Dream machine
When independent market research agency NSM was commissioned by Caterer to ask more than 1,000 caterers about their most recent choice of dishwasher, no less than 70 makes were mentioned.
Despite this diversity, one key point emerged in questions about buying considerations. More than anything else, those surveyed wanted ware that looked, felt and was as clean as it could be. More than 960 respondents (94% of the total) rated standard of cleaning quality as "very important".
Relating this entirely reasonable need to what users actually receive reveals a disturbing imbalance. When asked for an opinion of their machine's cleaning quality, less than a third of respondents were enthusiastic enough to give a "very good" rating. The majority seemed to get by, with just more than half saying their machines were "fairly good".
But some kitchens were clearly not happy. More than 150 respondents thought that the standard of cleaning was "not very good" or (in 24 cases) "not at all good".
At a time of considerable concern about hygiene and safety standards among caterers, environmental health officers and the general public, this would appear to be a serious shortcoming.
But the fault, if there is one, may not necessarily relate to machine design. It could be that machines are poorly maintained or simply old and worn out. Bearing in mind that dishwashers are a relatively complex and maintenance-intensive item of equipment, many caterers keep their machines for much longer than other items of cooking equipment.
Nearly one in six users we surveyed owned dishwashers that were more than 10 years old and 40% all respondents had a dishwasher that was more than six years old.
Users of relatively younger machines, though, were not necessarily happier about cleaning performance. In fact, nearly 20% of the caterers who had four- to five-year-old machines said the cleaning quality was "not very good" or "not at all good". Even with two- to three-year-old machines, only a third of respondents felt their machines were "very good".
The quality of cleaning and other key findings in the survey implies that dishwasher design and marketing might be out of step with what users want. Are manufacturers focusing too much on machine speed, for instance? Much of the product literature from manufacturers emphasises the ability to get baskets through every 60-90 seconds.
This generally demands the carry-over of wash-water from one cycle to the next for hours on end. While not an unhygienic practice in itself, it can become so if there are any shortcomings in machine temperature control or wash area management.
For example, failure to purge wash tanks at regular intervals or input of insufficiently hot, fresh rinse water, can affect performance.
Most manufacturers now recognise this potential shortcoming and many machines now available to UK caterers should have - as standard - controls that make it impossible for the machine to operate with insufficiently hot (at least 82.5ºC) rinse water. Some machines also now have automatic wash tank purging at specific intervals. Many older machines lack such features, however.
Our survey suggests machine-speed is not a big user concern. While 94% of those questioned put cleaning quality as a key need, only just more than half said the same about machine speed, which came almost bottom of a list of 12 priorities.
When it came to rating the speed of washing, most users found their machines fast enough. Asked for their opinion on speed of washing, nine out of 10 users found it either "very good" or "fairly good", and just 2% were unhappy about it.
Another main feature of dishwasher marketing is price. Two-thirds of the readers in the Caterer surveyrated value for money as "very important". This clearly makes price a consideration but it commands less attention than reliability and durability (rated highly by nearly all respondents) and ease of cleaning (picked by seven out of 10 respondents).
Survey insights
As with our previous survey on Combi-steamers (Caterer, 8 December 1994), the dishwasher survey gives some insights into what makes are popular with caterers and how they compare on key criteria such as ease of operation, performance and service back-up. While, as mentioned earlier, the names of 70 different makes cropped up in the 1,021 responses, a great many makes were only used by a relatively small number of caterers.
A statistically valid cut-off point of 5% (machines mentioned by a least 50 users) was applied, leaving just five makes of machine.
A sixth make, Crypto Peerless, was on the borderline with 49 responses so it has been included. The same applies for Miele in some tables since it was predominantly in the undercounter or front-loader machine category where it had a market share of 9%.
Taking individual dishwasher types, the most popular by far was the pass-through type of machine, sometimes known as a hood-type dishwasher because of the way the rack of dishes is enclosed by a pull-down hood to form the wash chamber.
A total of 523 caterers - just more than half of all the users - said they had a pass-through machine. By comparison, three out of 10 had frontloader/undercounter dishwashers (sometimes referred to as cabinet washers) while two out of 10 had sufficiently large operations to warrant either a rack conveyer or flight-type machine.
Of the 70 makes, many would seem to be "re-badged" versions of established makes - typically of Italian or German origin. Few British-made products are apparent. One of the few was the Kent, mentioned by 23 users, an ageing design that ceased manufacture more than eight years ago. Predictably, one in three users cited spare parts and servicing as a particular concern.
More surprisingly, several users appeared to rely on domestic machines to wash their dirty crockery and cutlery every day. More than 20 hotels said they used either Hotpoint or Indesit, two makes that are only available in domestic versions, while other makes that cropped up in small numbers included Ariston, Bendix, Bosch, Candy, Hoover and Servis.
