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Chequer’s chocolate is a winner!
In a charity event and based on the popular Hell’s Kitchen programme with Gordon Ramsey, South London cleaning provider Chequers Contract Services emerged victorious.
Chequers is a family run private company and with the full support of 30 people, its team of three sailed through the first round to then triumph against construction company Mansell in the final to take the coveted winning title at the Croydon Chef’s Charity Challenge.
The event, sponsored by a South Croydon catering company Simply Lunch, took place at Croydon College where Kate Ward, Alison Fautley and Andy Acton worked tirelessly over nine hours with professional chef Joe Sullivan. Sullivan developed the menu of a warm goats cheese and roasted beetroot starter, Morrocan lamb for main course and a chocolate and cardamon tart for desert - which caused a stir in the restaurant and subsequently made Chequers the outright winners.
Over £1200 was raised for The Croydon Commitment on the night and Kate Ward, director of Chequers and part of the winning team, said: “It was
a real challenge to do something different and for a valuable cause. With the help of Joe and our fantastic supporters, the Chequers team tasted success and proved it was a worthy winner so I am extremely proud of them all.”
www.chequerscontracts.co.uk
One machine to wash them all
Winterhalter's new 'Bistro' brings a new level of versatility to undercounter warewashers - it's a dishwasher, glasswasher and utensil washer all in one, making it ideal the ideal warewasher for kitchens in hospital wards.
Traditional undercounter machines have to be set up as one thing or the other - for glasses or dishes or utensils, but never everything. The Bistro, part of Winterhalter's new UC Series, is a master of all trades.
Winterhalter warewashers are available to public sector buyers with preferential discount from Buying Solutions under framework number A126449A.
As its name suggests, the Bistro is designed for smaller applications, where space is limited and a mixture of wares need to be washed. Not only can the Bistro cope with mixed loads of crockery, glasses and utensils, it also delivers sparkling clean, hygienic results on everything.
Despite its versatility, the Bistro is simple to use. All staff have to do is load it, shut the door and push the start button. If the load is either especially dirty or delicate, the Bistro's touchscreen has clear symbols that can be pressed to adjust the intensity of the wash.
One of the key features of the Bistro is its radical wash arm, which is elliptical in shape and features special nozzles and water jets. It creates a powerful 'wash field' which cleans more thoroughly yet uses less water than current models.
Bistro has a host of resource-saving features fitted as standard including a water-saving, four-stage filtration system. Operators can also switch it to 'eco' mode, which extends the wash cycle time to minimise consumption of energy and water and cuts running costs by 11%. The optional Energy model uses a heat-exchanger to recover energy from waste steam and use it to heat the incoming water supply. It cuts the energy required to heat water by almost 50%.
The UC Bistro handles up to 40 racks per hour and is available in four sizes, with racks ranging from 400x400mm in the small model to 500x540mm in the extra large.
www.winterhalter.co.uk
Chemical-free ionised water cleaning tool
Just announced in Europe and newly available to UK businesses and industry for chemical-free cleaning is the Activeion ionator EXP, a handheld, on-demand, completely chemical-free cleaning tool that activates and converts tap water into ionised water, a powerful bacteria-killing cleanser that also kills the swine ‘flu virus from surfaces, where it can live for 24hrs or more.
The Activeion ionator EXP, slightly larger than a conventional trigger- spray bottle, is simply filled with tap water, with no added chemicals. When the trigger is pressed, a 12V diaphragm pump starts a continuous flow of water. The tap water passes through a water cell that applies a small electrical charge, activating the water, after which it passes through an ion-exchange membrane and is separated into an oxygen-rich mixture of positively and negatively charged nano- bubbles. The activated water breaks down dirt from most surfaces including glass, stainless steel, wood, carpet, natural stone, marble and clothing. In fact, it can replace many general-purpose chemical cleaners commonly used for these types of surfaces.
Independent third-party lab results certify that when used as directed, the Activeion ionator EXP kills 99.9% of harmful common bacteria such as E. Coli, E. Coli 0157:H7, VRE, Pseudomonas, Salmonella, Staph, MRSA, and Listeria, and eliminates the 2009 H1N1 influenza A swine ‘flu virus in just six seconds. With the Activeion ionator EXP, cleaning professionals everywhere can save time, reduce costs, and protect the environment and people.
