Washstation, winner of our DOMUS AWARDS 2023 in the best Innovation dealer category, tells us about their success story with the University of Bristol.
Our customer is the University of Bristol, to whom we have been supplying student laundries on campus since 2013. In 2023 we installed new Domus equipment in all 14 laundries, which are used by 3,700 students.
The machines that we replaced were from other brands small chassis, all of which were being operated on our App but, due to their basic processors, we could not use all of our IoT controls when we connected them in 2021. The University was seeking innovation and, as they have a very strong environmental strategy, on replacing the laundries they wanted to ensure that the maximum possible reduction of resources and CO2 was made.
Domus Heavy Professional
The Domus Heavy Professional range is our machine of choice for managed laundries. This is because we can deliver real and material ESG impact for our clients using these machines and we can also achieve our IoT ambitions, which are to have predictive maintenance regimes, two way communication with the machines and data that will enable us to understand all aspects of our laundries. Our scheme for Bristol included the installation of 133 Domus Heavy Professional with water recycling plinths in laundries where we did not need to stack the dryers. These are the first and only student launderettes in the UK to have water recycling facilities.
What is the advantage of the Domus Heavy Professional range for universities?
The main advantage to the University is a 50% reduction in their utilities costs simply from changing over the equipment. Because of this they are able to offer students a much reduced price to wash and dry. For Washstation, we have benefitted from being able to remotely manage and control the machines, reducing the number of reactive maintenance visits and engineer’s CO2 emissions.
The replacement of the laundries was presented as a tender project and so our competitors also bid for the contract. However we were able to demonstrate not only the strength of the equipment and our service but also the approach and philosophy of the Onnera Group to the environment. The fact that the machines are manufactured in a facility with renewable energy sources, with adaptions to reduce environmental impact, scored us extra points!
Author: Katy Mitchell – WASHSTATION