Some makes featured in responses are made in commercial and domestic versions, notably Zanussi, Miele and Philips/Whirlpool.
Although the proportion of domestic machine users revealed by the survey was not enormous, the finding is still disturbing from both an efficiency and hygiene viewpoint.
The cycle time of at least 45-60 minutes must lead to frequent delays and congestion, even at establishments dealing with only, say, a dozen covers per session, such as a guesthouse, small bar, nursing home or directors' dining room.
How individual makes rated
Hobart Still proved overwhelmingly the most widely used in all three dishwasher categories. Nearly half of the pass-through/hood-type machines were made by Hobart. The brand also managed to get into top slot in all the main usage sectors, gaining half of all industrial or institutional service establishments and an equally impressive one-third share of hotels.
The make's high market penetration tended to give it an average rating on most criteria with less highs and lows than other suppliers. One outcome, inevitably caused by this huge market share, was that the make set the level against which other brands were measured. The large majority of Hobart users seemed to be happy with their machines. More than seven in 10 said they would buy this make again.
The relative ages of Hobart machines split evenly. Hobart had the most old machines still in use (85 of them dating back more than 10 years) and the most recently purchased machines, with 36 purchased in the past year. A possible correlation of its high numbers of older machines is that 18% of Hobart users needed five or more repair call-outs in the previous year.
In the experience of Paul Williams, Hobart Still marketing manager, a lot of maintenance problems stem - as with any catering equipment machine that uses water - from basic operating deficiencies such as the failure to clean out filters and jets regularly. The company is notable for having more of its users on maintenance contracts than any other: three out of five had such arrangements whereas the average across all makes was little more than two out of five.
Winterhalter
Overall, this make gained the number two market slot behind Hobart in pass-through and conveyor sectors and came third in frontloaders. It was also the second most widely used make in hotels and restaurants.
Produced in Germany by a family-owned business that concentrates almost entirely on warewashing, Winterhalter has notable features. Machine features not offered by competitors include a fixed jet washing system instead of the usual rotating arms top and bottom and the Mediamat centrifugal wash water purifier.
This focused approach would seem to have paid off in the UK market. Users gave the make average or slightly above-average ratings in virtually all key areas. The only blip on the graph came with ease of cleaning. Nearly two out of 10 users mentioned this as an aspect they disliked.
Alisdair Jack, managing director of the company's UK business, Winterhalter Gastronom, was not unduly fazed by this finding. "Like everything in life, there are assets and liabilities," he concludes. "It has always been our firm belief that because we have four fixed wash arms on the bottom of the tank, we get a much more powerful wash action. A single rotating wash arm cannot obtain the same water pressure. But from a cleaning point of view, you have to take four wash arms out instead of one so you could perhaps say it is less user friendly."
Older machines also involve dealing with clip-type wire fastenings (somewhat like Grolsch beer bottle caps) for removing the wash arm ends for cleaning. These were replaced in 1992 with bayonet-type fittings, which are said to be quicker and easier to use. Another design change that has simplified cleaning and helped reduce bacteria build-up is the replacement of right-angle brackets for holding the rack with moulded side walls.
Dawson
Dawson was the third most popular make of pass-through dishwasher with survey respondents an equal third in conveyor/flight machines. All machines supplied by the company are now made in Italy by Comenda, Dawson's sister company within the Italian-owned ALI group. A few users referred to their machines as Comenda but mostly the Dawson name was used. The company's budget brand Colbert, also made by Comenda, did not show up in the survey.
On most operating criteria, Dawson machines rated around the average mark and one in five users specifically cited ease of use as a feature they liked. "Very good" ratings on durability were slightly below average, however. To some extent echoing this, when Dawson users were asked to say what they particularly disliked, 15% cited reliability (compared with an average of 6% across all makes).
But Dawson's ability to look after its machines rated above the norm. Nearly three in 10 users thought the company's after-sales service very good, whereas most other companies gained relatively little recognition on this point (with typically less than one in five users praising after-sales service).
According to Dawson managing director Brian Robinson, the company has 25 service engineers located around the country. Each operates from his home where he carries a stock of spares. The result is national coverage without the more expensive option of depots. The company was second to Hobart in the percentage of users it had on service contracts.
"Dishwashers are relatively complex machines because of the way they use power, water and detergent," says Brian Robinson, Dawson's managing director. "So over the past two to three years we have been putting significant effort into improving our service response."
But many users still tend, he finds, to call them "at the drop of a hat" for what turns out to be a self-inflicted problem, such as a piece of foil getting into the pump.
Maidaid/Halcyon
Dishwashers marketed by the Buttress group cropped up in most sectors of the market and they were the second most popular frontloader and the second most widely used in the pub, club, wine bar and industrial food service sectors. All machines have, for more than 20 years, been made in Italy by Elframo but also carry UK branding: Maidaid on smaller machines, Halcyon on larger pass-through and conveyor machines. Surprisingly, in view of the marketing emphasis on these UK names, most respondents referred to their machine as Elframo.
