While looking at the news pages on one of our commercial laundry suppliers websites we came across an interesting press release from Electrolux.

They were talking about how a fairly large, established hotel which was outsourcing it’s laundry realised that the laundry costs they were paying were significantly higher than other similar sized hotels which were doing their laundry in-house.

With this in mind the hotel – one of the MacDonalds chain – decided to convert one of their bedrooms into a laundry room. To do this they worked with one of Carlton’s commercial laundry equipment suppliers, in this case it was, of course, Electrolux.

As a result the new laundry equipped with Electrolux commercial washing and drying machines, has made a significant positive impact to the hotels bottom line.

Not only that but the lady who first thought of the idea to do this, has now been promoted to General Manager of the hotel.

If you think that your business could save money by handling it’s laundry in-house instead of outsourcing then give me a call. We have an extensive range of commercial laundry equipment to fit all requirements. You could start saving your company money very quickly – and you never know – you might get a big promotion as well!

For more details on our commercial laundry equipment ranges please click commercial washing and drying equipment or call us on 01793 512550. It would be great to hear from you.

many of our supplier companies are committed to doing their bit on tackling the causes of climate change and seriously working hard to develop new ways to be energy efficient and reducing the carbon emissions of their businesses and products.

So you can image that we were very pleased to hear that Foster Refrigerator one of our suppliers – we have 22 pages of products listed on our website, ranging from Bottle Coolers to Freezer Rooms – has recently become the first commercial refrigeration company to be awarded the Carbon Trust Standard.

The Carbon Trust Standard encourages good practice by companies and organisations in terms of carbon measurement, management and reduction. It is valuable to people and organisations wishing to evaluate companies and their environmental credentials.

So now you know that if you really want to be assured that the commercial refrigeration equipment that you want to buy is really as “green” as it could be, then acquiring Foster Refrigerator equipment through Carlton Sales is the right thing to do.

This award was not given lightly Foster were assessed independently by assessors on behalf of the Carbon Trust Standard Company. Foster were measured on data spanning a three year period to demonstrate its year on year reduction in emissions, culminating in 2009 when a reduction in carbon emissions of 10.3% was achieved.

We would like to congratulate Foster on achieving this significant award and recognition which demonstrates that Foster is at the forefront of the industry when it comes to environmental issues.

The Lincat range includes the popular Lincat LMR 9 – six burner range, together with single and twin general purpose ovens and high capacity atmospheric steamers powered by either gas or electricity. These Lincat products are designed to appeal to the school or healthcare caterer, who prefers to cook in a more traditional way with a focus on delivering real nutritional value. Easy to use and reliable, these Lincat products are capable of delivering large outputs and in our opinion represent excellent value for money.

Lincat’s atmospheric steamers are well designed and feature an internal steam generation capability. This means that the ovens remain fully saturated with steam which guarantees high quality food production. In addition energy costs are saved by the positive two-point door latch mechanism and effective door seal. All components and materials are WRAS approved to ensure both quality and hygiene.

As with all the Lincat equipment Carlton sell and service, these products come will a full manufacturers warranty and will be delivered free of charge to any UK mainland location. We also accept payment via credit cards or we can look at leasing arrangements if you’d prefer.

In our view the LMR9 six burner range, LM09 single oven and LMD9 double oven offer very good performance and real value for money for schools and hospitals. Built with sturdy stainless steel, they are very robust, easy to clean and designed to meet the needs of the busiest school or hospital kitchen.

If you work in a school or a hospital kitchen we’d really like to hear your views on how your kitchen is performing.

· Are you being asked to do a lot more with less budget?

· How well is the catering equipment working?

· What’s your favourite piece of catering equipment?

We are genuinely interested in such things because the supply and maintenance of catering equipment is our business and your experiences will help us to understand more and ultimately help us provide better customer service.

At Carlton we have been supplying the Classeq range of dishwashers, glasswashers and warewashers for some time. We have found them to be well designed and reliable offering great value for money for restaurants pubs hotels and cafes and they are made in Britain too.

Now Classeq have introduced a couple of new models which make them even better value in our view.

So what have they done to make us say this? Well their new Duo 3 and Duo 750 machines save space in the kitchen, cut costs and simplify installations because they have integral water softeners. That means no additional external piping or boxes are needed, because the water softener mechanism is all contained inside the machine.

