Scrubber Dryers - Past and Future
Olivier LeTreste, Senior Group Product Manager for Nilfisk-Advance gives his views on the future of Scrubber Dryers.
Scrubber Dryer development has been ongoing since 1956 when the first battery powered walk behind was launched by Clarke Floor Equipment. Clarke was later acquired by Nilfisk-Advance and went on to launch the first carpet extractor in 1968.
It is hardly comprehensible that before then huge areas of hard flooring was swept, scrubbed and mopped using large volumes of water and man power. Health and Safety issues were certainly not as prevalent as now with floors left very wet and detergent dosage often guessed at.
We have certainly come a long way but has it been easy and what is the future for Scrubber Dryer development?
Olivier LeTreste, Senior Group Product Manager for Nilfisk-Advance, responsible for product introduction into 50 countries worldwide talks to CHT about the future.
“The Nilfisk mission is clear; ‘We enable sustainable cleaning worldwide to improve quality of life.’ This is far reaching but the key word here is sustainable, cleaning is what we know best - our core competence. 60 percent of all products launched in 2011 included environmental improvements.
Nilfisk are proud signatories of the United Nations Global Compact agreement which embraces globally accepted principles on Human Rights, Labour, Environment and anti-corruption. Signatories provide public disclosure of achievements and measured targets. The Nilfisk Group strive for a 5% reduction in CO2 emissions every year.
As a manufacturer we have more certified HEPA filtration commercial vacuums and more CRI approved carpet extractors than any other. Scrubber Dryer volumes however are significant and therefore consume large volumes of water, detergent and power across the world.
There can be no doubt that cleaning has a significant environmental impact, substantial amounts of water are used daily in addition to chemical agents. Retail opening hours continue to increase with cleaning standards and expectations are much higher than ever before. Consumers now accept cleaning going on around them but the end result is more water, power, chemical and consumable usage.
Many facilities now look to use the minimum amount of chemical but chemical free is not always possible if the level of soiling is high. Establishments also vary enormously, an industrial factory floor can hardly be compared to an operating theatre or commercial kitchen.
Nilfisk-Advance have a ’Green meets Clean’ philosophy which has driven product development over recent years. Designing equipment which can clean to the same high standard, but use fewer resources has therefore been our greatest challenge. Our goal has been simple, minimal impact on the environment; accomplish more with less - simultaneously reducing costs for customers whilst improving their environmental behaviour.
The Ecoflex system was born out of this ’Green meets Clean’ philosophy. The Ecoflex system recognises that it is not necessary to sacrifice cleaning results for environmental issues; a cleaning solution should not be just “green“ but clean too.
The Ecoflex concept allows the operator of the machine to match the machines performance to the level of soiling and the amount of cleaning necessary to effect a good result.
All machines start in Ecoflex mode which uses minimal amounts of water, chemical and power. On encountering a soiled area the operator activates a one minute burst of power for extra performance. The machine then moves automatically back into Ecoflex mode retaining the flexibility for more aggressive cleaning when required.
The Ecoflex system can be seen demonstrated in full on the Nilfisk Professional YouTube Channel http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SxEHZ7Qu2Z0
Olivier adds, I have been with Nilfisk-Advance now for 22 years and have seen incredible improvements in all aspects of product development.
In the year 2000 for example, a 53 cm/55 litre Scrubber Dryer consumed an average of 1.5 litres of water a minute. In 2011 this has reduced to an average of 0.55 litres a minute whilst the machine maintains an excellent cleaning result.
Design efficiency therefore continues to focus on sustainability. Development is based on 4 core elements; sustainability analysis, customer benefit, complexity reduction and cost reduction. This takes into account all aspects of design, assembly and product usage.
Every development project is assigned a target for each core element including material composition and recyclability. Products are therefore designed to both use recycled materials and to then be recycled at the end of their life.
The BR652 is a classic example of a machine engineered to improve all core elements. Scrubber dryer side skirts are a relatively high volume consumable that add to the overall life cost of the unit. The BR652 has been designed with a patented magic moveable deck that squeegee vacuums the entire scrubbing path thereby eliminating the need for side skirts.
Nilfisk were also at the forefront of industry leading technology with the launch of the first ever HYBRID industrial combination machine the CS7000.
The CS7000 Scrubber Sweeper is available in 3 variants, LPG-HYBRID, Diesel-HYBRID and ePower battery. All units utilise state of the art electric drive technology and deliver a reduction of 30% less consumption, fuel costs and emission levels.
The electric HYBRID technology means that the engine drives a large alternator to generate electricity and a 36 volt battery pack provides energy storage.
Another innovative feature is the elimination of large hydraulic reservoirs, filters and oil coolers as well as 98% of leak prone hydraulic hoses, pumps, motors and valves. The hydraulic functions are replaced by intelligently controlled electric drives resulting in fewer components and decreased maintenance costs.
In comparison to hydraulic systems the HYBRID technology allows for smaller more compact equipment and lower fuel consumption. Together with the option of the Nilfisk Ecoflex system the CS7000 range provides a formidable ecological solution efficient in industrial cleaning.
On the operational front dedicated sweeping and scrubbing functions ensure that debris remains dry without introducing scrub solution or water into the debris hopper.
Optional extras include water heating up to 55 degrees and a 150 bar high pressure washer function. Hot water alone is a powerful cleaner offering a substantial advantage to the operator in terms of both performance and speed.
The CS7000 can be seen in full flight on the Nilfisk YouTube channel http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1FAw56u7QpY
So what of the future Olivier was asked? Sustainability has to remain a key focus for product development going forward. We have drastically reduced the amount of water and detergent usage of the machines. It would be fair to say that we have reduced this to the very minimum of what the cleaning brush requires. The next step is certainly new scrubbing technology, brushes and pads which turn much less combined with a ‘spray’ function which reduces water consumption further. Electronic control and monitoring of this function will be integral to the technology going forward.
Another interesting concept is the external cleaning of used water whilst the machine is in use. This would dramatically improve productivity as time is saved for emptying of dirty water tanks and re-fills.
Needless to say there will be a continued push towards low levels or zero levels of detergent usage. Full recyclability will also remain an objective both with regard to the components used in assembly and end of life recycling.
The Nilfisk-Advance Group will certainly be working hard to maintain their position as one of the worlds’ largest and most innovative manufacturers of industrial cleaning machines.”
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