New sanitising product to help protect pubgoers
A HUDDERSFIELD company is doing its bit to help pubs and bars return from coronavirus lockdown.
The Prime Minister has said hospitality venues may be able to re-open in early July after more than three months of enforced closure, leaving many on the brink of bankruptcy.
Like many businesses, the leisure industry is scrambling to install measures to enforce social distancing and promote hand sanitising.
Bosses from Fenay Bridge based Brewfitt have now revealed they have spent the past three months coming up with a new product with which to help the venues they normally supply with beer-dispensing equipment recover from the crisis.
With staff furloughed and 95% of his trade vanishing overnight, Brewfitt boss Curtis Paxman developed a project to try and get the pub trade back on its feet.
He has re-designed a beer dispenser into a high-volume mobile hand sanitising station.
The device can use a huge 30 litre keg of Covid-19-killing alcohol-free sanitiser, allowing drinkers and bar workers to stay safe without the need continually to refill the dispenser. It could also be rolled into place at large sporting or cultural events.
Curtis said: “Once lockdown started the pub trade completely ground to a halt – they’re saying 70 million pints were poured down the drain.
“Overnight our business completely stopped.
“We went from a fairly healthy position to 95% of our trade disappearing.
“I had to furlough all our staff and my brother James and our financial controller looked at how the business could survive.
“We’ve managed to sell a lot of our home dispensing products and I’ve had to roll my sleeves up selling to beer enthusiasts, but I also became aware of the need for this kind of product.”
Curtis utilised one of his own beer pumping products in partnership with sanitiser manufacturer Holchem and container firm KeyKeg. The device requires no power and can be reverse-engineered into a mobile beer pump once the pandemic has passed.
He added: “The key thing was not just to keep our business afloat but to also help pubs get back open and give them as many solutions as they can get.
“It’s evident that the little push dispensers are in short supply and these stations can provide 7,500 doses and can be moved around – for example, to outside football grounds or at supermarkets.”
The firm is in talks with a host of major pub chains but one of the first operators to install the Hand Sanitisation Station is Manchester’s ‘Bohemian Pleasure Palace’ Albert’s Schloss, which has ordered units as part of its reopening programme.
Roy Ellis, chief executive of venue owner Mission Mars, said: “Like all operators, we’re keen to reopen our doors as soon as we’re allowed to, but we’ll need to reassure our customers that we’ll keep them safe while they’re with us, and effective hand sanitisation is going to be an important part of our hygiene regime.
“For a busy, multi-faceted venue such as Albert’s Schloss, the portable Hand Sanitisation Stations are ideal, as we can re-site them over the course of the day and week, depending on where they’re needed to meet the needs of our guests and team members.”