These integral water softeners automatically regenerate themselves and a control panel light informs operators when the dishwashers need to be refilled with salt. With a full coverage filter system that keeps the wash water cleaner for longer the new machines deliver exceptional washing power.

In addition easy to use one-touch controls on all models simplify staff training and reduce mistakes. As well as the new softeners there are integral chemical dosing pumps ensuring safe and accurate use of chemicals. This protects staff, avoids wastage and achieves the optimum wash conditions saving you time and money as result.

The front loading Classeq Duo models are excellent for under the counter, back bar operation as they are double skinned for quiet operation and remain cool to the touch. They have an extremely low wash tank capacity, as little as 10 litres, this means they deliver quick start-up times and lower energy bills.

All commercial catering products supplied by us here at Carlton come with free delivery throughout the UK mainland and are covered by a full manufacturer’s warranty. All commercial catering products are available to lease and all major credit cards are accepted.

For more information on the new Duo Range of commercial dishwashers glasswashers and warewashers or on any of the extensive range of commercial catering equipment that we supply please call Carlton on 01793 512550 or visit our website www.carltonsales.co.uk

We’d be delighted to hear from you.

It is this unpreparedness that I think has us jumping about when it comes to the weather – and that got me thinking about air-conditioning. Here at Carlton we sell and service many of the leading manufacturers of air conditioning systems e.g. DeLonghi, Fujitsu, Hitachi, LG, Mitsubishi, Toshiba, LG to name just a few. Over the past year we have seen an increase in the number of clients who have air-con units installed but who are not maintaining them correctly.

We have put this down to the recession and the need for companies to try and save costs where they can. Fair enough – we have asked ourselves the same questions here at Carlton – are we paying for anything that we don’t really need? Or that is not bringing real value to our business either in terms of helping us grow revenues, reduce costs or improve our customer service?

So we have seen a fall in the number of air-conditioning maintenance contracts that are being renewed.

However – if you are tempted to cut some costs by not renewing your air-con maintenance contract – think carefully about the consequences. Because we have also seen an increase in the number of companies contacting us with emergency service requests because their air con system has packed up in the recent spells of hot weather that we have enjoyed (only if your air con was working!) and their staff or their industrial processes are suffering badly as a result.

In the longer run what looks like an easy saving can suddenly become a significant cost – not just in terms of having the system fixed out of contract – but also in terms of productivity lost while waiting for the repairs to be made – or the spare parts to arrive.

If you think that the link between air-conditioning and productivity is a tenuous one – let me tell you what the Building Manager of a large financial company told me. This company was concerned at the cost of it’s air-con bill and quietly instructed the Buildings Manager to switch off the air-con in one of their HQ buildings. Over the next few days productivity in that particular building fell dramatically – to the extent that the Building Manager was told to get the system back on a.s.a.p. The cost saving was significantly less than the cost of the lost productivity.

So if your company is thinking it can save a few hundred £’s by not renewing air-con maintenance contracts you really should get them to think again. They may get away with it for a while – but if the air con system does fail all your savings are likely to wiped out and more. Like your computer or your TV – people take air-conditioning for granted until it suddenly isn’t there!

If you have got any comments on this blog post, or if you have any questions or concerns about air conditioning at all or you’d like advice on air conditioning systems for your business just let us know.

ITW’s inherent philosophy is to understand, simplify and automate to cultivate real innovation. Hobart equipment is conceived, designed and built by ITW in the UK and Europe. The benefit to you? British innovation, German engineering, Italian style.

Hobart UK has a 100 year strong reputation for quality, innovation, reliability and exceptional service. A customer driven and customer focused organisation, Hobart’s range is the most comprehensive and technologically advanced in the market place.

Want to find out more about Hobart and its products? Contact us!

Hobart strives continuously to develop processes which reduce energy consumption and in turn reduce damaging CO2 emissions. By utilising advanced technologies to reduce water consumption and using water more efficiently, Hobart has been able to significantly lower energy usage in its product range.

For further infomation please visit www.carltonsales.co.uk or phone our sales team on (01793) 512550.

