Winterhalter’s new MTF dishwasher is a serious upgrade for Kings College School
King’s College School in Wimbledon is one of the UK’s most prestigious schools, with its list of ex pupils including many famous and powerful people across nearly 200 years since its founding.
It currently has around 1500 pupils, along with up to 350 teaching and support staff. Ensuring they are fed every day is the responsibility of the in-house catering team, consisting of 32 chefs and catering staff. “Every lunchtime we need to clean over 20,000 items,” says Chris Hull, catering manager at King’s College. “When you’ve got that many meals to serve in such a short space of time it’s really important everything comes out of the dishwasher clean and dry first time.”
With standards like these it’s no surprise that the school is already home to a range of Winterhalter dishwashers. “What Winterhalter don’t know about warewashing isn’t worth knowing,” says Chris. King’s College recently took delivery of the latest MTF multi tank flight conveyor dishwasher, replacing the previous version that had served it well for years. The MTF is a flexible, modular system that can be configured to each operators’ requirements, with a maximum washing capacity of 8000 pieces every hour. The new machine has been fitted with an extra drying tank, allowing everything to come out of it clean, dry and ready for immediate use. “This might be the biggest change to how we work here,” says Chris. “Efficiency and reliability are the first things we look for in warewashing equipment, and our new MTF really raises the standard.”
This is demonstrated by the lack of rewashing that needs to be done. “Out of the 20k items every day we normally get just ten that need to be rewashed, and the majority of those are down to human error,” says Chris. “It’s also very fast – the only limiting factor is how quickly staff can load in the racks!”
The MTF’s washing system is designed to use as little water and chemicals as possible. “The MTF needs such a small amount of chemicals to clean there’s times when the staff think the pumps aren’t working correctly! It’s very impressive,” says Chris.
The support Winterhalter offers is another key part of its appeal. “There’s nothing worse than having to wait weeks for a spare part if the machine breaks down,” says Chris. “Winterhalter keep a stock of all spare parts so if it does happen, we know it’ll be up and running again as quickly as possible.”
The condition of the machine can be constantly checked thanks to the Connected Wash system, which provides access to all operating data. This also helps Chris to identify ways to improve how staff are using the machines. “Connected Wash can tell us if it’s being used inefficiently, being turned on too soon for example,” he says. “As well as reducing our running costs, it helps us to reduce our environmental impact, which is very important to us.”
Chris is extremely happy with the new Winterhalter. “The performance it gives us, there’s no doubt we’ve got the best machine on the market,” he says. “The savings we’re making in labour costs, chemical, water and power usage more than make up for the extra initial cost. I would recommend Winterhalter to anyone who needs the best possible dishwasher.”
Notes for editors
Click for more information about Winterhalter products: