ICC Congress Hall

World-class conference venue, the ICC, upgrades warewashing standards by switching to Wexiödisk  
Helping companies to deliver conferences and events for the past twenty seven years, the award winning ICC proudly hosts an average of 400 events per year, welcoming over 350,000 visitors from across the globe. 
With a history of hosting outstanding events, the ICC has, and continues to inspire and connect people and ideas in a uniquely collaborative way by embracing new concepts, advancements and technologies.  
Committed to embracing different ideas, the ICC welcomes new technology and interrogates modern trends, investing into the venue in order to ensure exceptional event standards. This investment is something that the ICC proudly provides to all internal departments, stretching right through to back of house catering operations as seen with the latest additions to the ICC back of house team: Wexiödisk’s WD-153 warewasher and Pre-Rinse Machine. 

Having been installed in the summer of 2018, Lucy Bashford, Back of House Manager at the ICC explains the significant improvement that she has already seen to warewashing standards, especially with glassware: 

“Since using the WD-153, warewashing practise has definitely improved! With our previous warewashing machine, we would have to put glassware through the wash cycle before washing crockery or cutlery in order to ensure decent glass wash results. This was not only impractical in terms of meeting the warewashing demands of bar focused events, but also highly inconvenient for staff whom would have to prioritise glassware for the initial wash. However, with the WD-153, we are able to achieve sparkling glassware results no matter the order of our cycles. Glassware is notoriously tricky to wash, but with the WD-153, we achieve consistently spotless results!” 
With events often holding up to as many as 1000 people, the warewashing turnover at the ICC is incredibly high meaning a great deal of pressure naturally amounts onto kitchen and warewashing equipment. Because of this, sourcing a robust and durable warewasher was key for the ICC as Lucy continues:  

“After twenty years of service, our previous warewasher had come to the end of its life, hence the search for the new machine. When we started searching for an alternative model as a replacement, we were intent on finding a robust machine that would be able to withstand the strenuous warewashing demands of the ICC for decades to come. 
When it came to researching various models, we were very impressed to find out that the WD-153 is made entirely out of stainless steel. With stainless steel being a highly robust and easy to clean material, we were intrigued to research the machine and brand further in order to find out its various other capabilities.”   

With little knowledge of the Wexiödisk brand and equipment before this point, the ICC team were admittedly hesitant about purchasing a machine from a brand that they had not used before as Adam Spooner, Contract Manager at CBRE, the service partner of the NEC Group, comments: 

“At first, the project management team were uncertain about a brand unfamiliar to the NEC Group. However, after speaking to our preferred dealer USS Catering & Bakery , they advised us on the prowess of Wexiödisk machines, confirming that the WD-153 rack machine would be a great option for the ICC thanks to its durability, efficiency and ergonomic design.  

After receiving this advice, Lucy and I went to view the WD-153 in action at Magdalen College, Oxford. The catering manager at the facility told us how impressed he has been with the machine, expressing how brilliant the wash results are as well as how easy the machine is to use. Being able to speak to the catering manager at Magdalen College was brilliant – it was reassuring to hear a genuine review from the point of view of an operator that had already purchased a Wexiödisk warewashing solution. Being able to witness the machine in action was also great - seeing the WD-153 turnover almost 1000 spoiled items within the space of an hour was truly impressive and is what truly clinched the deal for us.” 

Also gaining the chance to see Wexiödisk’s convenient Pre-Rinse Machine (PRM) in action, Adam and Lucy were able to gain insight into the way a PRM enhances the warewashing process and results at Magdalen College use, as Adam continues:  

“It was also great to see Wexiödisk’s Pre-Rinse Machine utilise recycled water thoroughly to rinse crockery, utensils and glassware, cascading through the baskets to leaving sparkling results.” 

Providing operator’s with an effortless solution for achieving gleaming dish-washing results, the Pre-Rinse Machine is also incredibly sustainable thanks to the unique way it reuses excess wash water. Tasked with finding greener methods and solutions, Lucy was particularly impressed to find out the sustainable method of the Pre-Rise Machine, stating: 

“The PRM unit truly stood out to us thanks to its exceptional energy saving and environmentally friendly properties. Becoming more environmentally friendly is very important to the ICC, as well as to the wider NEC Group, so purchasing a unit that would help us go greener whilst improving warewashing practise was a no brainer!” 

So impressed by the machines used at Magdalen college, the ICC went on to deciding to purchase a Wexiödisk WD-153 and Pre-Rinse Machine. Being installed shortly after purchasing, Adam goes on to explain the installation process, stating: 
“The installation process was seamless, especially given the extremely tight deadlines the ICC work within!  In fact, they were able to install the machine within a day which we were really pleased with. 
Upon installation, we also received thorough training on the operation of the machine which was highly beneficial for our staff who find the machine very easy to use.” 
For more information on the Wexiödisk range of warewashing appliances please visit www.wexiodisk.com/en or call 0845 643 0421.  
For more information on the ICC please visit www.theicc.co.uk or call 0121 200 2000