These dishwashers rated well above average on value for money, with nearly half of Elframo users giving a "very good" score, the highest in the survey. They also did well on durability and reliability, in both cases being at least 10 percentage points above average. This was all the more impressive in view of the fact that there was a marked bias to older machines. Nearly six out of 10 users had machines that were more than six years old.
Elframo machines rated below average on ease of loading and unloading and also on ease of cleaning. Tony Russell, Maidaid/Halcyon joint managing director, conceded both points. "A lot of pubs have undercounter machines and they are, frankly, hard on the operator's back," he says. The company encourages caterers to make the ergonomic improvement of mounting machines on plinths but this demands more space and pushes up purchase price.
Ease of cleaning has, Russell says, received design attention in recent years. The company experimented with plastic moulded tanks some time ago but, Russell says the "jury is still out". These are beneficial from a cleaning viewpoint but tooling costs are high.
In his view, the biggest single improvement on Elframo machines in recent years is not immediately apparent to the user: greater commonality of parts across the range. This applies to critical components such as timers and thermostats but the number of large components such as boilers has also been rationalised significantly, Russell points out, with benefits for servicing and parts replacement.
Crypto Peerless
Machines marketed by this long-established Birmingham company, now an Electrolux group company, cropped up in most sections of the research and it was the fourth most widely cited name in pass-through/hood-type dishwashers and the fourth most popular in industrial/institutional food service.
Of the total of 49 respondents who said they had Crypto Peerless machines, an above-average proportion praised them for ease of cleaning and there appeared to be no problems with ease of operation and ease of loading/unloading. Speedy operation was also cited favourably by nearly one in five users.
However, "very good" ratings were thin on the ground in some areas. A below-average number praised the standard of cleaning quality and nearly three out of 10 specifically gave the make a "not good" rating on this point. Nearly half the users said they would buy this make again.
Bearing in mind that machines in use ranged fairly evenly across the age spectrum from one to 10 years, one explanation for the mixed results could lie in the company's convoluted production history since the 1980s.
A British-made series of machines that was finally phased out in 1992-93 was generally considered robust but had not changed significantly for 15 years.
The absorption of the company into the Electrolux group in 1990 led to its marketing of Swedish-made machines, notably the 750 and 1000 pass-through/hood models. Production of larger conveyor-type machines also switched to Sweden.
According to group technical director Malcolm Reay, the Swedish-made hood machines did have a number of problems but their replacement two years ago with Washtech 50 and 60 machines has brought "dramatic" improvements.
"Some of our older machines weren't very good on quality and reliability," Reay concedes. The transfer to the large, highly automated Italian plant, which is geared to a "zero defects" system has, he believes, corrected this significantly.
Zanussi
Just more than 5% of the machines named by respondents carried the Zanussi brand. Most were larger machines, either pass-through or conveyor-type and it was the third most popular make in hotels. All models are made in Italy by Electrolux subsidiary Zanussi.
The make gained above-average ratings for its speedy operation, and 19% of users said they particularly liked ease of use. No significant dislikes surfaced but there was a lack of enthusiasm on two interrelated areas: only a quarter thought durability was "very good" (against the survey average of 40%); and one in three users gave a "not good" rating to parts availability. In fact, less than one in 10 felt this aspect of Zanussi's operation warranted "very good" (whereas the average rating across all makes was one in five).
One clue to this lack of enthusiasm could lie in changes in Zanussi's spares operation over the past four years. As part of a centralisation of the service back-up on Electrolux group catering equipment companies, all parts held at Zanussi's south London premises moved to the Midlands-based ECS (Electrolux Commercial Service) operation. This took nearly a year but, according to Mike Gabb, ECS product manager-technical, "the situation is now getting nearer to what we want it to be."
One development that has just received the go-ahead connects computers at ECS directly with those in the factory in Italy via a fully inter-active network able to give customers up-to-the-minute information on machines and spares.
Zanussi's honing-down of its distributor system from about 80 separate dealers before 1993 to its present 25-strong network is also thought to have huge benefits on dishwasher service and spares back-up. John Carter, managing director at Carford's, a regional servicing organisation within the Zanussi network, says that sluggish spares response from Italy is now a myth. He points out that, on the current regime, spares come in twice a week to ECS and air courier facilities direct to end-users can also be provided.
Emphasising the company's commitment, Zanussi marketing manager Tim Walsh points out that dishwashers have become the fastest growing segment of Zanussi's catering equipment business in the past three years.
Caterer's dishwasher survey offers an in-depth set of statistics and information. There is a limited number for sale, costing £495. For details, call Jane Eccles on 0181-652 3485.
