What's New? – Equipment Profile

Established in 1906 the Imperial Machine Company is still going great guns nearly 100 years later.What it started doing then in Edwardian times it is still an important part of its core business, designing and manufacturing labour saving devices for caterers.

Veg peelers - all belts and pulleys then - are still drum abrasion peelers, but are now motor driven. A no-brain, labour saving device sitting in a corner, those old belt and pulley machines worked and were still in use in the 1950s. In the same period, the company looked at waste disposal systems and that accounts for around 10 per cent of IMC's business today.

In the 1960s the company turned its eye towards chipping machines working on a rotary basis, produceing 25 kilos of chips a minute from the word go.

Then, in the 1980s, says IMC's Nigel Roberts, a visit to the USA resulted in a total revolution at the Crossley Green factory in Hertfordshire. Discovery there of a stainless steel bar system complete with lights set the company on a new trail. IMC bought some, copied them and showed them to dealers who scratched their chins and said: . "YeahÉthere might be market for these."

Well, there was and the dealers came back and said: "What about a refrigerated system?" - and the rest is history. IMC's bar systems can be found everywhere nowadays and are a huge part of the company's business.

Bartender, a stainless steel underbar system; Barcooler modular back bar bottle coolers; Mistral bar coolers; BK top loading bottle coolers; Frostar glass frosters - a growing market, and; Eurobar, a continental bar system make up the portfolio of bar products form IMC.

Bartender has recently been supplied to the Royal National Theatre in London. Barry Rushmer, catering manager there says: "The National Theatre needs to serve a large number of customers in a short amount of time. Bartender, together with IMC bottle coolers, lets us do this swiftly, efficiently and without losing the friendly touch."

A typical Bartender layout would include a shelf drainer for glasses; basket rack - straight from glasswash to underbar storage; blender station for cocktails; waste unit; ice chest; shelf unit; corner top; top loading bottle cooler; bottle bin, and; three-drawer unit. On top of this would be two tills, two sinks; holder for cocktail ingredients; drainers and plenty of work top space.

A management buyout in the early 1990s was followed in 1995 by IMC being bought by the Lincat Group which also owns Lincat Catering; Douglas Machines; Mercury - high class domestic ranges, and; Britannia which makes extraction systems.

IMC has a predicted £10-£10.5 million turnover this year. Business is booming for this British manufacturer. UK sales are growing and exports, flat for part of last year, have come back strongly this year amounting to 37 per cent of sales - and rising. The company's products are available in 40 countries, marketed through an extensive network of distributors.

The bar market is growing year on year. There has been a massive upturn in waste business, according to Nigel, because of the new regulations making it harder to get rid of waste.

So, what is IMC looking at for the future? The Crossley Green site of 11 acres has five acres of buildings. It is in a residential area so no expansion there but the south Wales factory does offer that scope for growth. The company manufactures everything it produces - nothing is factored out. Only motors are bought in.

Looks like it can only be onwards and upwards for this forward thinking outfit.
IMC