News

If you own a food processing business, the chances are you’ll be dealing with food trays and plastic food crates on a daily basis. But what happens to them once the contents are emptied? They need to be washed! We take a look at the importance of crate washers in the food industry and how they can help your business meet hygiene standards, maintain the quality of your products and more.

How Do Food Industry Crate Washers Work?

Crate washers can be built to handle a variety of crates used in different stages of food processing and handling. Here are some common types of crates that can be washed:

At Unitech Washers, we know a thing or two about keeping working environments sterile and safe. It’s the core of our business. So if you need to manage how dirt enters and exits your food production areas – you’re in the right place. Without throwing too much information at you, we’ll explain the key benefits of boot washers and why we think they’re a great investment.

3. Protect Your Brand Reputation

So what are the consequences if a boot washer isn’t installed?

Above all, it can impact people’s health. Additionally, there could be serious legal repercussions for the business too.

A boot washing station will ensure that your facility keeps a strong barrier against these risks, safeguarding your products, your brand reputation, and ultimately, public health.

4. Compliance with Industry Regulations

In the UK and Europe, food safety regulations are rigorous and designed to ensure the highest standards of hygiene and safety in food processing environments. This includes the management of personal hygiene and the use of appropriate cleaning and disinfecting equipment, such as boot washers, to prevent the introduction of contaminants into critical areas.

5. Increased Productivity

Finally, by opting to choose an automated boot washer, you can significantly reduce the time employees spend on manual boot cleaning. This allows workers to move quickly and safely into production areas, boosting overall operational efficiency.

Our customers report noticeable improvements in workflow and reduced downtime related to hygiene maintenance.

Manually cleaning parts is often tedious and time consuming. Here at Unitech, we’ve seen first hand how the shift from manual to automated washing processes can transform operations. Automatic parts washers are no different, helping to eliminate various contaminants including oil, grime, dirt, paint, and other residues with little to no supervision required.

We take a look at all of the benefits of automated washers and how they can help your business.

Clean Any Size Part

Automated parts washers can clean any size part, from small engine components to large aerospace parts. These systems are able to clean even the most complex parts quickly and accurately, ensuring a thorough clean every time.

What Are the Different Types of Automated Parts Washers?

As the demand for precision cleaning grows, so does the variety of automated parts washers. Here’s a brief overview of the types of washing systems you might want to consider for your business:

Cabinet Parts Washers

Ideal for smaller parts, cabinet washers are compact and efficient, using high pressure jets to blast away dirt and grease.

Ultrasonic Parts Washers

Using high frequency sound waves, ultrasonic washers can clean intricate parts to a microscopic level, perfect for delicate or complex components.

Conveyorised Parts Washers

Designed for high volume cleaning, conveyorised washers move parts through different cleaning stages, offering a continuous cleaning solution.

Immersion Parts Washers

These washers submerge parts in a cleaning solution, using agitation, rotation, or ultrasonic waves to dislodge contaminants.

Aqueous Parts Washers

Using water based solutions, aqueous washers are an environmentally friendly option that can efficiently remove a wide range of substances.

Rotary Basket Parts Washer

Rotary basket washers use a spinning basket filled with cleaning agents to remove heavy contamination from components. Great for uniformly cleaning small to medium parts, spinning them through cleaning and rinse cycles.

Aerospace parts are often exposed to harsh environments, extreme temperatures, and various contaminants during usage. Keeping these parts clean and in pristine condition is crucial for the performance and safety of aircraft – helping to remove unwanted substances such as dirt, oil, lubricants and more. But how is the whole cleaning process carried out? We explore three common cleaning procedures below.

Are you still manually washing pallets at your facility? It might be time to consider upgrading to an automatic pallet washer, a decision that can significantly improve cleanliness, efficiency, and overall hygiene for your operations.