“Given the increasing focus in Europe on environmentally safe products, we’re pleased to be launching this chemical-free cleaning product and to be contributing to helping UK organisations further reduce their carbon footprints,” said Andre G. Krell, general manager of Activeion (Europe) GmbH, based in Baden, Switzerland. “We have test results proving the environmental benefits of switching to the Activeion ionator EXP - benefits which include 97% less acid rain, 99% less global warming, 99% less smog, 99% less ozone depletion, 98% less air pollution, 99% less energy consumption, and 100% less water pollution.”
www.activeion.com
SFD diamond floor pads
The Preparation Group’s SFD surface finishing pads are successfully tackling a wide range of floor cleaning and preparation problems. Ideally suited to clean, maintain, shine and grind resin floor surfaces, The Preparation Group’s SFD Surface Finishing Diamond pads also provide good cleaning and polishing results on terrazzo, marble, natural stone concrete and vinyl.
One customer experiencing the benefits is A. Andrews and Sons (marbles & tiles) Ltd of Leeds. Its contracting division tackles even the most demanding contracts involving terrazzo, ceramics and marble for shopping centres, airports, supermarkets, public buildings and corporate headquarters. The SFDs were a natural addition to A. Andrew’s contract equipment.
The company purchased the pads with an STG machine, and has been very pleased with the final results. They have been successfully used in a college changing area and toilet to prepare a terrazzo floor following the removal of carpet, and on refurbishment projects for a leading supermarket chain to rejuvenate terrazzo tiles after shelving had been repositioned.
The resin diamond dots on the SFDs are bonded onto the pads. This makes them highly durable - grinding, keying, texturing, sanding and polishing without clogging.
The pads are designed to fit The Preparation Group’s STG machine, along with most other types of single head grinder/polishers, auto scrubbing and polishing machines. They are available in a range of grades from 100 to 3000 grit, the selection depending on the condition and type of surface.
www.ppcgroup.co.uk
Free hand sanitiser stations for NHS trusts
NHS trusts will find it easier and more efficient to fight infections as NHS Supply Chain offers SaniPost hand sanitiser stations to hospitals across England and Wales for free.
SaniPost stations are free to use, automatic hand cleaning units to help hospitals with their infection control. They dispense sanitiser via a sensor operated device when hands are placed inside. This negates the risk of cross-infection as no surface needs to be touched.
Roger West, procurement director at NHS Supply Chain, said: “We are proud to offer such a great solution for trusts. Not only will the stations help fight the risk of infection but the units are provided free-of-charge by SaniPost, which is great news as trusts look for efficiency savings.”
Each unit is six feet tall, making it stand out to encourage hand hygiene and can be filled with any product chosen by the trust. The units can also help trusts reduce costs and reduce their impact on the environment compared with standard hand washing as the units require no use of water or electricity.
Warren Edmondson, managing director at SaniPost, said: “There has been growing concern recently around the spread of infection and we're happy to help allay those fears by installing SaniPost in NHS hospitals. The stations allow for better infection control because there is no need to touch buttons or levers."
Trusts can order the units direct from SaniPost, quoting NHS Supply Chain ref. SAN1267 and maintenance of the unit is also provided free.
Hand sanitising product is not included with the unit and trusts must purchase this separately. They are free to use whichever product they choose.
www.sanipost.co.uk
Spring is here
Spring is the newest addition to the TimeMist seasonal fragrance range, designed to offer customers an evolving palette to suit the time of year.
A fresh, lively fragrance, it is packed full of fresh floral aromas, designed to bring a feel of Spring to washrooms, waiting rooms and reception areas across Europe. Featuring a layered fruity, floral fragrance with sparkling mandarin and bergamot, the Spring fragrance is harmonised by subtle touches of jasmine and blackberry.
TimeMist understands that fragrance can form an integral part of the customer experience, and has developed a comprehensive range of products to suit a variety of applications. A wide choice of high quality dispensers provide customers with tailored fragrance solutions to meet individual needs and offer many features including standard timed options, full programmability and compact sizes along with a 5 year product guarantee.
www.timemisteurope.com
