Stirling Management Centre relies on Winterhalter warewashing machines to keep up standards
Stirling Management Centre is located right at the very ‘heart of Scotland’ – equidistant from Glasgow and Edinburgh and within sight of the Wallace Monument. Set in 300 acres of parkland, it offers a range of quality conference facilities including meeting rooms, exhibition space, accommodation, sport and recreational opportunities. It is also well known for its excellent restaurant and banqueting services.
Seating up to 230 diners, the light and airy Abbey Craig restaurant is open daily for breakfast, lunch and dinner. It offers a wide variety of hot and cold dishes and an extensive wine list. Drinks can be served separately at the adjoining bar.
Service is of the highest quality and glassware needs to match. About 18 months ago Al Thom, general manager at Stirling Management Centre, replaced the exisiting glasswasher with an undercounter Winterhalter UC-M. In order to obtain the best wash results possible Winterhalter recommended using a small reverse osmosis ROXS with the machine.
“The results with the Winterhalter are impressive,” says Al Thom. “The glasses come out sparkling clean and don’t need polishing. The machine itself is easy to use and has been totally reliable. It really speeds up our operation.”
The amount of glasses used soon mounts up with the restaurant processing about 300-400 settings per day on top of the drinks served at the bar. That was a lot of hand polishing.
“We find we have saved about two hours of staff time per day now that we don’t have to polish the glasses,” says Al Thom. “On top of that we have the peace of mind that as soon as we get the glasses out of the washer they are ready for service.”
Following the success of the UC-M glasswasher, Stirling Management Centre ordered an MTR rack conveyor machine for the kitchen. The MTR has a SmartTouch multifunctional, multilingual touch screen with self-explanatory symbols and animations to help eliminate operator errors – this is especially useful for temporary or new staff who may not be familiar with the machine.
“We didn’t hesitate to look at a Winterhalter machine for the main kitchen,” says Al Thom. “The back up and service the company offers is excellent. The installation was smooth and carried out on time which is important in a busy site like ours.”
Both machines are now in operation, which means that Winterhalter is responsible for all the glasses and crockery in the restaurant and bar.
“The pressure for smooth turnarounds during conferences is immense. They are run to such tight schedules,” says Al Thom. “We can’t afford to have hold ups or complaints, which is why we chose the Winterhalter machines. They are reliable and produce a consistently high standard of wash, leaving us free to concentrate on the comfort of the delegates.”
For more information on The Stirling Management Centre visit www.smc.stir.ac.uk