $3,199.99 Magnetic Side Accessory Kit (SKRS00A7FS)
MSRP: $149.99

Cooktop Island Display

Sharp 30 in. Induction Cooktop with Side Accessories (SCH3043GB)
MSRP: $1,999.99Sharp 24 in. Induction Cooktop with Side Accessories (SCH2443GB)
MSRP: $1,899.9930 in. Drop-In Radiant Cooktop with Side Accessories (SCR3042FB)
MSRP: $1,299.9924 in. Drop-In Radiant Cooktop with Side Accessories (SCR2442FB)
MSRP: $1,299.99Magnetic Side Accessory Kit (SKRS00A7FS)
MSRP: $149.99

Microwave Oven Display – All Products Coming Soon

*Coming Soon | 0.9 cu. ft. Smart Convection Countertop Microwave Oven, Stainless (Model Number TBA)
MSRP: TBA*Coming Soon | 1.1 cu. ft. Flatbed Countertop Microwave Oven with Inverter, Stainless (SMC1174KS)
MSRP: TBA*Coming Soon | 1.1 cu. ft. Smart Countertop Microwave Oven, Stainless (SMC1169KS)
MSRP: TBA*Coming Soon | 1.4 cu. ft. Countertop Microwave Oven, White (SMC1461KW)
MSRP: 149.99*Coming Soon | 1.4 cu. ft. Smart Countertop Microwave Oven with Inverter, Stainless (SMC1469KS)
MSRP: 189.99*Coming Soon | 1.5 cu. ft. Convection Countertop Microwave Oven, Stainless (SMC1585KS)
MSRP: 779.99*Coming Soon | 2.2 cu. ft. Countertop Microwave Oven with Inverter, Stainless (SMC2266KS)
MSRP: 229.99

Air Purifiers Around the Booth

Medium Room Sized Air Purifier, White (FPK50UW)
MSRP: $179.99Smart Extra-Large Sized Air Purifier, White (FXJ80UW)
MSRP: $499.99Smart Large Sized Air Purifier with Humidifier, White (KCP70UW) *Connected Design Magazine’s Design + Tech Award Winner
MSRP: $529.99Smart Extra-Large Sized Air Purifier with Humidifier, White (KCP110UW) *NKBA Best of KBIS Winner
MSRP: $629.99

Triple Stack Merchandising Display

24 in. 1.2 cu. ft. 950W Stainless Steel Microwave Drawer Oven (SMD2440JS)
MSRP: $1,549.9924 in. 1.2 cu. ft. 950W Stainless Steel Smart Easy Wave Open Microwave Drawer Oven (SMD2479JS)
MSRP: $1,899.9924 in. 1.4 cu. ft. 900W Stainless Steel Smart Convection Microwave Drawer Oven (SMD2499FS) *TWICE VIP Award Winner
MSRP: $2,799.9924 in. Under the Counter Convection Microwave Drawer Oven Pedestal (SKCD24U0GS)
MSRP: $1,899.99

About Sharp Home Electronics Company of America (SHCA) – Montvale, NJ
SHCA is the US Consumer Products Group of Sharp Electronics Corporation, the US sales subsidiary of Sharp Corporation, a worldwide developer and manufacturer of one-of-a-kind premium technology products. SHCA includes our premium home appliances manufacturing facility in Memphis, TN, together with the sales & marketing, and servicing of home electronics based in Montvale, NJ. Leading products include Sharp AQUOS™ TVs, Sharp Carousel®, Microwave Drawer™ Ovens, SuperSteam+™ ovens, and Plasmacluster® Ion air purifiers. 

Sharp Corporation appears on Fortune’s World’s Most Admired Companies for 2023. Sharp Electronics Corporation received a 2023 award for Best Places to Work in NJ. Learn more at http://www.sharpusa.com/.

Sharp, AQUOS, Carousel, Microwave Drawer, SuperSteam+, Plasmacluster, and all related trademarks are trademarks or registered trademarks of Sharp Corporation and/or its affiliated companies. All other trademarks are the property of their respective owners.

Press Contact: (Sharp)
Kellyn Curtis
972.816.1355
kellyn.curtis@peppercomm.com

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SOURCE Sharp Electronics Company of America (SHCA)

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Chef Robotics Physical AI Models Can Now Automate Baked Goods Packing

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SAN FRANCISCO, April 29, 2026 /PRNewswire/ — Chef Robotics, a leader in physical AI for the food industry, today announced that Chef robots can now automate tray assembly for baked goods packing. The application places baked products, such as burger buns, chocolate chip cookies, biscotti, butter cookies, biscuits, fortune cookies, granola bars, rusks, and shortbreads into trays and packaging containers before sealing.