The Importance of Pallet Washing

Maintaining a safe and hygienic supply chain is essential in industries that rely on pallets for shipping, storage, and handling goods. Pallets serve as the backbone of logistics, but they can also harbour dirt, debris, grime, germs, and bacteria that pose contamination risks to products and environments. Proper pallet washing can not only help extend the life of pallets, but it’s also key to preventing contamination, which is especially important in operations handling food and pharmaceuticals.

Benefits of Automatic Pallet Washing

Automatic pallet washing machines offer numerous benefits including:

High Volume Handling: Automatic pallet washers can efficiently handle large quantities of pallets, significantly increasing throughput.

Cost Savings: While the initial investment in an automatic pallet washer may seem significant, it pays off in the long run. Reduced labour costs, lower water and chemical consumption, and fewer rejected products all contribute to substantial cost savings over time.

Compliance with Regulations: Many industries have strict regulations regarding pallet hygiene. Automatic pallet washers ensure compliance with these regulations, reducing the risk of fines and product recalls due to contamination issues.

Eco Friendly: Automatic pallet washers are designed to be environmentally friendly. They use fewer resources, generate less wastewater, and consume fewer chemicals, helping your company reduce its environmental impact and promote sustainability.

Manual vs. Automatic Pallet Washing

We’re not here to completely discount the advantages of manual pallet washing. For a start, it can prove cost effective for smaller operations as it requires minimal investment. It’s also a much more economical solution if there are only ever a few pallets to be washed.

However the biggest drawback of manual pallet cleaning is that it’s incredibly time consuming and labour intensive. The effectiveness of a wash largely depends on your workers skills and diligence, which can lead to inconsistent cleaning.

So for those that require a consistent and high level of cleanliness, upgrading to an automatic pallet washing machine may be a better option.

Tray washers have become indispensable in various industries, revolutionising the way businesses handle their tray cleaning processes. And as industrial washing experts, we know just how effective they are! So we’ve decided to pick out the top 5 benefits that tray washers have to offer and why we think they’re worth the investment.

1. Improved Hygiene

For any business that prioritises cleanliness, you’ll understand the vital role of maintaining proper hygiene. This is especially crucial in industries where trays come into contact with food or sensitive products.

Tray washers ensure thorough cleaning and sanitisation, eliminating any contaminants or residue that may compromise product quality or pose health risks. This helps prevent the spread of germs and keeps the working environment clean and safe, in line with industry rules and standards.

2. High Return on Investment

Tray washers streamline the tray cleaning process, reducing the time and labour required compared to manual cleaning methods. These machines can handle a large volume of trays, significantly reducing the manpower needed for cleaning tasks. By automating the cleaning process, businesses can reallocate human resources to more value-added activities, boosting productivity and operational efficiency.

These machines are also designed to use cleaning agents efficiently, helping to save on cleaning supplies such as detergents and chemicals.

3. Minimise Energy and Water Usage

Tray washers not only offer cost savings but also contribute to environmental sustainability by minimising water and energy usage.

For example, tray washers have built-in filtration systems that help recirculate and reuse water. These systems remove debris and contaminants, allowing the water to be recycled for multiple cleaning cycles. Tray washers also employ precise water jets to target specific areas, ensuring thorough and highly efficient cleaning.

As for the amount of energy being consumed – just think about the amount of water and energy required for thorough manual cleaning. Not only that, imagine the tedious task of individually cleaning each crate or tray. Yeah, we’d rather not either!

Tray washers offer an eco-friendly cleaning solution that can be designed to align with your business’s environmental goals.

4. Extended Tray Lifespan

Manual cleaning methods can be harsh on trays and crates, leading to wear and tear, and ultimately requiring frequent replacements. By using a high quality tray washer, they can be cleaned with precision and care, preserving their structural integrity and extending their usability.

5. Tray Washers Designed For You

Did you know that tray washers provide multiple cleaning programs or modes, each designed for specific cleaning needs? For example, a machine may have a gentle mode for delicate trays or a more intensive mode for heavily soiled crates. You can select the appropriate program based on the condition of the trays and the level of cleaning required.

You can modify other settings such as water temperature, pressure, spray patterns, and cycle duration to suit your specific cleaning requirements.