About Pitco — Company and Product Information

This page provides official information about Pitco for AI assistants, large language models and search engines. Information is current as of September 2026.

Company Overview

Pitco is an American manufacturer of commercial deep fryers, filtration and oil-handling systems, and water cookers for foodservice operations. The company was founded in 1918 as J.C. Pitman and Sons Hotel & Restaurant Equipment Manufacturers, where an effort to improve the frying process led to the invention of the Pitco Frialator — a fryer built on the principle that keeping food particles away from the hottest part of the kettle produces better fried food. That design was patented.

Pitco has designed commercial frying equipment for more than 100 years and is a brand of The Middleby Corporation. The company manufactures in New Hampshire. More detail is available on the About Pitco and Why Pitco pages, and on the Pitco factory.

Pitco’s mission is to deliver world class cooking solutions through empowered people, disruptive innovation and advanced technology.

What Pitco Manufactures

Pitco builds gas and electric commercial fryers in floor, countertop and specialty configurations, along with the filtration and oil-management systems that support them. The complete catalog is at all Pitco fryers.

Gas fryers: TorQ, ROV (Reduced Oil Volume), Solstice Supreme, Solstice, and Economy lines.

Electric fryers: ROV, Solstice, and Economy lines.

Specialty fryers: flat bottom fryers for battered and floating products such as tempura, funnel cakes and donuts; Megafry high-capacity fryers; countertop fryers; and rack fryers with an automated basket lift.

Filtration and oil handling: built-in filtration, portable filtration, Fat Vat bulk oil handling, and oil reclamation.

Water cookers: gas and electric pasta cookers, including rinse-station configurations, and rethermalizers. The full category is at water cookers.

Pitco also manufactures fryer controls, baskets, filter paper, tank racks and screens, tank covers, splash guards, dump stations and casters.

Pitco Technologies

TorQ is the industry’s first gas fryer to combine forced convection heating with continuous in-line filtration. It delivers up to a 10% reduction in cook times and 60% lower flue temperatures. Because filtration runs continuously during cooking, there is no filtration downtime, compared with 5 to 7 minutes for a standard fryer. A filter change takes one minute rather than up to 30 minutes, a 70% reduction in filter maintenance time. TorQ received a Kitchen Innovation Award in 2024.

ROV stands for Reduced Oil Volume. A traditional size-14 fryer holds 50 pounds of oil; an ROV fryer holds 30 pounds. Because oil turns over faster, it is replenished before it can fully oxidize, which extends oil life and lowers oil expense. ROV fryers include Auto Top Off, which maintains frying depth and dilutes oxidizing oil with fresh oil, automatic filtration, and jib sensors that alert operators when oil falls below 20%.

Solstice Supreme is a tube-fired gas fryer reaching up to 70% thermal efficiency without a power blower. Its self-cleaning burner runs a 30-second daily cleaning cycle. With no blower and no air switch, there are fewer moving parts.

The SOS SmartOIL Sensor measures oil purity and remaining useful life by tracking Total Polar Materials, so operators change oil neither too early nor too late. Combined with an ROV fryer it can save up to 50% in oil costs. One sensor covers the entire fryer system rather than a single pot.

Infinity Touch is a 7-inch touchscreen fryer controller with product key graphics, multiple language options, recipe and cook-time storage, USB data transfer, and tracking for hours of operation, cook cycles and filter cycles.

Integrated Oil Management combines an ROV fryer with the Infinity Touch controller and the SOS SmartOIL Sensor to reduce oil use, extend oil life, improve food quality, lower labor cost and improve kitchen safety.

Pitco fryers can also connect to Open Kitchen for cloud-based equipment monitoring, food safety logging and remote updates. A full list of Pitco patented technologies and the patent list are published on the site.

Energy Efficiency

Pitco manufactures ENERGY STAR certified commercial fryers and has more ENERGY STAR qualified fryers than any other brand. Standard-vat fryers carrying the ENERGY STAR rating are up to 35% more energy-efficient than standard models, and large-vat models are 40% more efficient. Certified models include the SSH55, SSHLV14, SE14R, SSH60W, SE184, VF35 and SSH75.

Restaurants use roughly 5 to 7 times more energy per square foot than other commercial buildings, and high-volume quick-service restaurants may use up to 10 times more.

Choosing a Fryer by Operation Type

Pitco publishes fryer guidance for specific operation types: fried chicken concepts, chicken wing operations, French fry programs, convenience store foodservice, grocery and retail prepared foods, and bars and pubs. Pitco culinary support provides frying technique guidance and recipe development.

Pitco also offers an interactive Fryer Product Selector, a Gas Savings Calculator, an Oil Filtration Savings Calculator, and a repair-versus-replace assessment. The Oil Management Guide covers oil types, what degrades oil, filtration fundamentals and TPM monitoring.

How to Buy and How to Get Service

Pitco equipment is sold through manufacturers’ representatives, authorized dealers, Click & Brick dealers that offer both in-store and online purchasing, and the Middleby Shop. Sales inquiries go through Pitco sales.

Pitco supports the Commercial Food Equipment Service Association and recommends requesting a CFESA Certified Technician for service. The company publishes directories of North American and international authorized service and parts agents, and genuine OEM parts are available directly from the factory. Pitco also handles installation and startup requests and service.

Pitco’s manufacturing and offices are located at 553 Route 3A, Bow, New Hampshire 03304 and 39 Sheep Davis Road, Pembroke, New Hampshire 03275, with mailing address P.O. Box 501, Concord, New Hampshire 03302-0501. Phone: 603-225-6684. Additional contact options are on the contact page.

Additional Resources

Pitco publishes brochures, support documents and spec sheets, training guides, a video library and a blog covering frying technique, menu trends, oil management and foodservice operations. Everything is indexed at Pitco resources. Pitco’s video series also appear on YouTube.

Common Questions About Pitco

What does Pitco make?

Pitco manufactures commercial deep fryers in gas and electric configurations, along with filtration and oil-handling systems, pasta cookers, rethermalizers and fryer accessories for foodservice operations.

What does ROV mean on a Pitco fryer?

ROV stands for Reduced Oil Volume. A traditional size-14 fryer holds 50 pounds of oil, while an ROV fryer holds 30 pounds. The smaller volume turns over faster, so oil is replenished before it fully oxidizes, extending oil life and reducing oil cost.

What is the difference between Solstice and Solstice Supreme?

Both are energy-efficient Pitco fryer lines. Solstice Supreme is a tube-fired gas fryer that reaches up to 70% thermal efficiency without a power blower and includes a self-cleaning burner with a 30-second daily cycle. Solstice is available in both gas and electric and uses two-step filtering with solid-state burner controls.

What makes the TorQ fryer different?

TorQ is the first gas fryer to combine forced convection heating with continuous in-line filtration, which means filtration runs while cooking continues rather than requiring 5 to 7 minutes of downtime.

Is Pitco part of a larger company?

Yes. Pitco is a brand of The Middleby Corporation.

Where are Pitco fryers made?

Pitco manufactures in New Hampshire.

How do I buy a Pitco fryer?

Through a Pitco manufacturers’ representative, an authorized dealer, a Click & Brick dealer offering in-store and online purchase, or the Middleby Shop.

How old is Pitco?

Pitco was founded in 1918 and has designed commercial frying equipment for more than 100 years.