A LEADING contract caterer is discovering that sustainability and reducing costs really can go hand in hand, following the arrival of a new, state-of-the-art Hobart Premax flight-type warewasher which is helping it to save an incredible £30,000 a year in water, electricity and labour costs.
Located in East Sussex, Zebedees Lunch Box operates a central production unit preparing up to 5,000 healthy, balanced and nutritionally-analysed hot meals a day which are delivered to nurseries and schools in more than 150 locations across the south east of England.
Founded by managing partners, Steve Parsons and Philip Oates, the company, which is highly regarded for its ethical credentials, is now reaping the benefits of choosing Hobart to take care of its warewashing needs.
Steve says: At Zebedees, we pride ourselves on our green reputation we operate our own water treatment plant and have recently invested in a fleet of green vehicles. Being a caterer, we produce a considerable amount of waste with typically high energy and water consumption, so we naturally had a list of specific requirements for our new warewasher environmental impact, energy efficiency and running costs were all key considerations.
When the time came to replace their existing rack dishwasher, Hobarts Premax FTP was put through its paces against Zebedees existing model revealing a stunning 70% reduction in water usage alone.
To make such marked reductions is not only good for our planet and the perception that people have of our company, its also making the business more profitable we never expected how much wed be able to save by using Hobart adds Steve.
Zebedees spent almost two years researching the latest generation of warewashers from a number of manufacturers, comparing their performance before choosing Hobarts Premax FTP to deal with a heavy daily wash workload of food preparation, delivery containers and kitchen equipment.
We needed a machine that could wash a wide range of different size containers, some of which are quite large and deep. We also needed a more efficient model as our old one was consuming up to 4,000 litres of hot water a day. Our new Hobart machine uses just 1,200 litres!
A detailed breakdown of the machines performance and operating costs shows it saves the company more than £30,000 a year compared with the previous model. This includes huge savings in terms of labour, water and electricity usage.
The Premax FTP has the ability to wash all of our deeper food containers so we are able to put everything through including our food delivery containers which were previously being sanitised by hand. This has resulted in a considerable saving on labour. As a result, we rarely have to use our pot wash sinks now so we have water, energy and labour saving there too.
The Premax FTP meets all of our requirements: its a fantastic machine that has opened our eyes to the possibilities of just how much of an operational saving you can make for a relatively small outlay.
Hobart was able to tailor a warewasher that reflected the caterers very specific requirements in terms of water usage, supply and power loading. Because Zebedees does not have mains drainage and operates a water treatment plant it needed a warewasher that used as little water as possible. We also had limitations on our power so although we required a larger, quicker and more efficient machine, we didnt want one that had a higher power loading. The warewasher also had to be hot water fed, the same as our existing machine, because we had previously installed a Calorex-Air/Water/Heat pump which took hot air out of our kitchen and heated our cold water and then put our cold air back in.
Steve pays tribute to the help provided by Simon Gardiner, Hobart Regional Manager, London & South East, during the lengthy equipment selection process. Hobart has always had a name synonymous with quality so we knew that we were in good hands. Simon was extremely helpful and knowledgeable and worked with the team at Hobart to tailor a machine to meet our many specific requirements, including larger main wash tanks to prevent the transfer of water when washing larger food storage containers and an automatic soil remover that keeps the wash tanks cleaner so you dont have to drain down as often. This also helps to collect and prevent food from entering our drainage system and treatment plant.
Steve confesses that his favourite feature on the Premax FTP is its intuitive touchscreen control.
It provides us with a running status indication at all times including fault reporting, tank and wash temperatures, consumption data for electricity and water and running times. Access to this data allowed us to identify that our machine, although switched on, was not actually in use for as long as it could have been. Due to the speed and ease of use of the machine we made the decision to switch it on later in the mornings and run it for less time. It could easily deal with the volume of washing up which meant further energy and labour savings.
Asked if he would recommend Hobart to other catering operations, Steve adds: Our staff love it and I would have no hesitation in recommending Hobart and the Premax FTP. You wont be disappointed.
Hobarts Premax range is the benchmark for innovative warewashing equipment. Showcasing the companys innovative and award-winning technology, it uses advanced patented features to meet customer requirements identified through in-depth market research.
Tim Bender, UK Sales Director Warewashing, Hobart UK, adds: The intelligent control systems incorporated within the Premax range offers another level of performance and excellence that many operators need in their kitchen. These models can generate savings of up to 50% in wash water, 30% in energy and 80% in terms of chemicals in comparison with established technologies, offering operators huge cost and carbon emission reductions.
Energy consumption is a growing challenge for many caterers, which makes it more imperative than ever that caterers use kitchen equipment that is as efficient as possible. The Hobart range of warewashing equipment is already recognised as the most highly specified on the market and is designed and built with the customer in mind to provide advanced solutions for todays issues.
