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FilterFresh of
Hudson Valley (FFHV), a FilterFresh Office Coffee Services franchisee and
a major supplier of coffee and beverage-dispensing equipment and services in New
York and Northern New Jersey, was finding that frequent service calls due
to lime scale problems in many of their coffee systems was becoming a
drain on their company resources. While the machines produced
excellent coffee when functioning properly, lime scale buildup from the
hard water conditions found in this area was causing equipment downtime
and requiring service calls for the sole purpose of cleaning out the
scale. Naturally, this not only incurred costs for labor, travel,
and parts replacement, but it also cost the company revenue and goodwill,
since a machine that is down cannot dispense coffee. And when you
need your morning coffee, well . . . the problem is clear.
Robert
Bross, president of FFHV, felt that it was important to the value of the
business to find a solution to this situation, to ensure optimal operating
conditions for the equipment in the field and to maintain the high level
of customer satisfaction his company has successfully achieved for the
past 12 years. He researched and installed in his machines a
number of different technologies to treat lime scale and hard water,
including magnets and different types of filters, finding that none worked
to his satisfaction.
Then
he was told about Triangular Wave Technologies' patented deposit control
systems, designed to prevent, reduce, and/or eliminate fluid deposits and
bio-film. After reviewing the technology and TWT's customer success
studies, Robert was impressed by the concept, and chose several of his
locations as test sites, installing systems in May, 2000. "I
wanted to start with sites that suffered from some of the worst deposit
control problems, to see the extent to which the TWT systems would
work. I specifically chose some sites that not only had difficult
water conditions, but also had multiple machines. In this way I
could compare the results side-by-side, treated and untreated, from the
same location."
Given
the nature of the process in question, coffee brewing and vending, Robert knew that it
was imperative to avoid treatment that would alter the taste of the water
and therefore the coffee. "My customers expect the best cup of
coffee around, and our equipment and quality coffee can certainly deliver
it. Altering the taste with chemical treatment or water softeners
was just not an option - I didn't want the cure to be worse than the
disease. The fact that the TWT systems were completely non-chemical
was one of the biggest factors in my consideration."
TWT
chemical-free deposit control technology is used by many large
corporations and government agencies, including NASA, and the Centers for
Disease Control. Its ability to not only attack scale problems, but
prevent bio-film buildup as well, was a big plus in Robert's mind.
"While my primary goal was to maintain and enhance machine performance and
minimize service calls, the added benefit of bio-film and bacteria control
was very attractive. It offers a very positive perception of service
and 'brand' differentiation in comparison to my competitors. Not
only do we achieve a reduction in service calls and downtime and an
increase in coffee sales, we are now recognized as a technologically
aware, environmentally responsible, and customer health-conscious company
to do business with. It's win-win all around."
According
to Robert, the benefits to his company of using TWT deposit control
systems are very broad-based. "Our service costs are reduced
and controlled. Our replacement parts costs are reduced, since
valves, switches, seals, and heating elements don't wear out as quickly,
which, by the way, also extends the life of the coffee equipment - it can
work as designed to, rather than working harder to produce the same
result. We can service more accounts with the same staffing
levels. Where service and route people were previously working on
machines during visits, they can now concentrate on introducing new
products and increasing sales. Our customers are very pleased, as
well. They don't suffer the results of leaks on their floors and
rugs when valves clog and seals break from scale and corrosion, which
might have been expected in places with hard water in the past.
Their machines have performed with greatly reduced downtime, which means
beverages are available almost all the time, and also means that we are
selling more coffee and supplies. The person in charge of the coffee
machine at the site, usually the office manager, is pleased with not
having to 'bother' with problems or make telephone calls. Since
recommendations are our biggest and best source of new customers, this is
very important to us. Our reputation is enhanced by every satisfied
customer we gain."
A
cost-effective solution was also of great importance to FFHV.
According to Robert, "the return on investment has been
tremendous. The TWT systems that have been installed over the last
year and a half have generally paid for themselves in about 15 months, and in
some cases, under one
year. Wherever we have installed them in the past year, we have not
had to make a single lime or scale-related service call, as was often
necessary in the past - some 50% of our service calls had been solely
because of lime-related problems. This allows us to concentrate on
sales and expansion, making our company more profitable, and enhancing the
value of our franchise.
Since
FFHV has experienced a 50% reduction in service calls and has increased
revenue at the same time, Robert is expanding the use of TWT deposit
control systems throughout his territory. "Quite frankly, I
never expected the payback to be as quick or as substantial as it has
been. We're in a very competitive business, and controlling costs to
keep margins where they need to be can make or break a company. And
as in any industry, customer relationships are the foundation of continued
success. Using TWT technology has helped give us a competitive
edge and maintain a positive profile and excellent reputation in our
area. We've been very pleased, and so have our customers."
For
more information on how TWT fluid management solutions can help your
company, click here
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