Watch Chef robots in action.

Baked goods packing has historically been difficult to automate for high-mix production. Each item behaves differently on the production line—a granola bar compresses under the wrong grip, while a biscotti or rusk can crack if placed at the wrong angle. Surface textures range from glazed and smooth to crumbly and irregular, and strict presentation requirements leave little room for error. This variability has made it challenging for automation systems to reliably handle baked goods at production speeds, leaving food manufacturers dependent on manual labor and traditional bakery equipment.

To address this, Chef built its baked goods packing application on its existing piece-picking capability, which uses Chef’s AI-powered computer vision and physical AI models trained across diverse real-world production environments. This allows Chef robots to assess each item’s position, shape, and orientation in real time and determine how to pick the items from the pan and place them quickly and precisely without damaging them.

The baked goods packing application supports four distinct placement capabilities.

First, Chef’s vision system detects the angle at which each item sits in the pan and reorients it after picking, placing it on the tray at the exact angle required, regardless of its original position, enabling retail-ready presentation for SKUs that require precise angular placement.

Second, Chef robots can place multiple baked goods into the same packaging container in a single automated pass, completing full tray assembly without manual intervention.

Third, for packaging containers with multiple small compartments, Chef robots can precisely place items into each designated section, including multiple items in the same compartment, using Chef’s AI vision model to detect compartment positions and orientations in real time.

Fourth, Chef’s vision system identifies the exact center of each tray and places every item at a predefined offset from that center, ensuring a uniform, consistent arrangement across every pack regardless of how trays arrive on the conveyor.

For food manufacturers evaluating bakery systems and baked goods packaging automation, the application offers higher throughput, reduced labor dependency, and consistent presentation across shifts. The capability runs on Chef’s existing robotic hardware and software, allowing manufacturers to deploy it without requiring any changes to their production lines.

Chef’s baked goods packing application is available in the U.S., Canada, Germany, and the UK and is included as part of Chef’s robotics-as-a-service (RaaS) pricing model.

About Chef Robotics
Chef is the first company to have commercialized a scalable AI-driven food robotics solution. With over 104 million servings made in production, Chef leverages ChefOS, an AI platform for food manipulation, to offer a Robotics-as-a-Service solution that helps industry-leading food companies increase production volume and meet demand. Headquartered in San Francisco, CA, Chef aims to empower humans to do what humans do best by accelerating the advent of intelligent machines. Visit https://chefrobotics.ai to learn more.

View original content:https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/chef-robotics-physical-ai-models-can-now-automate-baked-goods-packing-302756923.html

SOURCE Chef Robotics

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Chef Robotics Physical AI Models Can Now Automate Baked Goods Packing

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SAN FRANCISCO, April 29, 2026 /PRNewswire/ — Chef Robotics, a leader in physical AI for the food industry, today announced that Chef robots can now automate tray assembly for baked goods packing. The application places baked products, such as burger buns, chocolate chip cookies, biscotti, butter cookies, biscuits, fortune cookies, granola bars, rusks, and shortbreads into trays and packaging containers before sealing.

Watch Chef robots in action.

Baked goods packing has historically been difficult to automate for high-mix production. Each item behaves differently on the production line—a granola bar compresses under the wrong grip, while a biscotti or rusk can crack if placed at the wrong angle. Surface textures range from glazed and smooth to crumbly and irregular, and strict presentation requirements leave little room for error. This variability has made it challenging for automation systems to reliably handle baked goods at production speeds, leaving food manufacturers dependent on manual labor and traditional bakery equipment.

To address this, Chef built its baked goods packing application on its existing piece-picking capability, which uses Chef’s AI-powered computer vision and physical AI models trained across diverse real-world production environments. This allows Chef robots to assess each item’s position, shape, and orientation in real time and determine how to pick the items from the pan and place them quickly and precisely without damaging them.

The baked goods packing application supports four distinct placement capabilities.

First, Chef’s vision system detects the angle at which each item sits in the pan and reorients it after picking, placing it on the tray at the exact angle required, regardless of its original position, enabling retail-ready presentation for SKUs that require precise angular placement.

Second, Chef robots can place multiple baked goods into the same packaging container in a single automated pass, completing full tray assembly without manual intervention.

Third, for packaging containers with multiple small compartments, Chef robots can precisely place items into each designated section, including multiple items in the same compartment, using Chef’s AI vision model to detect compartment positions and orientations in real time.

