Water year that was for Simon and his team of water-savers
THIS year has been a momentous one for Derby entrepreneur Simon Rice with a host of awards and two product launches paving the way for record sales.
Simon set up HSG in Pride Park 11 years ago and the company is now recognised as market leaders in water conservation and washroom services.
This spring, HSG was granted the Queen’s Award for Enterprise in Innovation – regarded as one of the most prestigious business awards in the country – in recognition of the positive impact that its innovative and unique Ureco system is having on businesses and venues across the UK.
Since then, HSG has since clinched four more regional awards – including the Derby Telegraph Business Award for Sustainability – and Simon was recognised by the Institute of Directors East Midlands who presented him with the annual Innovation award.
The company has also won more than £150,000 of new business for the two-fold Ureco urinal sleeve and Uretech water management system which is already installed and achieving unrivalled water and money savings in some of the UK’s top venues.
New customers range from further visitor attractions such as Chester Zoo, sporting venues including Derbyshire County Cricket Club, corporate buildings such as BT Sport head office in London’s Olympic Park and Euro Garages, in Blackburn, as well as food manufacturing sites including Shire Foods in Derbyshire.
They join a portfolio of longstanding customers including the 02 Arena in London, NEC in Birmingham, major restaurant chains such as Pizza Hut as well as in top football clubs and some of the largest retail shopping centres across the country.
The Ureco stops smells by trapping odours below the surface and reduces blockages through the patented enzyme system which breaks down the fat, acid and salt in urine.
This enables the Uretech to reduce urinal flushes from around 96 times to just four times a day.
As a result, the customer benefits by saving money on utility bills, reducing water usage and stopping blockages and smells which improve the washroom experience for customers and reduce costly repairs. Simon Rice and his award-winning team. Far right the Cleen app
Sales have also increased for HSG’s latest innovation – the Uretech Plus professional water management solution. Fitted onto a venue’s existing water meter, Uretech Plus uses the latest Wi-Fi technology to provide minute by minute readings of water usage to a laptop, tablet or smartphone.
Meanwhile Simon has successfully launched the Cleen App and Dashboard this year which is the UK’s first fully integrated washroom management tool and review app to raise washroom standards at businesses and venues.
Aiming to be the “TripAdvisor” of washrooms, the free Cleen App enables customers to rate washroom facilities – either complimenting accessible and clean washrooms or posting complaints and issues that they have faced which are visible to other app users.
Businesses and venues can then sign up for their bespoke Cleen Dashboard so that they can monitor and immediately address any issues that customers highlight and promote their high quality facilities.
HSG has also taken this a step further by developing the Cleen Tablet which is positioned in or near washrooms for ease of feedback.
Since going on-line in February – thousands of the Cleen App have been downloaded and hundreds of reviews posted.
Glamorgan Cricket’s Sophia Gardens – the home of Welsh cricket – has also become the first in the UK to adopt the innovative system and is actively encouraging visitors to the hospitality facilities to download the Cleen App on to their smartphones so that they can log reviews of the washroom facilities.
Simon said: “2018 has been a complete whirlwind but the years of investment in research and development on both the Ureco and Cleen have come to fruition and really put us on the map in the competitive washroom services industry.
“Gaining The Queen’s Award for Enterprise in Innovation has been a pivotal moment for the company and I couldn’t be more proud to now display the emblem on all our products, vans and communications.
“Since news spread of the award gain, we have certainly seen a marked increase in sales.
“Our existing and potential customers recognise that the Queen’s Award is the ultimate recognition of quality and innovation and it has elevated the company to yet another level within this competitive industry. It is vital that we don’t sit on our laurels and continue to innovate.
“The success of the Ureco and Uretech system therefore led us to start discussing with our customers where we needed to go next to save them even more water and money spent on utilities.
“The resounding feedback was that they required minute-by-minute information about water usage so that they could monitor high usage and plan their cleaning and facilities management operations accordingly. They can also see when and where there is a leak as soon as it happens and have the peace of mind that the system will be automatically shut down before expensive and disruptive water damage takes hold.
“We are currently trialling Uretech Plus with several of our valued customers including Blackpool Pleasure Beach and the initial results and feedback are outstanding so the national roll-out of sales and installation will start in earnest in 2019.”
But it is Cleen that has been Simon’s labour of love for the past two years.
He continued: “It has long been a bugbear of mine that, in this day and age, we are still faced with washrooms that are dirty, smelly with no toilet paper and overflowing nappy and sanitary bins.
“Having worked in the washroom industry for many years, I was determined to give the public a voice and turn the tide on the washroom roulette. This enables people to share their experiences – good and bad – so that others can make an informed choice about where to give their patronage.
“It’s a particular issue for the hospitality industry. How many times have we gone to a restaurant and walked out after visiting the washroom – presuming that a grotty loo means a dirty kitchen?
“Many washrooms are also still not fit for purpose – and therefore badly affect the quality of life – for a large part of our community and particularly for people with disabilities and parents needing baby changing facilities.”
Simon said the response from businesses and venues across the UK has been positive.
“I am delighted that Glamorgan