CHICAGO — Vacuum packaging specialist Minipack America highlighted its new in-table sealer and its new app at the 2018 National Restaurant Association Show.

The in-table machine was born out of a simple need among Orange, California-based Minipack’s customers, Joe Sielski, the company’s president, said at the show. “I lot of chefs tell us, ‘I just don’t have the room’” for another piece of equipment in their kitchen.

The 31D VacSmart in-table machine looks just like a drawer in a table. When pulled out, it’s a fully functional vacuum packer, with a touch screen that can be programmed to ask users questions to ensure accurate use, a built-in labeler and other features that separate Minipack’s equipment from the competition, Sielski said.

The new app, meanwhile, which was set to go live in late May, lets users do everything they could formerly do only on the machine itself, remotely. It can turn on and run the machine and even automatically submit a HACCP plan to state regulators, Sielski said.

Minipack vacuum packers features seamless chambers, pop-out seal bars, temperature probes, trays for liquids, thermal label printers, PDF eLogs, interactive displays, deep chambers and leg extensions for easy cleaning.