The Wimbledon fortnight puts incredible pressure on the infrastructure of the All England Lawn Tennis Club (AELTC). It’s not just the mayhem caused by the thousands of people, TV crews, media pundits and players. It’s also the intense global scrutiny that every aspect of the club is put under. And every year, rain or shine, Wimbledon puts on a world-class performance.
Wimbledon’s new revamped Centre Court is set to underline the venue’s pre-eminence. Rain or shine won’t be such an issue once the roof is in place. But another vital part of the new building’s work is its catering facilities. These serve up to 1000 VIPs every hour – the eight to nine hundred debenture holders and their guests, as well as the 100+ covers in the corporate hospitality suites.
Ah-Heng Turner is Wimbledon’s Deputy Building & Services Manager and has been with the club for fifteen years. “These people expect the very highest standards of cuisine,” he says. “First impressions are so important, that’s why we place so much emphasis on presentation. Place settings are the first things they see when they get to the table. So plates, glasses and cutlery have to be absolutely perfect.”
Which means there’s plenty of pressure on the Centre Court’s new dishwashers. Wimbledon selected two Winterhalter MT rack conveyor machines for the job. Capable of washing thousands of pieces an hour, the MT (multi-tank) systems are designed to not only deliver sparkling clean results, but also to minimise the use of resources like energy, water and chemicals.
Ah-Heng Turner describes the MTs as “excellent machines”, running constantly from mid morning till well into the evening and handling all the dirty crocks that the Centre Court serves throughout the Wimbledon fortnight. As for the rest of the year, the Club plays host to a variety of functions such as charity balls, which the MTs handle with ease.
“We always look at energy savings when we make buying decisions,” he stresses. “It’s become an essential part of the world we live in.”
The MT range features several innovative resource saving technologies. For example, alongside various water and detergent saving features, and the heat exchangers that reuse energy from waste water and steam, the MT features a new concept in large scale warewashing: the Fresh Air Drying Zone.
Standard drying zones use air from within the machine to dry dishes – but although the air is warm, it also tends to be saturated, so drying is compromised. The MT’s new Fresh Air Drying Zone draws in air from outside the machine, warming it gently and then using it to dry the washed items. It cuts the system’s total connected load by as much as 4kW, improves drying results and makes handling easier, because the dishes are dryer and cooler, so they are easier (and safer) to deal with.
As well as improving the site’s carbon footprint, the Fresh Air Drying Zone can cut warewashing running costs by a massive 33%.
But Ah-Heng has no doubts about the main reasons for selecting Winterhalter: “Durability and reliability,” he says. “They deliver sparkling results and they are built to last.”
What you might describe as a clean winner, then!
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Winterhalter provides a total solution for warewashing, from pre-sales advice to after-sales service, training and maintenance. Alongside its market-leading dish and glasswashers, the company’s range includes utensil washers, advanced water treatment machines, cleaning chemicals and detergents. For further details, call Winterhalter on 01908 359000, see www.winterhalter.co.uk, or email info@winterhalter.co.uk.
Notes for editors
Winterhalter’s MT conveyor dishwashers use less energy and water than previous generations of high volume warewashers – and they have lower running costs. And there’s another benefit: staff comfort. Less waste heat and steam radiate into the wash area, so working conditions are better (and the need for expensive ventilation is reduced).
MT machines are available in both rack and flight models. They are designed to wash continuously, processing thousands of pieces per hour – making them ideal for all high volume catering.
Winterhalter introduced a raft of resource-saving technologies for the MT range, including an innovative three-temperature rinse zone that cuts power consumption significantly. Energy recovery systems include a heat exchanger and exhaust heat recovery, or an optional heat pump to save even more power by recycling heat. In many cases it can make working conditions even more comfortable by actually cooling the warewash area. Meanwhile double-wall insulation reduces the heat loss, while the pumps and air blowers have smart controls that only switch on when necessary.
For more details see the Winterhalter website – www.winterhalter.com/uk-en/
Winterhalter at Wimbledon
As well as the two MTR multi tank machines, the club has ten GS 500 pass though dishwashers, ten GS 200 under counter glass washers, and several WKTS small conveyor systems.