Morrisons’ Supermarkets
The task of dishwashing has been transformed at Morrison’s in-store customer café in Netherfield, Nottinghamshire since its failing 10-year-old machine was replaced in March this year with a brand new model from Electrolux which not only gives better cleaning results but uses less detergent, less water, is easier to operate and quieter in use.
The rack machine, Model WT165, is the first of a new generation of Electrolux warewashers and is the only one in operation in the UK. Café manager Marie Green is extremely impressed with the new dishwasher, particularly the computerised controls. “It’s so much easier to use than the old machine. You used to have to take the plug out to clean it down: now you just select empty and clean and the machine does the rest. There’s even a screen telling you what it’s doing”, she says.
The Morrison’s Customer Café estate is growing by the week as the ebullient supermarket chain converts the Safeway cafes to its own brand. “At the last count there were 196 Morrison’s cafes up and running. This particular outlet, situated on the busy Victoria Industrial Estate, can easily serve up to 1500 dinners a day and at Christmas it’s double that”, explains Green.
“Our most expensive meal is only £3.99, so we get very busy. The pot wash needs to be fast to cope with the turnaround: “we get the customers in, serve them, clear the plates, wash them and get them back out for the next lot of customers”.
“We used to have to empty the old machine and fill it back up three or four times a day, but as we don’t have to do that any more so water consumption is less. Neither does it need as much chemical in it, so it’s much more cost effective”
Green also points to the fact that the new model is much quieter in operation, “Which is a blessing in the busy kitchen area, and the finished results are considerably better. The dishes come out a lot hotter and dryer, whereas we used to have to dry them ourselves,” she says. “The cutlery is much shinier, so we don’t need to polish it any more, and there have been no complaints about brown stains inside the cups since installing the new machine. In fact, a lot of customers have noticed the difference and asked if we’ve got a new dishwasher!”
The café is open from 8.30am to 6pm (7pm on Thursday and Friday) and offers a breakfast menu, lunchtime specials such as roast dinners, and all day menus including curry, pasta bolognaise, jacket potatoes, scampi, sandwiches, cakes, vegetarian options and children’s meals. During the course of a day the dishwasher will be used by three or four members of staff at different times, so it’s important that the controls are easy to understand.
“It couldn’t be simpler”, says Green. “There’s basically a start/stop button and the option of a fast or slow wash, so that if something’s really soiled you can put it through a slower cycle. It’s self-diagnostic, so if it breaks down or there’s not enough chemicals reaching the dishes, for example, it tells you. Also, thanks to a double curtain it doesn’t throw water out like the old machine: it used to be like working in a rain shower.
Green’s machine is fitted with a computer which monitors the dishwasher’s performance for a couple of weeks at a time; this information is then taken back to Electrolux’s production facility in Italy where the results are analysed. Any minor adjustments deemed necessary are quickly made to the Morrison’s unit – which is the precursor to a new range due to be rolled out in the next few months. “Electrolux is fine tuning the machine to iron out all the glitche for future models,” says Green. “For us it means the back up service is second to none and our dishwasher is being continually updated!”
The Electrolux Group is the worlds No 1 choice for powered equipment for kitchen, cleaning and outdoor use. Its foodservice division produces equipment for food preparation, cold storage, cooking and warewashing carrying the world famous brand names of Electrolux, Zanussi Professional, Molteni and Dito.
The full range of Electrolux equipment is available from BETTAquip Foodservice Solutions, an Electrolux Professional Partner.
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