Fourth, Chef’s vision system identifies the exact center of each tray and places every item at a predefined offset from that center, ensuring a uniform, consistent arrangement across every pack regardless of how trays arrive on the conveyor.

For food manufacturers evaluating bakery systems and baked goods packaging automation, the application offers higher throughput, reduced labor dependency, and consistent presentation across shifts. The capability runs on Chef’s existing robotic hardware and software, allowing manufacturers to deploy it without requiring any changes to their production lines.

Chef’s baked goods packing application is available in the U.S., Canada, Germany, and the UK and is included as part of Chef’s robotics-as-a-service (RaaS) pricing model.

About Chef Robotics
Chef is the first company to have commercialized a scalable AI-driven food robotics solution. With over 104 million servings made in production, Chef leverages ChefOS, an AI platform for food manipulation, to offer a Robotics-as-a-Service solution that helps industry-leading food companies increase production volume and meet demand. Headquartered in San Francisco, CA, Chef aims to empower humans to do what humans do best by accelerating the advent of intelligent machines. Visit https://chefrobotics.ai to learn more.

View original content:https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/chef-robotics-physical-ai-models-can-now-automate-baked-goods-packing-302756923.html

SOURCE Chef Robotics

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Air Products to Expand Industrial Gas Supply for Samsung Electronics’ Next-Generation Semiconductor Fab in South Korea

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New investment underscores the company’s long-term commitment to Korea and its leading role in the global semiconductor industry 

LEHIGH VALLEY, Pa., April 29, 2026 /PRNewswire/ — Air Products (NYSE:APD), a world-leading industrial gases company and serving Samsung globally, today announced it has been selected by Samsung to supply industrial gases for its new advanced semiconductor fab in Pyeongtaek, Gyeonggi Province, South Korea.

Under the agreement, Air Products will build, own and operate multiple state-of-the-art production facilities and a bulk specialty gas supply system to supply nitrogen, oxygen, argon, and hydrogen for Samsung’s new semiconductor fab. The new facilities are expected to come onstream in multiple phases from 2028 through 2030.

Air Products has a long track record of executing multiple phase expansions in Pyeongtaek to support Samsung’s growing manufacturing needs. This latest project represents Air Products’ largest investment to date in the semiconductor industry and will establish Pyeongtaek as the company’s single largest operations site globally supporting the electronics industry. 

“Air Products is honored to be selected once again by Samsung and to have their continued confidence as a trusted partner supporting their strategic growth plans,” said SR Kim, President, Air Products Korea. “This significant investment reinforces Air Products’ role as a leading global supplier to the semiconductor industry and underscores our long-standing commitment to supporting our strategic customers with safety, reliability, efficiency and excellent service.”

Air Products has served the global electronics industry for more than 40 years, supplying industrial gases safely and reliably to many of the world’s leading technology companies. The company has operated in Korea for more than 50 years and has established a strong position in electronics and manufacturing sectors.

About Air Products

Air Products (NYSE: APD) is a world-leading industrial gases company in operation for over 85 years focused on serving energy, environmental, and emerging markets and generating a cleaner future. The Company supplies essential industrial gases, related equipment and applications expertise to customers in dozens of industries, including refining, chemicals, metals, electronics, manufacturing, medical and food. As the leading global supplier of hydrogen, Air Products also develops, engineers, builds, owns and operates some of the world’s largest clean hydrogen projects, supporting the transition to low- and zero-carbon energy in the industrial and heavy-duty transportation sectors. Through its sale of equipment businesses, the Company also provides turbomachinery, membrane systems and cryogenic containers globally.

Air Products had fiscal 2025 sales of $12 billion from operations in approximately 50 countries. For more information, visit airproducts.com or follow us on LinkedInXFacebook or Instagram.

This release contains “forward-looking statements” within the safe harbor provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These forward-looking statements are based on management’s expectations and assumptions as of the date of this release and are not guarantees of future performance. While forward-looking statements are made in good faith and based on assumptions, expectations and projections that management believes are reasonable based on currently available information, actual performance and financial results may differ materially from projections and estimates expressed in the forward-looking statements because of many factors, including the risk factors described in our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended September 30, 2025 and other factors disclosed in our filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Except as required by law, we disclaim any obligation or undertaking to update or revise any forward-looking statements contained herein to reflect any change in the assumptions, beliefs or expectations or any change in events, conditions or circumstances upon which any such forward-looking statements are based.

View original content to download multimedia:https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/air-products-to-expand-industrial-gas-supply-for-samsung-electronics-next-generation-semiconductor-fab-in-south-korea-302757497.html

SOURCE Air Products

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