Additional Infomation:

Established in 1978, Carlton Services is firmly recognised as the region’s premier sales and service provider for refrigeration, air conditioning, catering equipment and ventilation systems. Carlton Services also prides itself on the excellent customer service it provides. As the supplier of choice to the NHS,MOD, National / Local Government and for businesses of all sizes, we are working to provide you with a well balanced solution for all your sales, service, repairs, maintenance and installation requirements at the most competitive prices.

In addition to our varied engineering services we offer nationwide online sales of leading brands supported by our hand picked team of dedicated and experienced sales technicians. Carlton Services hands on approach ensures that projects and goods are delivered on time, within budgetary constraints and to the correct standard. Dedication to quality is vital, as many of the systems supplied, installed and maintained by Carlton Services are critical in terms of health and safety.

The BVA provides useful advice and support in achieving compliance in its publication ‘Good practice guide on veterinary medicines’, but it is easy for busy vets and practice managers to sometimes miss important details or be unclear on how to actually achieve compliance, especially given the enormity of the detail within the guide.

Help Is At Hand…

Clauses covering the storage of temperature-sensitive vaccines are easily overlooked and even when discovered do not supply you with a specific solution. Fortunately help is at hand from Labcold, the specialist British manufacturer of medical, scientific and laboratory refrigeration – a company with over 30 years experience assisting customers in meeting similar requirements regarding human vaccines.

With human vaccines there have been widely reported incidents where incorrect storage has led to significant numbers of patients requiring revaccination. To date, the veterinary profession has not seen these types of unfortunate headline and Labcold aims to help keep it that way.

Domestic products are adequately designed to store food items, as well as conform to the many regulations surrounding this function.

However, they often feature low-tech temperature control mechanisms and components. Factors such as accuracy of control, uniformity of temperature within the storage chamber and speed of recovery after door openings are just not as important to a domestic fridge designer, compared to more basic requirements like how salad vegetables can be kept fresh.

The BVA Good Practice Guide - Standard Operating Procedure 04 on the storage of medicinal products in permanent premises says as follows.

Professional Solutions…

Labcold has recently launched a fully re-designed range of vaccine and pharmaceutical storage refrigerators that come in a range of sizes, all offering stable and closely controlled temperature with door lock and built-in temperature monitoring. In addition there are useful options such as glass doors, an alarm that sounds should the fridge temperature stray outside the pre-set limits and a handy new divided-drawer system.

For further infomation please visit www.carltonsales.co.uk or phone our sales team on (01793) 512550.

Together with all our colleagues we celebrated this jubilee. We are now looking forward again. New models are being designed, technologies and strategies developed. Together we want to show the world that we will continue our business, onwards to the next jubilee!

For further infomation please visit www.carltonsales.co.uk or phone our sales team on (01793) 512550.

Energy costs are soaring up relentlessly and beleaguered bar-owners are seeing their profit margins shrinking, so appliances that promise low energy consumption are in big demand. Classeq’s Eco glasswashers are not only economical to purchase but offer bar-owners savings in running costs, and scrupulously clean glasses into the bargain.

To cut energy costs the Eco glasswashers have extremely low capacity wash tanks – they only need 10 litres for the Eco1 and Eco2 models and 18 litres for the Eco3 – making them quick to heat up. A clever filter system keeps the wash water cleaner for longer so there are less water changes and hence lower fuel bills. But the machines still produce sparkling clean glasses, time after time.

The smallest Eco 1 can wash up to 12 pint glasses per rack – with a wash cycle of only 2 minutes that equates to 360 glasses per hour. The largest in the range, the Eco 3, fits a maximum of 25 glasses in its rack and washes a staggering 750 glasses per hour.

Staff time is critical in any establishment. The Eco glasswashers’ auto cycle facility automatically starts the washing programme when the correct temperatures are reached, allowing staff to get on with other tasks. Integral chemical dosing pumps ensure accurate use of detergents, reducing the risk to staff and lowering costs as well as ensuring the best wash conditions possible.

All Classeq’s glasswashers and dishwashers are built at its factory near Stafford. In this way Classeq can directly control the quality of the machines at all points in their production and quickly respond to demand and installation queries. The Eco glasswashers are competitively priced machines and Classeq offer excellent after-sales service.

For further infomation please visit www.carltonsales.co.uk or phone our sales team on (01793) 512550.